CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

MAAC CHAMPIONSHIP

IONA 83, FAIRFIELD 71

scored Lewis ALBANY, on added a Monday career-high N.Y. 20, night and — 29 Roland Iona to points, capture beat Griffin Zach Fairfield the Metro Tournament Atlantic title Athletic for the third Conference consecutive time bid to to earn the the NCAA conference’s Tournament. automatic Iona (20-13), the No. 4 seed, extended its league record to 11 tournament titles. Fairfield (17-16), the No. 6 seed, had won seven games in a row and was seeking its fourth title. It was the first time since 2002 that the top three failed to make the semifinals, and the Gaels took advantage. They edged Saint Peter’s 65-62 in the semifinals. Fairfield beat Quinnipiac 74-64 in the other semifinal behind 21 points and 11 rebounds from Ferron Flavors Jr. and 19 points from Tyler Nelson. Griffin had 17 points in the first half and Lewis 13 as Iona took advantage of sloppy play by the Stags, scoring 10 points off their 10 turnovers. A layup by Jonathan Kasibabu completed a 10-4 run that narrowed the gap to 75-69 with a minute left, but the Gaels made four free throws in the final seconds. SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

UNCG 62, EAST TENN. ST. 47

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Jordy Kuiper and Demetrius Troy each scored 13 points, and UNC Greensboro pulled away from East Tennessee State to win the Southern Conference championship Monday night and earn its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2001.

James Dickey III dominated the paint in the second half and finished with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks for the Spartans, who avenged last year’s championship game loss to ETSU.

UNCG (27-7) prevailed despite a poor shooting night from leading scorer and tournament MVP Francis Alonso, who was held to six points on 2-of-11 shooting.

Jalan McLoud had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead ETSU (25-9).