Monmouth lost Monday’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game to Iona, 79-76, sending the Gaels to the NCAA Tournament while costing the Hawks an automatic bid.
Advertisement
But Quinnipiac came up short, falling to Iona 57-41 on Sunday afternoon at the Times Union Center in Albany. If the Gaels plan on making it past the first round of the NCAA tournament, English and his 22.4 PPG average (No. 10 in the country) will need to cash in a big performance.
That’s the fate that awaits Monmouth after losing to Iona in a nail biter in the MAAC championship game. The MAAC has gotten multiple bids a few times before, most recently in 2012, and it will be interesting to see what happens with the selection committee this year.
Oh, yeah, and the two teams got into a fight the first time they played each other. Hornbeak and Micah Seaborn hit 5-of-6 attempts, giving the Hawks a 34-30 halftime lead. Monmouth didn’t give up, pulling to within one point after two Chris Brady free throws with just over 20 seconds remaining. “With the year they had, I expect them to get in”. That or just make a ton of shots, which they are capable of doing.
Cameras have been trained on Monmouth’s bench mob all season, so the Hawks should be prepared for all the attention coming their way on Sunday evening. Because of that, the Hawks will now have to wait for six days to find out if they get to go dancing.
Robinson (14 points, 1-of-6 on 3-pointers) tied the game at 71 with 2:08, but English hit a fadeaway jumper to take back the lead with 1:39 to play. Jordan Washington had a double-double for the Gaels as well with 15 points and 13 rebounds. The Gaels, who have won a league-record nine MAAC Tournament titles since 1982, were defeated by Manhattan in the title game in each of the past two seasons.
However, if the Hawks lost the final to an Iona team they split two games with during the season, on paper, at least, they should still have done enough to deserve a bid.
Tempers flared on both sides after Monmouth handed the Gaels a 110-102 loss in New Rochelle and players tussled while going through the postgame handshake line. Non-conference wins over UCLA, USC, Notre Dame and Georgetown highlight their résumé and all of those wins came either on the road or at a neutral site.
Monmouth coach King Rice then walked off the court blowing kisses to the home crowd.
ST. JOHN’S 75, No. 18 DEPAUL 66 (at Chicago) – Aliyyah Handford scored 18 of her 23 points in the second half, Danaejah Grant had 22 points with 10 rebounds and the No. 4 seed Red Storm (22-9) beat the Blue Demons (25-8) in the Big East tournament semifinals.
Advertisement
Notable stat: 860. Under Cluess, Iona has been renowned for their addiction to 3-pointers, and this team is no different (although, a bit less inclined than the past). Unlike that game, the Bobcats were missing leading scorer Maria Napolitano on Monday.
