NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men's basketball program won its first home game of the season on Wednesday night against Coppin State, 85-65. Nelly Junior Joseph had a double-double in the victory as Isaiah Ross and Asante Gist combined to light up the Hynes Center with 52 combined points. The offensive mojo in the Hynes Center took a while to develop for both Coppin State and Iona. The pair of teams combined to hit just one of their first 10 shots. The Maroon & Gold battled through the early trenching and held an 8-7 lead six minutes into the game despite shooting just 3-for-13 to that point.

The Gaels and Eagles saw their offensives begin to heat up approaching the under-12 media timeout. Nine of 10 shots went through the basket and at the 11:11 mark, the Maroon & Gold wished themselves a 17-14 edge. At this time, 12 of Iona's 17 field goal attempts were from beyond the arc, and Isaiah Ross had taken six.

Coppin State took a 21-20 lead with 7:35 left in the first half, but it was short lived. The Eagles led for only 44 seconds as the Gaels spurted back ahead with a six-point run. Dylan van Eyck was the catalyst for the quick momentum, scoring four straight points and drawing a charge on the defensive end. Iona led 26-21 with just over five minutes remaining until intermission.

The five-point edge lasted till the halftime horn sounded. Heading into the locker room with a 36-31 lead, the Gaels were fortunate that Coppin State's leading scorer this season, Anthony Tarke, played limited minutes in the first half and scored just five points due to foul trouble. Credit also must be given to Berrick JeanLouis, who was matched up against the scorer for the entire game.

At halftime, Ross & Gist combined for 24 of Iona's 36 points. Both teams had trouble taking care of the ball with Coppin State committing nine turnovers and Iona relinquishing eight. The Eagles trailed the Maroon & Gold despite outshooting them 46% to 36% in the opening period.

The second half belonged to Iona. Ross caught fire to begin the second half and gave Iona a 44-34 lead on an and-one bucket with 15:39 on the clock. Coppin State got it back to within six and the Gaels went scoreless for over three minutes. But then Nelly Junior Joseph entered the chat.

The two-time MAAC Rookie of the Week asserted himself and hit a pair of buckets to get the Gaels back on the offensive tracks. Scoring eight points in a two-minute stretch, Junior Joseph's play began opening the lanes for the Iona guards. Gist took advantage and slashed into the paint and single-handedly began getting the Eagles into foul trouble. From the 4:40 to 2:42 mark, Gist scored all of Iona's eight points from the charity stripe. An 8-0 run following the last media timeout gave Iona an 80-60 lead, and the lead ballooned to a game-high 22 with an Omar Rowe three with 57 seconds left.

The final buzzer sounded with the scoreboard reading Iona 85, Coppin State 65. It is Iona's second largest margin of victory this season, and its largest in a non-conference game.

• Isaiah Ross led all scorers with 28 points on 11-for-24 shooting. He made five three-point field goals.
• Asante Gist netted 24 points hitting 11-for-13 from the free throw line.
• Nelly Junior Joseph recorded his second double-double of his rookie season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. He also had a pair of assists and a pair of blocks.
• Dylan van Eyck tied Junior Joseph with a game-high 12 rebounds. He also contributed six points and three assists.
• Coppin State was led by Kyle Cardaci's 18 points and 6-for-9 shooting from deep. Koby Thomas came off the bench and scored 17 points. Dwaine Jones had a team-high seven rebounds and Kaelon Harkema threw out four assists.
• Entering the game, Anthony Tarke was the Eagles leading scorer averaging over 17 points per game. Wednesday night he scored only 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting.

• Iona shot 41.4% from the floor and 36.4% from beyond the arc. The Gaels attempted 21 three pointers in the first half and 11 in the second half. Their previous team-high total for three-pointers in a game was 30 at Hofstra (Dec. 5).
• Iona dominated the board against the Eagles, 51-25. The Gaels had 18 offensive rebounds which led to 16 second chance points. Coppin State only had eight total rebounds in the second half.
• Nelly Junior Joseph scored all 16 of his points in the second half. He was 0-for-3 from the floor in the first half and 6-for-7 in the second half. Junior Joseph had eight of his 12 rebounds in the second half. He finished the game with seven offensive rebounds.
• Coppin State's fyre fest was the charity stripe. As a team they shot 12-for-23 (52.2%) from the free throw line. It had entered the game shooting 57.7% as a team.
• Iona had 12 team turnovers; eight in the first half and only four in the second half.
• The game was delayed at the start due to Coppin State getting stuck in New York traffic on its way up to new Rochelle.

• Rider could not defend home court against the NJIT Highlanders as the Broncs fell 81-66. Dontrell McQuarter was the only Bronc in double-figures with 10 points and seven rebounds.
• Saint Peters improved to 6-3 on the year with a 70-64 win against St. Francis Brooklyn. Fousseyni Drame and Doug Edert each led the Maroon & Gold with 18 points in the road win. The Peacocks only attempted seven three-pointers in the game.

The Gaels take a short holiday break before returning to action on Tuesday, December 29. Iona hosts Towson at the Hynes Center for a 3 PM ET tip. Fans can watch the Maroon & Gold on ESPN3/ESPN+ and follow the Gaels via live stats and across all Iona athletics social media platforms. Be sure to follow Iona College athletics on all social media platforms:
ICGaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
Iona Men's Basketball: Twitter, Facebook. Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)

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