ALBANY, NY — The Iona College men’s basketball team shot its way to a third consecutive MAAC Championship game appearance and fourth in five seasons under head coach Tim Cluess in a 95-77 rout of No. 4 Monmouth at the Times Union Center. The Gaels hit a tournament record 19 three-point field goals, the second highest single-game total in program history in the win.
Junior A.J. English and Isaiah Williams did the bulk of the damage from long distance combining for 16 of the 19 trifectas. English had a game-high 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting and 7-of-10 from beyond the arc. He added four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Williams had 27 points, connecting on 9-of-15 from distance and set the individual MAAC Championship mark for three-point proclivity. Williams posted four rebounds and two assists. His nine three’s broke the previous mark of eight, set during 13 years ago by Rider’s Jerry Johnson. The 19 three-pointers as a team eclipsed a 25-year old record of 16 set by La Salle in 1990.
Rookie Schadrac Casimir scored all 16 of his points in the first half. He had five assists, four steal and three rebounds. Junior Kelvin Amayo added eight points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals while senior David Laury posted seven points, five boards and six assists in the win. Graduate Jeylani Dublin matched his season-high with eight points to round out the Gaels scoring.
The Gaels scored a season-high 57 points in the first frame. They shot 50.8% from the field for the game and 54.3% from downtown. Iona out rebounded the Hawks 35-30 and had 24 assists to just 13 turnovers.
Monmouth senior Max Dileo had 21 points while junior Deon Jones added 18. Graduate Brice Kofane had 10 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore All-MAAC First Teamer Justin Robinson, who averaged 24.5 points in the two previous meetings this season, was held to nine points in the contest.
Iona earned its 26th win of the season, a new high under head coach Tim Cluess, and matched the third highest win total in program history. It is the most wins since a 27-6 mark in 1997-98. The program record is 29 set by a Jim Valvano and Jeff Ruland led 1979-80 squad. Iona also won 26 games in 1984-85.
Iona appears in its 14th MAAC Championship game in history and seeks its ninth title, both are MAAC records. Iona will face archrival Manhattan for the third straight year in the championship game. The Maroon & Gold won the championship in 2013 before dropping the 2014 game to the Jaspers. Both contests were decided by just three points. The two teams tip off at 9:00 pm Monday night on ESPN2.