Box Score HEMPSTEAD, NY - Junior Jonathan Huffman drained a three-pointer with 4.6 seconds remaining to lead the Iona College men's basketball team to a thrilling 67-64 victory over Hofstra in non-conference action at the Mack Sports Complex.  A potential game-tying halfcourt shot by the Pride's (8-3) Cornelius Vines rimmed in-and-out as the Gaels (5-7) escaped with the three point victory on the road.

Iona quickly got into an 11-3 hole at the 13:25 mark of the first half.  The Maroon & Gold battled back to take a 30-27 lead at the break with the help of solid transition defense and rebounding.  After back-to-back field goals put the Pride up 21-16 with 7:05 to go in the half, Iona held the home team scoreless for nearly five minutes.  The Gaels took their first lead on an Alejo Rodriguez steal and Trinity Fields layup with 3:30 left in the frame.  The Gaels held Hofstra to 29.4% shooting in the first half and held a 21-19 advantage on the boards against one of the top rebounding teams in the country.

The second half continued the battle of attrition as neither team was able to break open the game.  The half featured six ties and eight lead changes, the final one coming on Huffman's shot from the top of the key.   Fields gave Iona its largest lead of the contest with a three pointer at 10:30.  The Gaels held a single-digit lead until the 4:22 mark when Hofstra tied the score from the free throw line.  With the score tied at 58-58, the Pride's Charles Jenkins buried a trifecta to give the home team a three point lead.  Rookie Jermel Jenkins' runner cut the deficit to 61-60 but Charles Jenkins answered right back with a jumper from the foul liine at 1:19. After an Iona turnover, Hofstra's Jenkins hit 1-of-2 from the line to give his squad a 64-60 lead with 1:01 to play.  On the next possession, rookie Scott Machado found senior Devon Clarke open underneath the basket and a thunderous dunk cut the deficit to two points.  With Hofstra trying to run the clock down with less than a minute to play, the Gaels forced a shot clock violation with 17 seconds to go.  In a situation familar to Iona fans, the Gaels had a chance to tie or take the lead late in the contest. As time ran down, Huffman pump faked his defender from two steps behind the three point arc, dribble once and drained the go-ahead three pointer with 4.6 ticks left.  With a lesson learned from a big Huffman three pointer in the Fairfield game with just about as much time on the clock, the Gaels remained poised and forced a Hofstra turnover with less than four to play.   Clarke was fouled with 2.0 seconds left and hit both free throws to give Iona its 67-64 advantage.  Vines' heave from a step beyond half court just missed and the Gaels came away with the thrilling victory.

Jermel Jenkins led the way with 14 points off the bench.  He shot 6-of-10 from the field with two critical first half three pointers.  Clarke and Machado posted 11 and 10 points respectively doing most of their damage in the second half from the free throw line.   Clarke was 7-for-10 from the line while Machado was a perfect 8-of-8.   Fields and sophomore Kashif Pratt added nine points a piece.  Fields remained perfect from the foul line on the season, converting all four of his attempts in the game.  

The Gaels shot 46.7% from the field in the game (21-for-45) and limited the Pride to just 32.3% in the victory.  Hofstra's Charles Jenkins had a game-high 19 points and was backed up by teammate Tony Dennison's 12.

The Maroon & Gold complete their four-game road trip and its scheduled non-conference slate in the 2008-09 campaign when they travel to Tampa, FL to take on the BIG EAST's South Florida on Saturday (Dec. 27).   Iona then returns home for three MAAC contests vs. Rider (Jan. 1), Fairfield (Jan. 4) and Canisius (Jan. 9).