BRIDGEPORT, CT – The Iona College men’s basketball team’s MAAC Championship run was ended in a 62-57 defeat to Saint Peter’s in final at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard. The Peacocks’ (20-13) stingy defense was too much for the Gaels (22-11) as they captured their first MAAC title since 1995.
Led by junior Mike Glover’s (Bronx, NY) 23 points, Iona managed a season-low 57 points in the loss. Glover completed his 18th double-double of the year with 11 rebounds. Senior Rashon Dwight (Newark, NJ) also posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards while junior Scott Machado (Queens, NY) added 15 points and six assists. Saint Peter’s limited the rest of the team to just nine points.
Nick Leon made the score 23-17 with a three-pointer at the 5:32 mark. Neither team found the bottom of the net for nearly four minutes before two Machado layups got the Gaels within three points with 1:05 remaining. Jeron Belin’s three-pointer on the next possession made the score 26-20 heading into the break.
In the second half, Glover’s alley-oop dunk from Machado made the score 37-33 with 9:18 remaining. Any momentum from the play was stunted by a 9-0 run by the Peacocks that put them ahead by 13 points just over two minutes later. Trailing by 11 points with just under three minutes to play, the Gaels chipped away and cut the margin to three-points on a Machado trifecta with 18 seconds left. After forcing two turnovers in the final minute with full court pressure defense, the Gaels nearly had a third on the ensuing in-bounds pass, but Dwight was whistled for a foul. Wesley Jenkins sank two free throws to make the margin final.
Belin had 17 points off the bench and was supported by Leon’s 15 and Jenkins’ 14. Jenkins scored nine of the Peacocks’ final 11 points in the win.
Iona shot 32.2% from the field and was just 3-for-18 from behind the arc. The loss snapped a season-long nine game winning streak, the team’s longest in 11 seasons. Saint Peter’s was 7-for-15 on three-point attempts and was 11-for-11 from the free throw line in the win.
Both Glover and Machado were named to the All-Tournament team following the contest.
With a Ratings Percentage Index of 69 and a season-record of 22-11 following the loss (at the time of writing) the Gaels will look for an at-large bid in the 32-team National Invitation Tournament or the 16-team College Basketball Invitational or CollegeInsider.com Tournament. The fields for all three tournaments will be selected next Sunday (Mar. 13).
— ICGAELS.com —
