MAAC Monday returns today with another dual spotlight before quick hits from around the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, plus updated stat leaders and power rankings. Once again, Pete Janny helps with one of the in-depth team profiles, taking a closer look at undefeated Saint Peter’s after he was on hand Sunday to see the Peacocks improve to 5-0 in league play after a comfortable victory at Manhattan. After that, Mount St. Mary’s gets its moment in the sun following a loss to Iona that proves the retooling in the southernmost MAAC locker room remains unfinished, despite positive signs that a breakthrough is imminent. Without any further ado, we shed some further light on an unlikely leader through the first quarter of the conference season.
Over the full 40 minutes of a conference game, there are moments where the execution simply is not stylish or aesthetically pleasing. However, coming out of the fire with a win still means the same every time, no matter what it takes. After beating Manhattan 81-68 on Sunday, Saint Peter’s now has five MAAC wins without having been solved by any of its counterparts just yet.
It felt all along Sunday that the Peacocks’ winning streak would not be snapped by a Manhattan team that has been unable to find many answers of its own amid injury setbacks. The Peacocks jumped out to a 34-17 lead by the 4:51 mark of the first half and did so by a variety of contributions, but were mainly sparked by Armoni Zeigler and Roy Clarke.
Zeigler, who averages 6.5 points per game, seemed to fly under the radar against a Jasper outfit that looked startled at times by the faster pace Saint Peter’s played at. By creating a few Manhattan turnovers early, the Peacocks found chances to run and did not shackle themselves to the 331st-fastest pace in America, staked out by their 65.5 possessions per game. Zeigler found success early on by getting into the paint and finishing around the rim. He opened the second half with a highlight reel-worthy alley-oop on a feed from Latrell Reid, but the full sample of his stellar performance was overshadowed by a scary scene that unfolded when he fell hard on a fast break at the 12:05 mark.
The injury was non-contact and Zeigler was unable to walk off under his own power. No report was relayed by the team yet. The freshman guard has a total of four starts to his name this season and was still able to match his career-high of 14 points which he set in the win over Iona last weekend.
Clarke has been making the most of his uptick in minutes. After playing more than 20 minutes in just one of the first nine games, Clarke has been all over the floor the last four games, averaging 28.5 minutes during that stretch. He connected on his first two shots, including a three-pointer, that helped set the tone offensively for the Peacocks. Clarke compiled a career-high 15 points to complement 17 points from leading scorer Corey Washington.
“Every night, a different guy is stepping up for us, and today, Roy was our guy,” said head coach Bashir Mason. “I’m happy he stepped in and played the way he played.”
With or without Zeigler, Saint Peter’s will continue to welcome different guys such as Clarke stepping up on any given night. The Peacocks are winning without an offensive star, even though Washington looks like he could be waiting in the wings for that role as he continues to develop as a sophomore. On Sunday, Washington was clutch yet again, including when he knocked down a three with 3:52 left that pushed the lead to 72-55.
That felt like the knockout punch in a lot of ways, as Manhattan was left without Daniel Rouzan for the final 9:51 due to cramps. Rouzan scored a career-high 22 points and pushed the frontcourt combination of Mouhamed Sow and Stephon Roberts into uncomfortable spots. That tandem will not always set the earth on fire offensively, but once again, Saint Peter’s showed it had enough scoring options en route to scoring a season-high 81 points.
Latrell Reid will never be the best shooter on the floor when he plays, but there is a good chance he is both the most unselfish and hard-nosed player. Reid is the heart and soul of a Peacock press that forces opponents into 13.8 turnovers per game, 69th-best in the country. After dishing out five assists in the first half, Reid was on the receiving end of a hard pick set by Logan Padgett that appeared to knock the wind out of him. While Reid was sprawled out on the floor in pain, his teammates gathered around him anticipating him to get up. He played all but three minutes in the game.
“When he went down at halftime, there was no doubt in my mind that he would get back up,” Mason said. “We know what he means to us and our team. If it ain’t broken, he’s going to play hard.”
Manhattan closed the first half on a 11-0 run and cut the deficit to two points early in the first half. Saint Peter’s would never fold, leaning on each other while Mason let his pupils play freely and out of their slump.
“When they did cut it to two, there was a timeout to follow,” Mason shared. “I sat in the timeout quietly and I heard my guys talk back and forth about what we should do. That was a proud moment for me as a coach, and then we went out and executed.”
Five games in, Saint Peter’s makes a better case than any MAAC team about why it’s their time in a year with no apparent powerhouse.
“We are five games into a 20-game conference season, and are a long way away,” Mason said. “Just like everybody else, we felt like the league was wide open and everybody’s trying to put their best foot forward to win as many games as possible.”
