Iona and Fairfield Advance to the Men's MAAC Semifinals
Atlantic City, N.J. (March 11, 2021) – Iona comes from behind in the second half to take down the number one seed Siena in the Quarterfinals. Fairfield continues their strong tournament run with a win over the number two seed and regular season co-champion Monmouth to advance to the semifinals.
No. 9 Iona (10-5, 6-3) - 55 | No. 1 Siena (12-5, 12-4) - 52
2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship – Quarterfinals
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | Atlantic City, NJ
Key Moments:
- Isaiah Ross of Iona was named the Tropicana Player of the Game, Ross had 14 points and to go along with seven rebounds.
- Asante Gist lead the way scoring for the Gaels finishing with 16 points. The senior was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line.
- Berrick JeanLouis, made a huge impact on both sides of the court. He spent a majority of the game matching up primarily against Camper or Pickett and was able to have a game high five steals. JeanLouis also chipped in with 13 points.
- Nelly Junior Joseph had another solid game chipping in with a team-best eight rebounds and three assists.
- Jackson Stormo was the leading scorer for the Saints with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting. while First Team All-MAAC selection Jalen Pickett added 13 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
Notables:
- This is only the second time the No. 9 seed knocked off the No. 1 seed in the MAAC Tournament. The other time was in 2018 when Saint Peter’s knocked off then No.1 Rider.
- The Saints and Gaels have combined to win the past five MAAC Championships and 18 of the leagues 39 titles overall.
- Iona now improves to 11-0 against Siena in the MAAC Championship.
- The Gaels shot a season-worst 25.5% from the floor
Up Next:
Iona will take on the winner of No. 4 Marist and No.5 Niagara. The game will be on Friday, March 12
th at 6:00 p.m. on ESPNews
No. 7 Fairfield (9-16, 7-11) - 79 | No. 2 Monmouth (12-7, 12-6) - 60
2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship – Quarterfinals
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | Atlantic City, NJ
Key Moments:
- Taj Benning of Fairfield was named the Tropicana Player of the Game for his monster game of 24-points, 12-rebounds and 2 block.
- Nearly half of the Stags' offense and more than half of the team's rebounds came from Taj Benning and Supreme Cook, both of whom tallied double-doubles in the game.
- Benning surpassed the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season with his career-best 24 points and added a personal-best 12 rebounds in 37 minutes of work.
- Melik Martin was the only Monmouth student-athlete in double figures with 12 points, half of which came from behind the three-point arc.
Notables:
- The Stags defense held the Hawks to 60 points, only the fourth time in 20 games that Monmouth failed to reach 70 points in a game.
- Deion Hammond concludes the year with 1,615 points, good for fifth on the program's all-time scoring chart.
- By playing each other this evening, Monmouth and Fairfield became the only two teams to play every team in the MAAC this season.
Up Next:
Friday night, Fairfield will face off against the winner of No. 3 Saint Peter’s vs No. 11 Rider. The semifinal matchup will be Friday, March 12 at 8:30 p.m. on ESPNews.
See below for the upcoming schedule and matchups:
| Round |
Game |
Matchup |
Date |
Times |
Network |
| First Round |
Game 1 |
No. 6 Canisius vs No. 11 Rider |
March 8 |
7:00 PM |
ESPN+ |
| First Round |
Game 2 |
No. 8 Quinnipiac vs No. 9 Iona |
March 9 |
5:00 PM |
ESPN+ |
| First Round |
Game 3 |
No. 7 Fairfield vs. No. 10 Manhattan |
March 9 |
7:30 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 4 |
No. 1 Siena vs Game No. 9 Iona |
March 10 |
5:00 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 5 |
No. 2 Monmouth vs No. 7 Fairfield |
March 10 |
7:30 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 6 |
No. 3 Saint Peter’s vs No. 11 Rider |
March 11 |
5:00 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 7 |
No. 4 Marist vs No. 5 Niagara |
March 11 |
7:30 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Semifinal |
Game 8 |
No. 9 Iona vs Game 7 Winner |
March 12 |
6:00 PM |
ESPNews |
| Semifinal |
Game 9 |
No. 7 Fairfield vs Winner Game 6 |
March 12 |
8:30 PM |
ESPNews |
| Championship |
Game 10 |
Winner Game 8 vs Winner Game 9 |
March 13 |
4:00 PM. |
ESPNU |
About the 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships:
The MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships return to New Jersey on March 8-13, 2021 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. To stay up to date on MAAC basketball, visit
http://maacsports.com/basketball and follow
@MAACHoops on Twitter.
About Time Out for Black Lives
Time Out for Black Lives aims to inspire and educate youth, athletes, families and fans. The initiative has an interactive website where coaches and student-athletes from MAAC basketball programs contribute their time and resources to read children’s books in entertaining videos, all focusing on Black culture, history, music and myths. The program comes as part of the MAAC’s
United for Justice campaign that was announced over the summer. For more information, visit
timeoutforblacklives.com.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) celebrates its 40th year of competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.