BRIDGEPORT, CT – The Iona College men’s basketball team cut a 14-point deficit with 4:53 remaining down to two with 25 seconds left, but could not get an equalizer in a 75-71 defeat to Fairfield in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard. The Gaels (13-10, 7-5 MAAC) scored more points than any other team this season against the Stags (18-4, 11-1 MAAC) in the loss.
Down 27-16 at the 4:09 mark, the Gaels used an 11-4 run to end the half to go into halftime with a 31-27 deficit. A transition layup by Trinity Fields (Queens, NY) at the buzzer off a Jermel Jenkins steal capped the late first half run.
Fairfield quickly got the lead back to double-digits with a 7-0 run to open the second frame. The Gaels climbed back to within four after senior Rashon Dwight (Newark, NY) sank three straight free throws with 17:08 to play. Ryan Olander’s three-point play at 14:48 gave the Stags a 47-38 advantage. Less than a minute and a half later, six straight points by Iona pushed the deficit to three points. Fairfield went on to score 17 of the next 23 points to take its largest lead of the half. Warren Edney’s baseline jumper at 7:24 put his team ahead 64-50 with 7:26 remaining. Still down 14, Iona scored six straight to make the score 68-60 with 2:39 to play. Jermel Jenkins (Union, NJ) steal and layup with 1:15 to play put the Gaels down by six. After a foul, the Stags converted 1-of-2 free throw attempts and a three-ball by freshman Sean Armand made it a four-point game with 38 seconds left. Fields turned Fairfield point guard Derek Needham over and converted a layup as Iona trailed by just two points with 25 ticks left. Fairfield again went 1-for-2 from the line but before the Gaels could get a game-tying three-point attempt, the Stags fouled to put Iona at the line. After a missed front-end of a one-and-one, the Gaels were forced to foul and Fairfield came away with the four-point win.
Junior Mike Glover (Bronx, NY) had 18 points and seven rebounds with two assists and two steals. Senior Alejo Rodriguez (New York, NY) came off the bench and tallied 12 points and eight boards. Freshman Sean Armand (Brooklyn, NY) added 11 while Dwight posted 10.
Fairfield’s Yorel Hawkins posted a game-high 25 points. Ryan Olander contributed 19 points and eight rebounds. The Gaels held leading scorer Needham to just eight points, but the sophomore had nine assists in the win.
The Maroon & Gold dropped its fourth straight contest with the loss, a combined margin of 10 points.
The Gaels are back in action on Monday night (Feb. 7) when they host Manhattan at the Hynes Center for a 7:30 pm tip-off in a MAAC-TV game on MSG Network.
