Canisius, Rider tip off MAAC tournament Monday

Reggie Witherspoon and Canisius won six of eight to end regular season, entering MAAC tournament with momentum. (Photo by The Buffalo News)

For all the talk about how formidable Iona will be in this week’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament, another school just as dangerous exists seven hours to the northwest.

Canisius, winners of six of eight to end a regular season in which it had its own lengthy layoff — 42 days due to a COVID-19-induced pause in January — to throw an already wild season further off the rails, arrives in Atlantic City with momentum firmly on its side after a comeback victory over top seed Siena in Friday’s regular season finale.

“Obviously, the season has been very unique for everybody,” head coach Reggie Witherspoon assessed as the Golden Griffins open the MAAC tournament Monday as the sixth seed, taking on Rider with the winner to face a Saint Peter’s team the Griffs swept in January. “It’s been quite a challenge for us in that we’ve just played these 12 games, most of which were on the road. So it’s tough to get a gauge on how you’re doing because usually after 10 games, you’re just starting conference play.”

“It’s an extreme challenge. You can’t control it. One of the biggest struggles is you’re used to being able to solve some of the problems and issues that arise during the course of the season, and COVID does not fit in that category. I think we’ve only had six practices with no one missing for COVID reasons.”

What Witherspoon has solved, however, is how the program would succeed in the absence of four-year starting point guard Malik Johnson. Ahamadou Fofana has been a steady hand in the backcourt while Majesty Brandon and Malek Green have made an impact off the bench for a deceptively strong team, the latter of whom having cemented himself a favorite for Sixth Man of the Year honors. Regardless of who opens the game, however, each player is valued equally in the grand scheme of things.

“I’ve never been real big on the importance of who starts a basketball game, particularly in college,” Witherspoon reiterated. “In college, when the game starts, there’s 40 minutes left. It’s not like it’s a pitcher or quarterback. You’re going to make substitutions, so I’ve never been that big on it, and our players know that. You know you’re going to go to your bench, and you’d like to have some answers when you do go there.”

Kevin Baggett and Rider look to upset Canisius from No. 11 seed Monday. (Photo by The Trentonian)

On the other side of the court is Rider, a team who has endured its own struggle in getting a young roster seasoned after graduating a quartet of 1,000-point scorers. Despite only managing five wins in conference play, head coach Kevin Baggett remains satisfied and grateful for what he Broncs have been able to bring to the table.”

“Every win is big,” he conceded before citing the real fruits of the labor in Lawrenceville. “They’ve come few and far between, but our guys are getting better. They’re working hard. It hasn’t translated much to wins this year, but that doesn’t negate the fact that they’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do. They show up every day and give us everything they’ve got, so I’m appreciative of that.”

“Obviously we’d have loved to have won more games, but at this point, we’re just going at it game by game and trying to put our best foot forward.”

Incarnate Word transfer Dwight Murray, Jr., a first team all-MAAC contender, has been a revelation both on and off the ball for Rider this season, handling point guard duties with aplomb after Corey McKeithan, the initial successor to Stevie Jordan, went down in the offseason with a torn ACL. Alongside Murray, Dontrell McQuarter and Allen Powell have blossomed into second and third options, McQuarter being a junior college transfer and Powell a burgeoning sophomore with one of the more potent 3-point shots in the conference to validate the progression Baggett and his staff had been hoping for from one of the Broncs’ incumbent talents.

“It’s been great to see, because at the end of the day, it’s about trying to get the players who are in your program better, and he’s really worked hard at doing that,” Baggett said of Powell’s evolution. “It’s always good to see your freshmen take the next progression and the next step to their sophomore year, so he’s a kid that really works at it. He puts in the work every day, every morning before we get started in practice, and I think he’s benefiting from what he’s put into it.”

“I’m a big believer in you get out of it what you put into it, so we’re not surprised. He’s got the next three years because we get this year back, so we’re glad to have him in the program and we’re glad to see him developing the way we thought he would develop. I know we were going in the right direction, and it’s good to have Dontrell back, too. He’s a big part of what we do.”

Since the current MAAC tournament format was established in 2014, the No. 11 seed has only won twice in seven years, and not since 2015. Rider is more than capable, with its recent win against Saint Peter’s being proof positive, and Baggett has made clear that records and numbers can be thrown out the proverbial window heading into the postseason.

“I certainly hope we’re peaking now at the right time,” he projected. “It’s not a matter of who’s first and who’s last at this time, it’s a matter of who approaches the game the right way and does whatever the coaches are asking you to do in order to win. The players have to carry it out, and if we can do that, then we have a chance.”