POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - The Iona College men's basketball team needed a 14-0 run over the final 2:29 seconds of the contest to overcome a nine-point second half deficit in a 78-71 win at Marist in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play at McCann Arena. In a second half chock full of runs, the Gaels led by nine points and then trailed by nine points before the late spurt resulted in the seven-point road win in their MAAC opener.

THE RUNDOWN 

Iona led by as many as nine points in the opening frame when a three pointer from the corner by sophomore Ryan Myers put the Maroon & Gold ahead 24-15 less than 10 minutes into the contest. The Red Foxes battled back to a three-point, 38-35, deficit at the break.
 
The Gaels scored the first six points of the second half to take another nine-point advantage at 44-35 following two free throws by junior Quinn Slazinski at the 17:33 mark. It was 51-42 lead for Iona with 14:17 to play following a layup by senior Berrick JeanLouis. Marist scored the game's next 10 points to earn its first lead since 6-5 with a little over 10 minutes remaining. After trading scores over the next three plus minutes, the home team ripped off another 10 straight points to take a 67-58 lead at the 6:38 mark. Iona scored 20 of the game's final 24 points to earn the win. Marist senior Samkelo Cele put his team ahead by seven with a dunk with 2:41 remaining. Iona would connect on three-point attempts in four straight possessions with graduate Tyson Jolly, Myers twice and Slazinski each putting down a three-ball. Marist's possessions in between included three missed field goals and a turnover. Myers sealed the game with two free throws with 10 seconds to play.

STATISTICAL LEADERS 

• Slazinski led all scorers with a career-high 20 points. He added seven rebound and two assists.
• Jolly posted his first double-double in an Iona rebound with 16 points and 11 rebounds. He accomplished the feat after being held to zero rebounds vs. No. 4 Kansas in the previous contest.
• Myers scored eight of his 11 points in the final 149 seconds of the contest. He connected on three three-point field goals in addition to his two late free throws. He posted four rebounds and assist and a steal.
• Earning his first collegiate start, freshman Walter Clayton Jr. had nine points and five rebounds.
• Graduate Dylan van Eyck scored six points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out a career-best nine assists with zero turnovers in the win. With Marist settled into a 2-3 zone, eight of the nine assists came without a single dribble, while the last one needed just one bounce.
• With the absence of graduate point guard Elijah Joiner, classmate Colton Cashaw played 14 valuable minutes, scoring five points allowing zero turnovers and was on the floor when as Iona outscored Marist by 17 points. On the advance metrics side, Iona scored at least one point on 69 percent of the possessions in which he was on the floor.

THE OPPONENT 

• Marist was led by rookie Jao Ituka's 19 points on a 7-for-11 shooting effort. Ituka missed his final two attempts of the night during the Gaels' decisive run.
• Raheim Sullivan added 14 points and Cele had 11 for the home team.

TEAM STATS

• The Gaels were outshot 49.2%-39.7% but held Marist to just 3-for-15 (20.0%) from long distance.
• Iona held a 41-32 advantage on the boards including a 24-12 lead on second chance points.
• The Maroon & Gold also won the assist-to-turnover battle, dishing out 18 assists to its 13 turnovers while Marist posted just six helpers and had 17 giveaways.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Iona won its first game at McCann Arena in three tries against Marist head coach John Dunne, falling in both 2018 and 2019 to the long-time MAAC veteran.  The two teams did not play each other last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In six of Iona's seven wins the team has overcome a deficit, including four with at least an eight-point disadvantage. In the Gaels' last two victories vs. No. 10 Alabama and tonight, Iona trailed by nine points in the second half.

UP NEXT

Iona returns to MAAC action on Friday at home against Rider. It completes a grueling seven-games, 15-day stretch for the Gaels before a much needed eight-day layoff prior to its next contest.

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