***
Mount St. Mary’s stands 2-3 through the first quarter of MAAC play this season, but a closer look at the slate the Mountaineers have played so far this season indicates that with the right bounces, Dan Engelstad could be in charge of a 4-1 group at this point.
An overtime loss at Manhattan and six-point setback at Saint Peter’s loom large in the results for The Mount, who has balanced youth and experience rather deftly despite its 6-10 overall mark. But it has been the inability to close games out away from Knott Arena that has been the bugaboo for the new kid on the MAAC block through the first part of its sophomore league campaign.
“We are where we are right now,” Engelstad assessed after an 87-70 loss at Iona Sunday afternoon. “We have a lot of reevaluating of where we’re going as a basketball team and getting right. We’ve got opportunities ahead of us and I still believe this team has the talent to be successful in this conference. We’ve won our games at home, but to be a competitor in the MAAC, you’ve gotta find ways to win games on the road. That’s part of our next step and maturation, and hopefully we can get there.”
“The biggest thing we’ve got to do is just keep playing with heart, intentionality and focus on the little details,” Dola Adebayo added in an interview with Adam Pohl on The Mount’s radio broadcast. That’s what’s going to win us games. We’ve just got to keep carrying on.”
Adebayo has been one of the role players Engelstad had hoped to see great things from this season, as the redshirt sophomore has seen his role increase each time on the floor after fighting to just get in shape during his redshirt season. The big man worked with associate head coach Will Holland on his body, and with Jedy Cordilia in foul trouble at various points this season, has stepped up to become a valuable rim protector while The Mount continues to get contributions from the likes of George Tinsley, Franta Barton and Josh Reaves up front.
“It’s been a daily grind,” Adebayo said of his journey. “I’m just trying to build confidence each and every game, but that year really helped me. It was really a battle against my body and against my mind. My freshman year redshirting, I came in at 185 (pounds) and that was mostly a battle with my body. The next year, when I started getting some playing time, I just had to learn as each game went on.”
“I’ve been pretty good at (protecting the rim) since high school, and I take great pride in that. If a guard gets beat, they can have faith that I’m going to be there.”
Engelstad needs all the help he can get for his program, especially after days like Sunday when leading scorer Dakota Leffew was shut out for the final 15 minutes of regulation and the Mountaineers were unable to find a consistent scoring option against Iona’s pressure. Still, the sixth-year coach remains optimistic in his team’s ability to find its groove.
“Dakota is in a new position this year where every scout,” he said. “Everybody’s on top of him, and we need him to continue to be aggressive down the stretch of games. Our guys have to be able to make the right reads and decisions to help that happen.”
“Franta has been out the last couple games, so we’re getting him back into the mix, and then we’re going to need Dola. We went into the season thinking our frontcourt was going to be a strength, and I still believe that. We’re not there yet, but we’ve gotta keep getting better.”
The sensational efforts from De’Shayne Montgomery through the first two months of his rookie season have bridged the gap in ways few expected, but The Mount staff had always envisioned. Montgomery, who blossomed at Hargrave Military Academy before taking his talents to Emmitsburg, has been among the top freshmen in the MAAC this season, and despite a recent lull, is being counted on to produce at a high level to finish the year strong.
“He’s hit a little bit of a rough patch right now,” Engelstad admitted. “We know De’Shayne is super talented. We need him to be on the attack. It was good to see the six assists (Sunday) because teams are taking away his drive. He’s had a couple tough games, but with what he’s done in the preseason, he’s gotta step it up for us. We need another offensive weapon and we need another guy who can score the basketball. We know De’Shayne’s capable. He’s hit kind of that freshman wall, but we need him to break through it, get to the other side and help us win some games down the stretch.”
Mount St. Mary’s returns home for a pair of games next weekend against fellow middle-tier MAAC teams Marist and Niagara, a stretch that could dictate where The Mount enters the pivotal stretch run. For Engelstad, the return to friendly confines is embraced by what he hopes will be a weekend where his outfit gets back to basics and taps into a well he knows can remain smooth and efficient when it matters most.
“We’ve gotta fix some things structurally to get to where we’re capable of,” he conceded. “We’ve seen it in pockets this year. We can be a very exciting basketball team, we have some really exciting young talent and we’ve got some veterans who know how to play, but we’re not playing to our ability right now.”
Quick Hits Around the MAAC
“I think he brought us energy and a bit more determination that we need from him. We’ve got a long way to go, and he gave us a good effort.”
— Reggie Witherspoon on TJ Gadsden’s performance off the bench in Friday’s win over Siena
“We’ve just gotta stay positive. There’s always a next game, there’s always another opportunity. It only takes that one W to turn stuff around, so we’ve just gotta stay locked in and we’ve just gotta keep our heads up.”
