Iona Takes Sole Possession of First Place in Men's Basketball
MAAC Sports
EDISON, N.J. – The Iona College Gaels notched two wins this past week to improve to 8-2 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play, and take sole possession of first place in the standings. New Jersey rivals, Rider and Monmouth, remain tied for second place with 7-3 league marks following the week.
The Gaels won both of their contests away from Hynes Athletic Center this past week, defeating Rider on the road, 78-68, on Thursday (Jan. 22) to gain sole possession of the top spot in the standings. Then, on Sunday (Jan. 25) at Madison Square Garden, the squad downed Niagara, 87-64. With both wins, Iona earned season sweeps over the two teams.
Quinnipiac also picked up two wins on the week, extending its win streak to three games and improving its record to an even 5-5 in conference action. The Bobcats were victorious against Saint Peter’s on Wednesday (Jan. 21), in a road contest earning the 63-55 win. On Friday during an ESPNU telecast, Quinnipiac knocked off Manhattan, 73-59, in front of a national audience in Hamden, Connecticut.
Monmouth and Rider kept pace in second place, winning one game each on the week. Rider bounced back after its loss to Iona by defeating Canisius, 59-46, on Saturday (Jan. 24) at home, while Monmouth topped Niagara, 69-58, at home on Friday (Jan. 23).
Canisius, Manhattan, Marist, Siena, and Saint Peter’s all tallied one win on the week, as well. Canisius beat Fairfield, 64-50, on Thursday (Jan. 22), and Manhattan defeated Monmouth, 71-64, on Sunday (Jan. 25). With the victories, both teams improved their league marks to 6-4 and find themselves in a tie for fourth place.
Siena’s win came on Jan. 23 against Marist (69-60) on its home court to move the Saints to 5-5 in the MAAC standings. Saint Peter’s won its Sunday (Jan. 25) contest at Siena, 69-55, for its fourth league win of the year, and Marist picked up its first conference victory of the season on Sunday (Jan. 25) at home versus Fairfield, 73-67, to close out the week.
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.