HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t). Up next is the Metro Atlantic Tournament, in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The Iona Gaels has come into the season winning four consecutive conference tournament titles, but with head coach Tim Cluess sidelined with health issues that led to his retirement, the Gaels were the 7-seed and had already been eliminated on Wednesday evening by 2-seed St. Peter’s. Top-seed Siena had also already advanced to the semifinals, but two more quarterfinals were on tap for Thursday. Let’s see what would have happened in them and the rest of the event!
METRO ATLANTIC QUARTERFINALS
With the top two seeds, Siena and St. Peter’s, already having advanced to Friday’s semifinals, the final two quarterfinals were set to be played on Thursday of Championship Week in the Metro Atlantic. Up first, was 4-seed Monmouth taking on 5-seed Quinnipiac. Monmouth, who had led the conference standings at points this season, did not appear ready for the Bobcats, as they fell down by 12 at halftime and were unable to make any serious second half run. Quinnipiac advanced by a final score of 84-70, thanks to 21 points from Rich Kelly and 15 points and 15 boards from Kevin Marfo.
In the final quarterfinal, 6-seed Niagara gave 3-seed Rider all the could take and more. Although the Rider Broncs had opened a 9-point lead at halftime, the Purple Eagles, led by 15 points from Marcus Hammond, came storming back in the second. Hammond’s 3-pointer with 21 seconds left cut the lead to 1, and after the Broncs only made 1 of 2 free throws, Niagara had a couple of chance to tie or take the lead. However, one shot missed and the final possession ended in a turnover, leading to a 2-point win for Rider, 69-67.
METRO ATLANTIC SEMIFINALS
The first semifinal of the day gave us an amazing thriller, as 5-seed Quinnipiac and 1-seed Siena squared off for a spot in the MAAC Championship game. Quinnipiac extended a 3-point halftime lead out to 10 early in the second, but Siena was not done. The Saints fought back and were finally able to tie the game with just under 2 minutes left to play. A pair of free throw’s by Siena’s Elijah Burns gave the Saints a 71-70 lead with 33 seconds to play, but Quinnipiac looked poised to steal the win when Aaron Falzon sunk a jumper with 6 seconds left on the clock to put the Bobcats up 72-71. It was then Don Carey’s chance to play hero, as his three-pointer at the buzzer found nothing but net and his Siena teammates mobbed him on the floor, celebrating a buzzer-beating 74-72 victory.
The second semifinal was a battle between two New Jersey schools, 2-seed Saint Peter’s and 3-seed Rider. The Peacocks built an early lead which they took into the halftime break, but the second half was all about Rider. The Broncs, led by 16 points from Frederick Scott and a double-double from Tyere Marshall, won 77-67 to set up a matchup with Siena in the championship game.
METRO ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP
Siena entered the MAAC title game fresh off of their amazing buzzer-beater semifinal win over Quinnipiac. It was likely the momentum from that victory that saw them get off to a great start in this one, building a 20-9 advantage early and coasting to a 43-28 halftime lead. Rider had one last run left, however, as the Broncs fought had enough to close the game down to a single possession in the final minute. They did not have quite enough left to get over the top, and when the final horn sounded, the Siena Saints, a team that had been unable, during five years of hosting the MAAC Tournament in Albany, to capture a single championship, were cutting down the nets in Atlantic City and on their way to the Big Dance for the first time in a decade.
