NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Iona came on the short-end of the stick Monday afternoon, falling to the Manhattan Jaspers at Draddy Gymnasium, 63-56. The Gaels squandered an 11 point lead, and missed nine of their final 10 shots, as a result they fall to 10-9 overall, and 6-2 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.
The fourth quarter was the downfall for the Maroon & Gold. The Jaspers outscored the Gaels 23-7 in the final frame, using an Iona five minute scoreless drought to catapult them to the come-from-behind win.
Manhattan opened up fourth quarter on a 10-0 run, taking a 50-49 lead just minutes into the final frame; they hit on five of their first six shots. Iona didn’t register any points for the opening 4:30 of the fourth, and yet despite the poor offensive execution, the Gaels weren’t out of it. The defense made a big stand with 3:34 when they managed to hold a 53-52 lead; however right after Iona regained possession, a costly turnover led to a three-point bucket from Manhattan’s Nyasha Irizarry.
At the point, Manhattan kept control of the game and clock, taking advantage and solace in a couple open three-point missed shots via the releases of senior Aaliyah Robinson and sophomore Philecia Gilmore.
The poor quarter length performance makes this the second straight game Iona has been dominated for a 10 minute stretch; Marist used an overriding third quarter to push Iona aside at McCann Arena last Friday evening.
The Jaspers outrebounded Iona 48-31, and used 16 offensive rebounds to put home 13 second chance points. Iona managed just three second chance points on 11 offensive rebounds. The rebounding effort ties for the lowest thus far this 2015-16 season.
Junior Marina Lizarazu acted as the spotlight offensive player for the Maroon & Gold; she finished the game with nine points, and seven assists. She also drew threw charge calls against the Jaspers.
Robinson scored a team-high 12 points, but struggled shooting, hitting just four-for-14 from the floor.
Senior Joy Adams came shy of a double-double effort, scoring 11 points and corralling nine rebounds.
For Manhattan, Irizarry was the leading scorer; she shot four-of-nine from beyond the arc, finishing with 16 points. Sophomore Kayle Grimme and sophomore Amani Tatum each scored 13 points.
Iona will look to get off the losing track this Thursday evening against the visiting Niagara Purple Eagles. Ian Sacks and Kevin Walsh will be on the call on IonaInsider.com.