— Sean Durugordon on Siena's struggles
“When it’s just Merv, it’s a tight game, but when everybody’s involved, then we start blowing the game out. It was an 18-point game, and that’s what we’ve gotta do from the start instead of just waiting for Merv to start it up for us.”
— T.J. Weeks on Rider needing consistent scoring alongside Mervin James
“The fact that we gave ourselves an opportunity to win playing that way offensively bodes well for us moving forward. There’s just things we’ve gotta clean up and get better.”
— John Dunne on Marist’s effort in Friday’s loss to Quinnipiac
“I think with my guys, sometimes I forget they’re freshmen because they’re pretty poised and they’re talented, they’re strong, they play hard. When you’re a freshman, sometimes you make freshman mistakes from time to time. But they’re gonna continue to get better and better, and now they’re starting to get a feel for what the league is all about. Every time we strap it up against somebody new, it’s just another opportunity for those guys to learn.”
— Dunne on Jadin Collins and Josh Pascarelli
“I think this is a conference that, this year, has never been more balanced. Road wins are precious. When I was a young coach a long time ago, I remember Bobby Cremins telling me, ‘Tommy, when you win on the road, it’s magic. It doesn’t matter what league you’re in.’ We really had to make a ton of adjustments in the second half because (Marist) had us locked down pretty good for a long stretch there.”
— Tom Pecora on Quinnipiac’s win at Marist
“As the game wore down, we wore down. We weren’t physical, there was very little resistance. I thought our effort, at times, was nowhere near up to standard that we want to set. I think shot selection hurt us (Sunday), I think that was a big issue.”
— Dan Engelstad on Mount St. Mary's second half Sunday at Iona
“We could be a real dangerous team. I think once you eliminate the miss a shot mindset, it’s no longer a thing. It’s too late to say, ‘15 new guys.’ We’ve just gotta play off the next play and understand how deadly we can be when we do hit shots.”
— Greg Gordon on what Iona can still become
“We’re definitely at the door. We’re definitely almost there in branding ourselves as Iona’s offense. I feel like we’re a team where if this guy’s got it going, we gotta get this guy going. We’re definitely trying to find our identity and stamp it.”
— Idan Tretout on a breakthrough in Iona’s offense
“We’ve been bothered by missing shots and bothered by plays throughout the year. I thought we looked a little mentally tougher (Sunday), so that was good.”
— Tobin Anderson on Iona’s effort Sunday
“This is one of those years where, Murphy’s Law. What can go wrong has gone wrong, but at the same time, it gives opportunities to other guys. I actually think when you build a program, you’re gonna have segments of a season like this.”
— John Gallagher’s assessment of Manhattan
“We gave no resistance. That set the tone. We never responded. A lack of toughness, a lack of being able to keep the ball in front, and guys who came off the bench had no understanding or idea of what we were doing. No one played well.”
— Kevin Baggett on Rider’s loss at Marist
Scoring Leaders
1) Mervin James, Rider (19.8 PPG)
2) Matt Balanc, Quinnipiac (18.5)
3) Dakota Leffew, Mount St. Mary’s (17.6)
4) Tre Dinkins, Canisius (15.9)
5) Siem Uijtendaal, Canisius (14.7)
6) Caleb Fields, Fairfield (14.1)
7) Brycen Goodine, Fairfield (13.9)
8) Corey Washington, Saint Peter’s (13.8)
9) Idan Tretout, Iona (13.4)
10) Shaquil Bender, Manhattan (13.1)
Rebounding Leaders
1) Frank Mitchell, Canisius (10.1 PPG)
2) Seydou Traore, Manhattan (9.1)
3) Harlan Obioha, Niagara (7.8)
4) Amarri Tice, Quinnipiac (7.3)
5) Mervin James, Rider (6.9)
