ATHENS, GREECE - The five-time defending MAAC champion Iona College men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with the five-time defending Greek A1 Basketball League champion Panathinaikos B.C. in a friendly matchup at Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall. After leading by a point at halftime, the Gaels fell 73-66.
 
The home Greens stormed out to a 15-7 lead at the 6:15 mark. Iona turned up the defense and outscored its opponent 13-2 to finish the first quarter with a 20-17 lead. The advantage would increase to eight points early in the second half with five straight points from the Gaels. Graduate Dylan van Eyck's put back just 1:20 in to the second quarter put Iona ahead 25-17. Panathinaikos chipped away and took a 34-32 lead with 2:24 remaining. Five straight points to end the half made the halftime margin 38-37 in favor of the Gaels.
 
Panathinaikos came out firing in the third quarter with back-to-back three pointers to take a five-point lead. The Greens led by as many as nine points with 2:30 remaining in the frame but six straight Iona points trimmed the score to three points. It would remain that way at the end of the quarter. The two teams battled in the fourth quarter, with the Gaels unable to erase their deficit and the Greens unable to pull away.
 
"Well, the first two games we had no legs and that's to be expected," said head coach Rick Pitino. "Sometimes when my players would come over from America to Panathinaikos, they would need five to seven days to get rid of their jet lag. We came over and had two games back-to-back. By far this was our best game because we had legs."
 
"We were up one at halftime and we lost in a very closely contested battle," coach Pitino added. "I'm really really proud of the guys. This has been the best foreign trip I've been on in terms of cultural aspects, how the people have treated our team, and most important of the competition. It's been an awesome learning experience for our guys and we're getting better. That's what you hope to do. Wonderful experience, we could have won the game, but we will continue to stay hungry and humble like we have been."
 
Sophomore Nelly Junior Joseph led the Gaels for the third straight game with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He added six rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Ryan Myers poured in 13 points. He was 5-for-11 from the field with two three pointers and three steals. van Eyck and classmate Elijah Joiner each had eight points, seven rebounds and two assists. Junior Quinn Slazinski posted six points and four rebounds, graduate Tyson jolly had six points and two boards and junior Parker Weiss added five in the defeat.
 
Panathinaikos was led by Ioannis Papapetrou with 16 points. Papapetrou played his freshman season at Texas before turning pro. Entering his ninth professional season, he was also a member of the national program. Howard Sant-Roos added 11 points and five rebounds. The Cuban-born standout has been a professional player since 2011. Former Arkansas standout Daryl Macon posted 11 points off the bench. Giorgos Papagiannis scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds. The 7-3 Papagiannis was a 2016 NBA Lottery pick, selected 13th overall. The now 23-year-old played parts of three seasons with the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trailblazers before returning to Greece in 2018.
 
In addition to being a top team in the top league in Greece, Panathinaikos is a liscened member of the EuroLeague, arguably the No. 2 professional league in the World behind the NBA. Iona head coach Rick Pitino served as head coach for Panathinaikos from 2018-20 winning a title in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic halted the 2020 campaign.
 
"I love the building, I love Panathinaikos. I'm so close to the doctors, the trainers, physical therapists, the owners. It meant so much to me," said Coach Pitino. One of the reasons why I coached the (Greek) national team is that there are three or four players on Panathinaikos that remain contact with me all the time. The first thing they said when I saw them was that dinner was on us this time. Just great guys."
 
The Gaels continue action tomorrow (Thursday) at Peristeri. Tipoff is slated for 11 a.m. ET. Please note time change from original schedule release.
 
"We have another two games tomorrow and the next night, and then we'll let the guys have some fun," concluded Coach Pitino.