NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College men's basketball team earned a thrilling 90-87 overtime win over Harvard in non-conference action at the Hynes Center. The scoring margin on either side for final 35 minutes of the contest was within two possessions in a game that saw 10 tie scores and 11 lead changes. Sophomore forward Nelly Junior Joseph scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Gaels to a 2-0 start to the 2021-22 campaign.
 
Harvard raced out to an early seven-point, 12-5 advantage less than four minutes into the contest. Iona pulled within one point at 18-17 just over three minutes later following two free throws by Junior Joseph. The Crimson scored 10 of the game's next 13 points and held an eight-point advantage at the midway point of the first half, the largest lead by either team in the game. The Maroon & Gold answered with an 11-3 run, knotting the score at 31-31. Three possessions later, the Gaels took their first lead of the contest on sophomore Ryan Myer's three-pointer with 5:46 to play in the frame. The see-saw battle continued throughout the remainder of the half with Harvard scoring last and earning a two-point advantage entering halftime.
 
Iona led by as many as five points on multiple occasions in the second half, including a 76-71 advantage with 1:47 to play. The Crimson chipped away and were able to get a game-tying three-pointer from Luka Sakota with 1.2 seconds left to force overtime.
 
The largest lead for the Gaels in overtime was three points. At the beginning, on a Tyson Jolly three-pointer from the wing; in the middle, four possessions later, on a Jr Joseph bucket; and then at the end and the final score. With the score tied at 86-86, Jr Joseph hit two big free throws with 19 ticks left to put Iona ahead for good. After the Crimson went 1-for-2 from the line with less than five seconds left, Myers sealed the game with two free throws on the other end of the floor.
 
Junior Joseph shot 10-for-15 from the field and 8-for-12 from the charity stripe in his career-high effort. He was virtually unguardable with inside five feet, taking full advantage of a thin Harvard frontcourt. In addition to his eight rebounds, Jr Joseph added two blocks and two steals in 35 minutes.
 
Graduates Tyson Jolly and Dylan van Eyck continued a stellar first week of the season with 16 points a piece. van Eyck stuffed the stat sheet off the bench, with five rebounds, five steals, five assists and a block. Jolly posted four assists, three steals and three rebounds. Graduate Elijah Joiner was the fourth Maroon & Gold performer with 10 or more points, scoring 13 in the win.
 
Harvard's Chris Ledlum and Noah Kirkwood torched Iona with a combined 51 points. They also combined for 33 of the team's 53 shot attempts. Ledlum had 28 points and five rebounds while Kirwood added a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double. Sakota, who hit the game-tying shot in regulation, posted 10 points.
 
Iona was out shot (52.8%-42.2%) and out rebounded (34-33) but limited Harvard to just six offensive rebounds while forcing 24 turnovers. There were 75 combined free throws in the game including 42 by the Gaels. It was the first time in nine seasons the program attempted 40 or more foul shots in a game, a span of 255 games.
 
The Gaels complete a three-game home stand Tuesday night against local rival Hofstra at the Hynes Center.