NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men's basketball program closed out a phenomenal weekend at the Hynes Center with resounding 88-65 win over Monmouth. The Gaels earned the sweep over the Hawks due in large part to 31-point scoring barrage from
Isaiah Ross and an all-around strong game from
Dylan van Eyck.
GAME SUMMARY
In a mirror of Friday night's game, Iona found itself with a starter in early foul trouble.
Nelly Junior Joseph, coming off a double-double effort, picked up his second foul just 3:03 into the contest.
Osborn Shema arose from the bench and the Gaels adjusted fluidly.
At the 13:11 mark, Ross hit his first three-pointer of the night to put the Gaels ahead 13-10. On Iona's next two possessions, crisp ball movement led to two more trifectas from
Ryan Myers and van Eyck. Monmouth and its determined nature bounced back. The game was tied at 21-21 with just under eight minutes to go before halftime.
The closing portions of the first half were dominated by the Gaels backcourt. Within 64 seconds, the scoring power of
Asante Gist, Ross and Myers pushed the Gaels ahead 35-26 with 4:30 ticking away. George Papas and Melik Martin had a pair of scores to bring their deficit back to four, but the Hawks didn't make field goal for the final 3:29 of the first half. Iona's edge leapt from two possessions to 11 points, punctuated by a dunk fed to Shema by Myers.
The scoreboard at halftime read: Iona 44, Monmouth 33. Ross and the nylon had a loving relationship over the opening 20 minutes as the MAAC's leading scorer scored 21 points in the opening period. Myers had 10 points off the bench and Shema was all over the boards with eight rebounds. Iona shot 42.9% from the floor and 50.0% from beyond the arc. The Maroon & Gold were 13-for-14 from the free throw line in the first half while Monmouth attempted only three such shots.
Respecting the grit that Monmouth showed on Friday night, the Gaels made it a point to sharpen things in the second half on Saturday. Iona would not let the Hawks breath as the visitors opened the second half shooting 1-for-10 from the floor.
At the first media timeout the Maroon & Gold led 50-35. The stamp of Iona's desire to get a sweep came with 13:39 on the clock when van Eyck buried a three-pointer at the shot clock buzzer to put the good guys ahead, 58-37.
Monmouth did not have a made field from 18:12 till 9:55 when Samuel Chaput ended the skid to make the score 63-42. The Hawks got it to below 20 a handful of times in the second half, but Iona was speeding to the finish with cruise control on. Iona fans were rewarded for staying till the finish when they saw freshman
Trey James scored his collegiate point and sophomore walk-on
James Carey net his first basket as a Gael.
Iona improves its record to 8-5, 6-3 MAAC with Saturday night's 88-65 win over Monmouth.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Isaiah Ross scored 31 points on 9-for-19 overall shooting. He hit five baskets from beyond the arc on way to this third 30+ scoring outing of the season. Ross' 21 points in the first half is the highest scoring total for an Iona player in any half this season.
- Asante Gist scored 15 points on 5-for-12 shooting. Ryan Myers came off the bench and netted 12 points and hit all four shots he took.
- Dylan van Eyck had 13 points, eight rebounds and a team-high five assists and three steals.
- Osborn Shema came off the bench led the Gaels with 10 rebounds.
- Deion Hammond scored 16 points to lead Monmouth. Melik Martin and Myles Foster each had 11 points.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Rebounding belonged to the Gaels. Iona outrebounded Monmouth 49-29. It is the second-best rebounding margin this season; the Maroon & Gold outrebounded Coppin State by 26.
- The Gaels had 17 turnovers on Saturday night, improving from the 27 on Friday night.
- Iona shot 45.0% from the floor and 46.4% from beyond the arc. There were 16 assists on 27 made field goals.
- Monmouth entered the weekend the top three-point shooting team in the MAAC hitting at over 37.1%. Iona held the Hawks to 27.8% shooting on Friday and 27.6% on Saturday. Monmouth attempted 29 threes in this series finale, a single-game high total for an Iona-opponent this season.
- Iona made a season-best 13 three-pointers on Saturday night. It is the most an opponent has hit against Monmouth this season.
- The Gaels have shot over 44.0% from the floor in every game since returning from its 51-day hiatus.
AROUND THE MAAC
- The Niagara Purple Eagles defended its home court against the MAAC preseason favorite Siena Saints, 64-62. Marcus Hamond had 15 points for Niagara. It was Siena's first game in 20 days and the Purple Eagles' first game in 21 days.
- Quinnipiac used a second half surge to push themselves past Rider, 80-64. Jacob Rigoni registered his third double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. The rookies Luis Kortright and Tymu Chenery each added 18 points.
- Fairfield earned a split against Canisius with a 66-53 win. The Stags got a game-high 17 points as well as 16 from Jake Wojcik on way to the win. Fairfield held Canisius to 33.9% shooting and 5-for-22 from the three-point line.
- Marist picked up its tenth win of the season with a barnburner 51-50 win over Saint Peter's in Jersey. Jordan Jones had 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Each team had 19 turnovers.
UP NEXT
Iona's next game is on the road against Marist on Wednesday, February 24. The Gaels travel to Poughkeepsie, NY for a 5 P.M. ET tip. The game is being broadcasted on ESPN+ and fans can also follow along via live stats and Iona Athletics social media.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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)
