ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (Mar. 9, 2022) – The opening round of the 2022 Hercules Tires Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s Basketball Championship at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall tipped off on Tuesday night with three games. Two of the lower seeded squads earned victories, headlined by No.11 Quinnipiac University and No. 9 Rider University, while No. 7 Fairfield University also advanced.
No. 9 Rider – 79 | No. 8 Manhattan – 67
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Stats
The men’s session got rolling with Rider taking down Manhattan 79-67. It was all Broncs as Rider led for all but one minute in the game, holding a lead as large as 17 and staying ahead by double digits for the final 17:22. Rider’s starting unit combined to score 78 points and all five starters scored in double figures. Dimencio Vaughn led the Broncs with a team-high 20 points, followed by 16 points each from Mervin James and Allen Powell, a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double by Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson, and 11 points from Dwight Murray. Manhattan’s Jose Perez led all scorers with 21 points and Josh Roberts added 10 for the Jaspers. Rider makes its 15th straight trip to the quarterfinals, having appeared in the round every season dating back to 2007. The Broncs will have a date with top-seeded Iona on Wednesday, March 9 at 7pm.
No. 7 Fairfield – 72 | No. 10 Canisius – 50
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Stats
Fairfield cruised to a 72-50 victory over Canisius in the opening round of the championship. The Stags posted a near wire-to-wire win, only trailing once in the early goings and leading for a total of 36 minutes. Fairfield used efficient offense, shooting 45.6 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from beyond the arc. Jesus Cruz paced the Stags with his game-high 19 points, followed by 15 points from Taj Benning and 10 by Caleb Green. Canisius was led by Akrum Ahemed’s nine points. Last season’s runner-up, the Stags make it back-to-back quarterfinal trips. Fairfield will play No. 2 Saint Peter’s next on March 9 with a 9:30pm tip.
No. 11 Quinnipiac – 77 | No. 6 Marist – 52
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Stats
No. 11 Quinnipiac upset No. 6 Marist, 77-52 in the final contest of the opening round. The Bobcats become the fourth 11 seed in the men’s field in MAAC history to advance pass the opening round, joining Rider (2021), Marist (2015), and Niagara (2014). Quinnipiac shot lights out from deep, connecting on 48.6 percent of its three-pointers and making a season-high 17 triples. Engineering the Bobcat’s scoring was Jacob Rigoni, posting a game-high 26 points off of 7-for-11 shooting from long range. Dezi Jones joined him with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double and Matt Balanc added 18 points in the win. A trio of Red Foxes surpassed double figures, with Ricardo Wright scoring 14 points, Jordan Jones adding 12 and Raheim Sullivan contributing 10 points. The Bobcats are back in the quarters for the first time since 2020. Quinnipiac will meet No. 3 Siena on Thursday, March 10 and 7pm in the quarterfinal round. Quinnipiac’s win paired with No. 11 seeded Canisius’ upset over Monmouth on the women’s side earlier in the day, marks the first time in conference history that both 11 seeds advanced to the quarterfinal round during the same championships.
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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) is in its 41st year of competition during the 2021-22 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.
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