Iona and Fairfield to Meet in Men’s Basketball Championship Game
Atlantic City, N.J. (March 13, 2021) – The Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship matchup is now set. No. 9 Iona hung on to beat No. 5 Niagara to set up a championship matchup with No.7 Fairfield. Fairfield and No. 3 Saint Peter’s went back and forth in a defensive battle.
No. 9 Iona (11-5) - 70 | No. 5 Niagara (9-11) - 64
2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship – Semifinals
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | Atlantic City, NJ
Key Moments:
- With 19 points and five assists for the night, Iona’s Asante Gist was named the Tropicana Player of the Game.
- Nelly Junior Joseph closed out with 13 points and nine rebounds. It's his first double-digit scoring game of the MAAC Championship.
- Dylan van Eyck joined Gist and Joseph in double figures with 14 points on a perfect five of five shooting from the floor.
- Niagara's Raheem Solomon and Marcus Hammon lead the Purple Eagles comeback. Solomon finished with a season and game-high 21 points on 6-for-12 shooting. He also had a team-best eight rebounds. Hammon scored 11 points for the Purple Eagles and had five assists and five rebounds.
Notables:
- Iona becomes the first No. 9 seed in MAAC history to make the MAAC Championship game.
- The Gaels finished the game shooting 51.1% from the floor despite hitting only 29.4% in the second half.
- Niagara finished the season leading the MAAC in assist-to-turnover ratio, turnover margin, and fewest turnovers per game.
Up Next:
A matchup with No. 7 Fairfield for the Men’s MAAC Championship. The two teams split the season series with Iona taking the first matchup 70-42 and Fairfield taking the second of back to back games 67-52. The championship game will air at 4:00 p.m. on ESPNU.
No. 7 Fairfield (10-16) - 52| No. 3 Saint Peter’s (14-11) - 47
2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship – Semifinals
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | Atlantic City, NJ
Key Moments:
- With 14 points and four rebounds tonight, Fairfield’s Caleb Green was named the Tropicana Player of the Game. Green also played all 40 minutes in the contest.
- Fairfield had four different players in double figures. Green lead the way with 14, Jesus Cruz finished with 12, Jake Wojcik chipped in with 11 and Supreme Cook added 10.
- Saint Peter's used the three-point shot to establish an early advantage, netting three in the first four minutes of the game.
- The MAAC Men’s Defensive Player of the Year KC Ndefo had another stat stuffing night with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks.
Notables:
- KC Ndefo became the program's all-time leader in career blocked shots in the game, surpassing Ryan Bacon.
- Both teams shot under 30 percent from the field and from three.
- Fairfield has won four games in a row and seven out of their last 10.
- The Stags outscored Saint Peter’s 24-4 in Bench points.
Up Next:
A matchup with No. 9 Iona for the Men’s MAAC Championship. The two teams split the season series with Iona taking the first matchup 70-42 and Fairfield taking the second of back-to-back games 67-52. The championship game will air at 4:00 p.m. on ESPNU.
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. 5 Niagara vs No. 9 Iona |
March 12 |
5:30 PM |
ESPNews |
| Semifinal |
Game 9 |
No. 3 Saint Peter’s vs. No. 7 Fairfield |
March 12 |
8:00 PM |
ESPNU |
| Championship |
Game 10 |
No. 7 Fairfield vs. No. 9 Iona |
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.