MAAC basketball: Trends reversed in first day of 2020 tournament

Manhattan and Niagara buck trends to advance, Iona keeps MAAC basketball tournament streak alive.

Manhattan finally shuts down Taliaferro

Fairfield senior guard Landon Taliaferro had put up a total of 42 points in Fairfield’s two regular-season wins against the Jaspers this season, but in his final game of college basketball was held to only five as Manhattan downed the Stags 61-43 on Tuesday night. A tied game at half time, Manhattan took the lead for good on a 9-2 run early in the second frame.

Pauly Paulicap led everyone on the floor with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Fairfield’s anemic offense – which ranked dead-last this season in MAAC basketball and bottom-330 nationally in most offensive categories – was led by Taj Benning’s 10 points on 1-5 shooting from the floor.

Manhattan will take on regular-season champion Siena on Wednesday night in the quarter-finals.

Niagara figures out Marist in wild one, wins away from home

The last-place Foxes only won six times during their 20-game MAAC basketball schedule this season but swept Niagara in the two games the schools played. Niagara took the nightcap on Tuesday – which didn’t tip until 10:15 p.m. local time and was played until after midnight – 56-54, ending their struggles against bottom-seeded Marist.

In what was the closest of the three games on the first night of MAAC tournament action, neither team held a multi-possession lead aside from Niagara’s brief advantage of four late in the second half. The lead changed hands a total of 21 times before the game was won on a late layup from Raheem Solomon. Marcus Hammond, after drawing three Marist defenders, found Solomon underneath, who finished a contested look to put Niagara up with less than four seconds left. Marist did find a good shot as time expired, but a Michael Cubbage three-point attempt didn’t fall.

Marcus Hammond, who put up all- conference-worthy numbers in the regular season, led all scorers with 20, and 6-4 guard Marcus Cubbage grabbed nine rebounds for Marist. Niagara, who won only their third contest of the season away from Gallagher Center, will play three-seed Rider on Thursday.

Iona’s historic run continues

One trend that didn’t turn Tuesday was Iona’s success in the MAAC Tournament. The Gaels have won 13 straight games in this event dating back to the 2016 quarterfinals in Albany, and continued the streak with a 70-60 defeat of Canisius on Tuesday. The game remained close until Iona pulled away late thanks to a strong free-throw shooting performance. The Gaels scored 25 of their 70 points on the night from the charity stripe, missing only twice. They went 12-13 in the final two-plus minutes to seal the win against the Griffins.

Iona guards EJ Crawford and Isaiah Washington combined for 49 points in 74 minutes of play, hitting 14 of Iona’s 20 total field goals. Both were perfect from the free throw line, totalling 19 of their 49 from the line. Senior Corey Brown, who averaged less than five points per on the season, led Canisius with 16 points. He was a rebound shy of a double-double.

Iona moves on to face recently-named coach of the year Shaheen Holloway and second-seeded St. Peter’s.