BUFFALO, NY – The Iona College men’s basketball team won its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener at Canisius 69-57. With the Griffs doing a solid job dictating the tempo away from the Gaels’ comfortable frenetic pace, the Maroon & Gold clamped down on defense in the second half to earn the 12-point conference road win.
The slowed down pace, cold-shooting by Iona and some opportune shot making with the shot clock winding down for Canisius kept the Griffs within striking distance over the first 30 minutes of the contest.
Canisius’ largest lead came just over four minutes into the ball game when Reggie Groves drained a three-pointer to make the score 10-6. With just under four minutes left in the half, a transition layup by junior Taaj Ridley off a long bounce pass from senior Mike Glover gave Iona its largest advantage of the half, 33-28 at 3:44. The Griffs scored on each of its next two possessions to cut the deficit to one. The 33-32 score would hold up for the final 3:09 of the half.
The Griffs shot nearly 60% from the field and were 5-of-7 from beyond the arc in the first half. Iona was able to maintain its lead by taking care of (four turnovers) and sharing the ball (12 assists), despite the home team’s hot hand.
With the score tied at 38-38 at 17:21, the Gaels began a 7-0 with the help of five points from senior Jermel Jenkins. Four Canisius free throws sandwiched a missed field goal by the Gaels to cut the margin to three points at 45-42 with 14:49 to play. A Groves’ three-pointer from the top of the arc at 11:06 that made the score 51-49 would be the last field goal the Griffs would score for a while in the contest. A 10-1 run for the Gaels opened up an 11-point, 61-50 lead for the visitors. Junior Lamont Jones factored in the last four Iona field goals during the run with two layups and two assists to Ridley for easy layups. Two free throws by Harold Washington cut the lead to within double figures for the final time of in the game with less than six minutes to play. The conversions ended a 5:15 scoring drought for Canisius. Over the final 11 minutes of the contest, Iona held the home team to just 2-for-9 shooting and four turnovers to earn the victory.
The unlikely trio of Jenkins, Jones, and Ridley led Iona on the scoreboard. Jenkins posted a team best 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field. He drained three three-pointers and was 4-of-5 for the line adding four rebounds and four assists. Jones scored eight of his 12 points in the final quarter of the contest converting all three field goal attempts and both free throws. He also had four assists in the win. Ridley was solid for the Gaels, shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the field chipping in 12 points in 23 minutes. Also key in Iona’s second half run was the play of junior Ra’Shad James. Though converting only a conventional three-point play, he grabbed six key rebounds in 15 minutes of play and helped keep Washington off the scoreboard.
Canisius did a great job defending Iona’s All-MAAC First Team performers Mike Glover and Scott Machado, ending multiple-game double-double streaks for the duo. Machado netted eight points and had seven assists, season lows on both stats. Glover also recorded season lows with six points and three boards. He was 3-for-3 from the field.
Washington led all scorers in the game with 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting. He was 3-for-3 from downtown, hitting three tough shots with the shot clock expiring. Over the first 25 minutes of the contest, Canisius’ leading scorer had converted 6-of-8 field goal attempts. With James inserted into the Gael lineup with just under 15 to go, Washington was held to just 1-for-3 shooting.
Reggie Groves and Alshwan Hymes added 11 and 10 points respectively. All three Griff guards played nearly the entire game, with Groves the only one to sit, just 24 seconds at the end of the first half after picking up his second foul.
Contrary to its opening half performance, Canisius shot 35.3% in the second half, but 48.7% for the game. The Gaels were nearly identical over both halves and shot 46.6% for the game. Rebounds were relatively even with the Griffs holding a 29-27 advantage. Assist-to-Turnover ratio saved Iona’s poor long distance shooting effort, however. The Gaels recorded 20 assists and eight giveaways while the Canisius had just nine assists to go along with 21 turnovers.
Iona completes its annual “Buffalo swing” on Sunday (Dec. 4) afternoon vs. Niagara. Led by Juan’ya Green’s freshman school record 35 points, the Purple Eagles gave reigning regular season champion Fairfield all it could handle in a three-point loss on Monteagle Ridge. Tipoff between the Gaels and Purps is slated for 2:00 pm and can be heard live on the Internet on IonaInsider.com
IN THE MEDIA:
See More Stories Like This On ICGaels.com
