Getty The Manhattan Jaspers advanced with a win over the Fairfield Stags in the MAAC Tournament.
After day one of the MAAC tournament, the conference showcased its patented parity with all three first-round matchups going down to the wire. Highlighted by an overtime thriller between Marist and Saint Peter’s, the MAAC tournament delivered plenty of drama before even getting into the conference’s heavyweight programs.
MAAC Tournament 2019 Bracket, Schedule & Scores
🏀: Men’s #MAACHoops19 Championship Field is set!
Check out the bracket 👇
First Round:
#9 Saint Peter’s – 71 vs #8 Marist – 68
#7 Manhattan – 57 vs #10 Fairfield – 53
#6 Monmouth – 76 vs #11 Niagara – 72
Quarterfinals:
#1 Iona – 73 vs #9 Saint Peter’s – 71
#2 Canisius – 69 vs #7 Manhattan – 65
#6 Monmouth – 98 #3 Quinnipiac – 92
#5 Siena – 87 vs #4 Rider – 81
Semifinals:
#1 Iona – 73 vs #5 Siena – 57
#6 Monmouth – 73 vs #2 Canisius- 59
Finals:
#1 Iona – 81 vs #6 Monmouth – 60
Iona vs Monmouth MAAC Tournament Championship Result
Behind a gutsy performance and leadership effort from senior Rickey McGill, the Iona Gaels took an early lead over Monmouth that they would never relinquish. A dominant wire-to-wire win from the Gaels, Iona was even able to rest the seldom sat McGill and let their bench players get some run.
With the win, Iona moves on to the NCAA March Madness Tournament and will likely find themselves as a 15 seed facing off with a major conference power in the first round.
Semifinal Results
Iona vs Siena MAAC Tournament Result
This was was never really close, Iona jumped out to a double digit lead early on and wouldn’t ever look back. Showing why they are the pride of the MAAC, the Gaels now sit just one win away from a fourth consecutive MAAC championship.
Siena looked lost outside of Jalen Pickett and wasn’t able to really control any portion of the game whatsoever.
Canisius vs Monmouth MAAC Tournament Result
Monmouth and Canisius were locked in a tight battle until about midway through the second half where Monmouth opened the game up. Although Canisius would make a late push and give Monmouth scare, the Hawks continued their incredibly strong play and were able to close out the game effectively.
Arguably the hottest team in the MAAC, Monmouth draws the unfortunate task of facing the pride of the MAAC, Iona, in the finals. An extremely well-rounded team, Monmouth saw big nights from multiple contributors and will need more of the same in the finals against a very good Gaels team.
MAAC Tournament Quarterfinal Results
Iona vs Saint Peter’s MAAC Tournament Result
In what is becoming a theme in the 2019 MAAC Tournament, Iona and Saint Peter’s took their quarterfinal matchup down to the wire. Tajuan Agee, E.J. Crawford, and Rickey McGill were the only weapons that Iona had going, but would turn out to be all that it needed. After a back and forth game, Iona would survive the last second scare to stay alive.
With the win, Iona advances to the semi-finals of the MAAC Tournament for the fourth consecutive year. Further establishing their postseason dominance in the MAAC, Iona looks to win yet another MAAC Tournament championship. They face the winner of tomorrow’s Rider vs Siena matchup.
Canisius vs Manhattan MAAC Tournament Result
In yet another MAAC showdown that went down to the wire, Canisius survived an overtime scare from Manhattan. Despite Manhattan mounting a late comeback effort, Canisius was able to hold off the run and pick up a win in overtime.
Media (8:15) | Cap + Williams = Canisius TO
Manhattan leads 19-9 with 8:15 to play until halftime.
Although the matchup was close enough to require some “free basketball”, Canisius showcased why they have been the better team this season. Despite Canisius moving on in the tournament, they get to face the winner of Quinnipiac vs Monmouth in what should be another close affair.
Quinnipiac vs Monmouth MAAC Tournament Result
Quinnipiac and Monmouth was another tightly contested matchup until late in the fourth quarter when Monmouth pulled away to force the upset. Behind an extremely well-balanced offensive effort, the Hawks were able to withstand monster nights from Cameron Young and Jacob Rigoni en route to the win.
YOU. ARE. NOT. SERIOUS.
What a pass. What a finish. And the foul!
MU up 78-71 with 7:36 to go.
Monmouth now heads into the MAAC semi-finals with a very realistic chance to win the conference tournament despite a regular season record of 11-20. With a winnable matchup against Canisius looming, Monmouth seems to have become the darlings of the 2019 MAAC basketball tournament.
Rider vs Siena MAAC Tournament Result
Rider and Siena faced off as the only matchup in which both teams were making their conference tournament debut. Once again, like nearly every other game in the MAAC tournament, the two teams were locked in a heated battle for the majority of the game until Siena was able to pull away on the back of big defensive stops late.
🔥🔥🔥
That’s a career-high tying 15th point for Seymour!
Powered by the 1⃣1⃣ threes, the #SienaSaints lead 49-45 with 11:37 to go
Senior Evan Fischer led the way for the Saints and gave them a very efficient 22 points on just 11 shots from the field. Siena now gets the pleasure of facing the number one ranked Iona Gaels in the semifinals with a chance to play for an NCAA tournament bid on the line.