MAAC Monday: Battle of the Bridge primer, stat leaders, power rankings

By Jaden Daly (@jadendaly) and Vincent Simone (@VTSimone)

MAAC Monday returns today with its usual updated list of stat leaders and power rankings within the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, but with a different twist to lead things off. With no game on the schedule until Wednesday's Battle of the Bridge between Canisius and Niagara, we'll devote the opening segment to the two Western New York programs, which normally don't get enough of a spotlight in our New York metropolitan area base.

Winners of three straight and in an upward groove after a decidedly difficult non-conference schedule, Canisius enters its crosstown showdown with its oldest and fiercest rival in second place in the MAAC standings, the Golden Griffins' 5-2 record one game back of first-place Rider and a half-game clear of the third-place tie between Iona and Quinnipiac. Junior Isaiah Reese has not lit up the scoreboard as much as he did a year ago, but the Preseason Player of the Year in the conference continues to make an impact when the basketball is not in his hands, ranking within the top ten in both rebounds and assists per game, with teammate Malik Johnson also placing among the league leaders in the latter category. Takal Molson, the MAAC's Rookie of the Year last season, is fifth in the conference in scoring, and seems to have taken a greater leap forward after testing the NBA Draft waters last summer. As is usually the case with Reggie Witherspoon's teams, there is usually one player to come up and become a major contributor, and this year's iteration of such a role belongs to Scott Hitchon. Recruited by Siena before signing with the Griffs, the Canadian sophomore is averaging eight points per game in his first season as a starter, but shooting an efficient 49 percent from the floor to provide an underrated boost to a potent lineup that becomes even stronger with Jibreel Faulkner and Jonathan Sanks combining to average nearly 13 points per game off the bench.

Chris Casey and Niagara may not have gotten off to the start that both the coach and players desired to begin MAAC play, but the Purple Eagles are firmly positioned in the mix for what would be a second consecutive first-round bye in Albany. Losing Matt Scott and Kahlil Dukes was going to be hard for any team to overcome, but in the absence of the two seniors, Marvin Prochet has stepped up to become the first team all-MAAC talent Casey believed the senior big man could be entering the year. With averages of nearly 18 points and eight rebounds per contest, Prochet is in the top three of both categories among MAAC leaders, while point guard James Towns has stepped into the shoes vacated by Dukes without missing a beat. Towns' four assists per game rank fifth in the MAAC, and his scoring average is just outside the top ten, with teammate Dominic Robb making a case for MAAC Defensive Player of the Year honors by virtue of his commanding lead in blocked shots and near-six-rebound-per-game average. Niagara's bench needs to be more productive if the Purple Eagles are to threaten the top of the leaderboard, but in a season where there were more question marks than solutions, it seems to be coming together at the right time on Monteagle Ridge.

Scoring Leaders
1) Cameron Young, Quinnipiac (20.8 PPG)
2) Davauhnte Turner, Saint Peter's (18.1)
3) Marvin Prochet, Niagara (17.8)
4) E.J. Crawford, Iona (17.4)
5) Takal Molson, Canisius (16.7)
6) Rickey McGill, Iona (15.9)
7) Evan Fisher, Siena (15.7)
8) Jalen Pickett, Siena (15.3)
9) Brian Parker, Marist (15.0)
10) Asante Gist, Iona (12.7)

Rebounding Leaders
1) Jonathan Kasibabu, Fairfield (8.0 RPG)
2) Marvin Prochet, Niagara (7.9)
3) Tajuan Agee, Iona (7.2)
4) Evan Fisher, Siena (6.5)
5) Tyere Marshall, Rider (6.3)
6) Isaiah Reese, Canisius (6.0)
7) Frederick Scott, Rider (5.9)
8) Dominic Robb, Niagara (5.8)
9) Kevin Degnan, Siena (5.7)
10) Quinn Taylor, Saint Peter's (5.6)

Assist Leaders
1) Jalen Pickett, Siena (6.8 APG)
2) Rickey McGill, Iona (5.3)
3) Isaiah Reese, Canisius (4.6)
4) Stevie Jordan, Rider (4.4)
5) James Towns, Niagara (4.0)
6) Brian Parker, Marist (3.6)
7) Malik Johnson, Canisius (3.3)
8) Neftali Alvarez, Fairfield (3.3)
9) Davauhnte Turner, Saint Peter's (2.9)
T-10) Aidas Kavaliauskas, Fairfield (2.9)
T-10) Kimar Williams, Rider (2.9)

Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Jonathan Kasibabu, Fairfield (.596)
2) Samuel Idowu, Saint Peter's (.531)
3) Warren Williams, Manhattan (.528)
4) Dominic Robb, Niagara (.521)
5) Evan Fisher, Siena (.515)
6) Stevie Jordan, Rider (.506)
7) E.J. Crawford, Iona (.502)
8) Rickey McGill, Iona (.495)
9) Frederick Scott, Rider (.491)
10) Jesus Cruz, Fairfield (.481)

Free Throw Percentage Leaders
1) James Towns, Niagara (.827)
2) Deion Hammond, Monmouth (.824)
3) E.J. Crawford, Iona (.805)
4) Davauhnte Turner, Saint Peter's (.802)
5) Quinn Taylor, Saint Peter's (.779)
6) Rickey McGill, Iona (.769)
7) Cameron Young, Quinnipiac (.768)
8) Asante Gist, Iona (.746)
9) Ray Salnave, Monmouth (.744)
10) Takal Molson, Canisius (.726)

Three-Point Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Marvin Prochet, Niagara (.471)
2) Kevin Degnan, Siena (.434)
3) David Knudsen, Marist (.434)
4) Rich Kelly, Quinnipiac (.433)
5) Landon Taliaferro, Fairfield (.428)
6) Cameron Young, Quinnipiac (.423)
7) Isaiah Lamb, Marist (.422)
8) Ben Perez, Iona (.400)
T-9) JIbreel Faulkner, Canisius (.396)
T-9) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (.396)

Steal Leaders
1) Rickey McGill, Iona (2.3 SPG)
2) Jalen Pickett, Siena (2.2)
3) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (2.1)
4) Stevie Jordan, Rider (1.8)
5) Nick Rutherford, Monmouth (1.8)

Blocked Shot Leaders
1) Dominic Robb, Niagara (2.4 BPG)
2) Samuel Idowu, Saint Peter's (1.5)
3) KC Ndefo, Saint Peter's (1.1)
4) Kevin Degnan, Siena (0.8)
5) Niksa Nikolic, Iona (0.8)

Power Rankings
1) Rider (11-8, 6-1 MAAC)
Last Week: 1
Last Game: Sunday 1/27 vs. Marist (W 86-85)
Next Game: Thursday 1/31 vs. Saint Peter's, 7 p.m.

2) Canisius (8-11, 5-2 MAAC)
Last Week: 4
Last Game: Thursday 1/24 vs. Monmouth (W 80-66)
Next Game: Wednesday 1/30 at Niagara, 7 p.m.

T-3) Iona (7-12, 5-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 3
Last Game: Sunday 1/27 at Fairfield (L 80-68)
Next Game: Thursday 1/31 at Marist, 7 p.m.

T-3) Quinnipiac (10-9, 5-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 5
Last Game: Sunday 1/27 vs. Saint Peter's (W 77-58)
Next Game: Friday 2/1 at Canisius, 7 p.m.

5) Monmouth (6-16, 5-4 MAAC)
Last Week: 2
Last Game: Saturday 1/26 at Niagara (L 75-48)
Next Game: Thursday 1/31 vs. Siena, 7 p.m.

6) Siena (9-11, 4-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 6
Last Game: Saturday 1/26 vs. Manhattan (W 53-40)
Next Game: Thursday 1/31 at Monmouth, 7 p.m.

7) Fairfield (6-15, 3-6 MAAC)
Last Week: 8
Last Game: Sunday 1/27 vs. Iona (W 80-68)
Next Game: Thursday 1/31 at Manhattan, 7 p.m.

8) Niagara (10-11, 3-5 MAAC)
Last Week: 7
Last Game: Saturday 1/26 vs. Monmouth (L 75-48)
Next Game: Wednesday 1/30 vs. Canisius, 7 p.m.

9) Saint Peter's (6-13, 3-4 MAAC)
Last Week: 9
Last Game: Sunday 1/27 at Quinnipiac (L 77-58)
Next Game: Thursday 1/31 at Rider, 7 p.m.

10) Marist (7-13, 2-6 MAAC)
Last Week: 10
Last Game: Sunday 1/27 at Rider (L 86-85)
Next Game: Thursday 1/31 vs. Iona, 7 p.m.

11) Manhattan (4-16, 2-6 MAAC)
Last Week: 11
Last Game: Saturday 1/26 at Siena (L 53-40)
Next Game: Thursday 1/31 vs. Fairfield, 7 p.m.