Canisius Notches Perfect Week; Iona, Monmouth, Rider Remain Tied in First Place
MAAC Sports
EDISON, N.J. – Canisius College was the only team to win all its games last week, picking up two home wins in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s basketball action, while Iona, Monmouth, and Rider end another week tied at the top of the league standings. The Golden Griffins and Manhattan sit outside of the top three with 5-3 marks.
The Golden Griffins earned home victories against Siena and Iona this past week. Canisius beat Siena, 83-49, on Friday (Jan. 16) to begin the week, and defeated top-ranked Iona, 78-74, on Sunday (Jan. 18) to close out the perfect week and improve its record to 5-3.
Iona kept pace for first place with two wins on the week beginning with a, 74-58, home victory against Fairfield on Tuesday (Jan. 13). The Gaels then edged Niagara, 80-79, on Friday (Jan. 16) on an ESPNU road contest to remain in the mix for first. Iona finished the week with a 2-1 mark.
Monmouth and Rider opened up the week on Monday (Jan. 12) in a battle for sole possession of first place in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where the Hawks came away with the 55-54 road win. The defeat marked the Broncs’ first home loss of the season.
Monmouth followed up the win with a 62-61 home overtime loss to Saint Peter’s on Wednesday (Jan. 14), before getting back on track with a 77-70 victory against Fairfield (Jan. 18) to close out the week at 2-1.
The Broncs of Rider bounced back from the early week loss to Monmouth with two road wins at Quinnipiac and at Manhattan to notch a 2-1 week and remain in the battle for first place. On Thursday (Jan. 15), Rider beat Quinnipiac, 56-53, and on Sunday (Jan. 18), Rider edged Manhattan, 82-79, in overtime.
The Jaspers began their week on Friday (Jan. 16) on the road at Saint Peter’s, where they grabbed a 72-65 overtime win on ESPN3. With the late week lost to Rider, Manhattan split its week schedule to move to 5-3 in MAAC play and remain in the hunt of first place.
Siena College head coach Jimmy Patsos earned his 100th MAAC win on Sunday (Jan. 18) as the Saints knocked off Niagara 74-70 on the road. Patsos becomes only the second coach in league history to accomplish the feat.
The 2015 season culminates at the 2015 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York March 5-9. Tickets for the championships are available online at ticketmaster.com.
For the full men’s basketball schedule, visits maacsports.com and remember to follow the conversation on twitter using #MAACHoops and #MAACHoops15.