NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men’s basketball team used a balanced attack and led wire-to-wire in an 87-62 win over Hofstra in non-conference action at the Hynes Center. Four Gaels (8-5) tallied double-digit point totals and juniors Mike Glover (Bronx, NY) and Scott Machado (Queens, NY) posted double-doubles as the Maroon & Gold snapped their two-game losing streak with the victory over the Pride (7-5).
Hofstra rebounded from an early 5-0 deficit and knotted the score at both 11 and 13 just over nine minutes into the contest. The Gaels jumped out to a 15-2 run including 10 straight points to take a 28-15 advantage at the 6:24 mark of the first half. The Pride would not get within nine points the rest of the way.
Sophomore Kyle Smyth’s three-pointer at 17:03 in the second put Iona ahead 50-30. Senior Alejo Rodriguez (New York, NY) gave the squad its largest lead of the contest with 1:45 left and an 85-60 advantage.
Machado had the most impressive numbers in the Gaels’ convincing win with 17 points and 11 assists. He missed recording only the second triple-double in school history by just one rebound. It was his fifth double-double of the year. He leads the nation with 8.3 assists per contest and has averaged nearly 10 per game in his last nine appearances.
Glover 16 points and 12 rebounds in his eighth-straight double-double. Smyth was 5-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in his 16-point effort. Rodriguez did not miss a field goal (6-for-6) and converted 3-of-4 from the free throw line and had a season-best 15 points. Junior Jermel Jenkins (Union, NJ) came off the bench to score nine points. Sophomore Chris Pelcher (Albany, NY) had seven points, three rebounds and two assists in 10 minutes in relief of Rodriguez.
Two unsung heroes for the Maroon & Gold were senior Rashon Dwight (Newark, NJ) and junior Trinity Fields (Queens, NY). Dwight was 3-for-3 from the field with two electrifying dunks. He had seven points with five assists and four steals. Dwight earned the start for the first time since the third contest of the season.
While Fields did not get on the scoreboard, he was instrumental in keeping the Pride’s leading scorer, Charles Jenkins, out of the scoring column for much of his 12 minutes. Jenkins recorded just a single field goal while Fields was on the floor. He had a team-best 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting for the night.
Junior guard Mike Moore had 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds in support of Jenkins.
The Gaels shot a season-high 61.1% from the field and eclipsed 60% for a game for the first time since the 2007-08 regular season finale at the Hynes Center vs. Manhattan on Mar. 2, 2008. Iona outscored Hofstra 48-20 in the paint and 17-8 off turnovers. The Maroon & Gold eclipsed 20 assists for the seventh time this season and seventh time in the last nine contests with 22. The squad committed just nine turnovers for the second straight contest.
Iona returns to action on Monday (Jan. 3) when they travel to the Times Union Center to face Siena. The Gaels will look to snap a nine-game losing skid against the Saints when they take the floor in Albany next week.
VIDEO HERE: Iona Men’s Basketball vs. Hofstra – Post Game (12/29/10)
–ICGAELS.COM–