Box Score ST. THOMAS, USVI - The Iona College men's basketball team dropped a 64-63 decision to Southern Miss in the fourth place game of the 2008 USVI Paradise Jam at UVI's Sports and Fitness Center.  Sophomore Kashif Pratt had 14 points to lead the Gaels (2-2) in the contest.

Trailing for the majority of the first half, the Gaels took a 33-31 lead going into halftime on a three pointer by Pratt. 

Iona turned up the defense to start the second half and built a 10-point, 48-38 lead on the second of two straight buckets by senior Devon Clarke at the 12:05 mark.   The Golden Eagles went on a 14-4 run over the next 4:56 to knot the score at 52-52.   Southern Miss continued the run and took a five-point lead with 96 seconds remaining.   Iona chipped away on back-to-back Jermel Jenkins layups to make it a one-point ball game with 23 seconds left.  USM's Jeremy Wise hit two free throws to give his squad a 64-61 lead as just one tick came off the clock before the foul.  Pratt's layup cut the deficit to one point again with 10 seconds to play.  Junior Milan Prodanovic forced the Golden Eagles into a turnover as Iona had one last shot at a game winning bucket on its last possession.   Jenkins' three pointer from the corner just missed as Southern Miss held on to the one-point win.

Pratt shot 6-of-11 from the field and hit two three pointers to account for his 14 points.   Senior Gary Springer added 12 points and eight boards while rookie Scott Machado posted his first 10+ point effort with 11 in the loss.

Iona returns to New Rochelle for the Thanksgiving break and will play Robert Morris at home on Saturday night at 7:30 pm.  The contest is the third in a tripleheader at the Hynes Center with the women's basketball team's Thanksgiving Invitational taking place prior to tip off.