NIKAIAS, GREECE - The Iona College men's basketball team concluded its 2021 summer international tour with an 82-70 win over Ionikos Nikaias B.C. at Nikaias Platonas Indoor Hall. The Gaels ratcheted up their defense in the second half allowing just 24 points in the final 20 minutes following a high-scoring first half between the two squads.
 
"Anytime you beat a professional team it's special. It doesn't happen very often," said head coach Rick Pitino. "We made it a big goal tonight in three or four different areas: we wanted to out rebound them, and we did. We wanted to keep our turnovers under 12. We had 11 and we forced 18.  And last, we wanted our deflection total to be 35. We got 42. Anytime you get 42 deflections, that was my UK championship team. Very few times do you get over 40. The guys wanted this badly on defense. We will grow into a better offensive team."
 
The first quarter was a close battle, with Ionikos earning a 28-26 advantage. The home team was extremely efficient, converting 7-of-11 field goals including all three three-point tries. They also took advantage at the free throw line, making 11-of-14 attempts. The Gaels also got to the line eight times in the first quarter. With the help of eight offensive rebounds and nine second chance points, Iona kept it to a two-point margin.
 
An even second quarter found the final margin the same two points. Iona's defensive surge began in the frame as they held Ionikos to 3-for-13 from the field and 0-for-6 from deep. Ionikos kept themselves in the game at the free throw line, with 13 more tries, for a total of 27 in the first half. Iona won the battle of the boards in the first half with at 23-21 advantage and had just five turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
 
Iona took over in the third quarter, holding its opponent to five total points. Ionikos shot 2-for-12 from the field, 0-for-7 from deep and made just two trips to the free throw line. The Gaels led 59-51 headed to the final quarter.
 
In the fourth, Ionikos got to within four points at 64-60 with 6:28 to play. Iona answered with an 8-0 run over the next 2:41 with four apiece from sophomores Nelly Junior Joseph and Ryan Myers. The run extended to 11-1 following an Ionikos free throw and a Myers three-ball to seal the game with 2:45 to play. During the decisive stretch, Iona held Ionikos without a field goal for nearly four and a half minutes.
 
Junior Joseph and Myers led the Gaels with 22 points each. Junior Joseph stuffed the stat sheet with 13 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals in 32 minutes of action. Over the five games in Greece, he averaged 18.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. Myers scored his 22 points with the help of four three-point field goals. He hit some tough, clutch shots in both halves in the Gaels win. He was Iona's No. 2 scorer on the trip, averaging 11.6 points and just under two trifectas per game.
 
Graduate Dylan van Eyck posted 12 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals in an all-around effort. His 7.8 points per game was third during the Greece trip while his 5.6 rebounds ranked only behind Junior Joseph. Rookie Walter Clayton Jr. was the fourth Gael in double-figures with 10 points, all scored in the first half. Clayton was 3-for-6 from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.
 
Ionikos had four players in double-figures with 13 points from Mustafa Muhaymin (Nicosia, Cyprus), 11 apiece from German Eygene (Northern Illinois '20) and Giannis Athinaiou (Athens, Greece) and 10 points from Giorgos Giouzelis (Greece). Muhaymin led Ionikos with seven boards, Eygene posted five assists, and Athinaiou was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line to account for his scoring.
 
After shooting 63.6% from the field in the first 10 minutes, Ionikos was just 9-for-38 (23.6%) the rest of the way. For the game the home squad shot 32.7%. Iona was 31-for-79 (39.2%) from the field including 9-for-17 (52.9%) in the fourth quarter. The Gaels held the advantage in rebounding (46-39), second change points (13-2), points from turnovers (25-4), and points in the paint (42-14).
 
Iona completed its tour of Greece with a 1-4 record. Earlier in the day the MAAC announced its 2021-22 league schedule featuring 20-games of round-robin play between the conference's 11 teams. Iona will have 11 non-conference games and an exhibition in addition to MAAC play. Eight of the 11 non-conference games have been announced thus far.
 
"The guys played with unbelievable energy," added Coach Pitino. "It was as if they had off for a week (instead of its third game in three night) and now they deserve a nice weekend in Spetses."
 
Fans can purchase Iona basketball season tickets today at ICGaels.com. Season ticket prices start as low as $159 and include a seat at Iona's game vs. Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden. Individual game tickets will go on sale in the next few weeks.