6) Paul Otieno, Quinnipiac (6.4)
7) T.J. Weeks, Rider (6.4)
8) Michael Houge, Saint Peter’s (6.3)
9) Tariq Ingraham, Rider (6.2)
10) Giovanni Emejuru, Siena (6.1)
Assist Leaders
1) Savion Lewis, Quinnipiac (7.6 APG)
2) Jasper Floyd, Fairfield (4.6)
3) Jaden Winston, Manhattan (4.4)
4) Latrell Reid, Saint Peter’s (4.4)
5) Dakota Leffew, Mount St. Mary's (4.1)
6) Tre Dinkins, Canisius (3.9)
7) Zek Tekin, Siena (3.8)
8) Corey McKeithan, Rider (3.4)
9) Jadin Collins, Marist (3.2)
10) Dallas Hobbs, Mount St. Mary’s (3.2)
Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Paul Otieno, Quinnipiac (.610)
2) Max Allen, Marist (.588)
3) Frank Mitchell, Canisius (.584)
4) Harlan Obioha, Niagara (.566)
5) Greg Gordon, Iona (.564)
6) Jean Aranguren, Iona (.559)
7) Giovanni Emejuru, Siena (.550)
8) Daniel Rouzan, Manhattan (.538)
9) Bryce Okpoh, Canisius (.535)
10) De’Shayne Montgomery, Mount St. Mary’s (.532)
Free Throw Percentage Leaders
1) Jalen Leach, Fairfield (.946)
2) Matt Balanc, Quinnipiac (.909)
3) Roy Clarke, Saint Peter’s (.867)
T-4) Braxton Bayless, Niagara (.857)
T-4) TJ Gadsden, Canisius (.857)
6) Caleb Fields, Fairfield (.850)
7) Jasper Floyd, Fairfield (.844)
8) Jeremiah Quigley, Iona (.836)
9) Corey Washington, Saint Peter’s (.836)
10) Tre Dinkins, Canisius (.824)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Jean Aranguren, Iona (.515)
2) Brycen Goodine, Fairfield (.481)
3) Briggs McClain, Manhattan (.441)
4) Tre Dinkins, Canisius (.390)
5) Siem Uijtendaal, Canisius (.384)
6) Noah Harris, Marist (.383)
7) Matt Balanc, Quinnipiac (.376)
T-8) Luke Bumbalough, Niagara (.375)
T-8) Ahmad Henderson, Niagara (.375)
10) Caleb Fields, Fairfield (.374)
Steal Leaders
1) Jasper Floyd, Fairfield (2.4 SPG)
2) Joel Brown, Iona (2.1)
3) De’Shayne Montgomery, Mount St. Mary’s (2.1)
4) Jaden Winston, Manhattan (2.1)
5) Amarri Tice, Quinnipiac (1.9)
Blocked Shot Leaders
1) Killian Gribben, Siena (1.4 BPG)
2) Amarri Tice, Quinnipiac (1.3)
3) Seydou Traore, Manhattan (1.2)
4) Jaden Daughtry, Marist (1.1)
T-5) Michael Ojo, Siena (1.0)
T-5) Paul Otieno, Quinnipiac (1.0)
Power Rankings1) Saint Peter’s (9-5, 5-0 MAAC)
Last Week: 2
Last Game: Sunday 1/14 at Manhattan (W 81-68)
Next Game: Friday 1/19 at Fairfield, 7 p.m.
2) Quinnipiac (12-4, 4-1 MAAC)
Last Week: 3
Last Game: Friday 1/12 at Marist (W 66-55)
Next Game: Friday 1/19 at Siena, 7 p.m.
3) Fairfield (9-7, 3-2 MAAC)
Last Week: 1
Last Game: Friday 1/12 at Niagara (L 96-72)
Next Game: Monday 1/15 at Canisius, 12 p.m.
4) Marist (8-6, 3-2 MAAC)
Last Week: 4
Last Game: Sunday 1/14 vs. Rider (W 83-60)
Next Game: Friday 1/19 at Mount St. Mary’s, 7 p.m.
5) Niagara (7-8, 3-2 MAAC)
Last Week: 6
Last Game: Friday 1/12 vs. Fairfield (W 96-72)
Next Game: Monday 1/15 vs. Siena, 12 p.m.
6) Iona (7-9, 2-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 7
Last Game: Sunday 1/14 vs. Mount St. Mary’s (W 87-70)
Next Game: Friday 1/19 vs. Canisius, 7 p.m.
7) Mount St. Mary’s (6-10, 2-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 5
Last Game: Sunday 1/14 at Iona (L 87-70)
Next Game: Friday 1/19 vs. Marist, 7 p.m.
8) Canisius (7-8, 2-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 9
Last Game: Friday 1/12 vs. Siena (W 67-63)
Next Game: Monday 1/15 vs. Fairfield, 12 p.m.
9) Rider (5-12, 2-4 MAAC)
Last Week: 8
Last Game: Sunday 1/14 at Marist (L 83-60)
Next Game: Friday 1/19 vs. Niagara, 7 p.m.
10) Manhattan (4-11, 1-5 MAAC)
Last Week: 10
Last Game: Sunday 1/14 vs. Saint Peter’s (L 81-68)
Next Game: Sunday 1/21 vs. Fairfield, 2 p.m.
11) Siena (2-13, 1-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 11
Last Game: Friday 1/12 at Canisius (L 67-63)
Next Game: Monday 1/15 at Niagara, 12 p.m.
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