NEW ROCHELLE, NY - For the second straight game, the Iona College men's basketball never trailed as it remained unbeaten in MAAC play and at the Hynes Center in a 78-55 win over Niagara at home. The Gaels pulled away in the second half outscoring the Purple Eagles 28-11 over the game's final 9:43 of the contest.

THE RUNDOWN

Iona took the lead on its first possession on two free throws by sophomore Nelly Junior Joseph. After a turnover by each squad, Niagara knotted the score at 2-2. A 10-0 run by the Gaels put the home team ahead for good. The Purple Eagles got to within five points on two occasions but trailed by 10 at the break.
 
In the second half, Iona missed its first nine field goal attempts, but Niagara could not capitalize, coming up empty on four if its first six possessions of the frame. Iona led 36-30 before graduate Tyson Jolly scored seven straight points to open the Gaels lead to its largest of the game at the time at 43-30 with 14:47 left. Jolly converted a layup, a transition windmill dunk, and a transition three pointer from the top of the key to create separation for the Maroon & Gold for the first time in the contest. Niagara cut the deficit to six points for a second time with less than 10 minutes to play. Jordan Cintron's pair of layups over a 90-second span put the score at 50-44 before Iona's decisive run. During the final 9:50 of the contest, Iona held Niagara to 2-of-12 shooting from the field, 0-for-5 from long distance, four turnovers. The Purple Eagles converted 7-of-8 free throw attempts in the stretch. By contrast, the Gaels shot 9-for-15, 4-for-7 from deep, 6-for-9 from the line with just two turnovers.

IONA PERFORMERS

• The Gaels balanced scoring effort was led by Jolly's 17-point effort. Jolly was 7-for-14 from the field with three three-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds with two assists and two blocks.
• All eight scorers - the eight that logged at least 10 minutes in the game - had at least six points for the Maroon & Gold.
• Senior Berrick JeanLouis, junior Quinn Slazinski and sophomore Ryan Myers each had 10 points.
• JeanLouis stuffed the stat sheet with seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
• Slazinski had five rebounds and two steals.
• Myers was 4-of-8 from the field and 2-of-3 from long distance.
• Graduate Elijah Joiner had nine points, a game-high six assists along with three rebounds.
• Junior Osborn Shema posted a season-high nine points with four rebounds, an assist and a block
• Graduate Dylan van Eyck had seven points.
• Junior Joseph was held the just six points but matched his career-high with 15 rebounds in the win.

THE OPPONENT

• Niagara was led by senior Marcus Hammond. The MAAC's leading scorer hit his average at 17 points, but was held to 5-of-16 shooting from the field and 3-of-9 from three.
• Junior Noah Thomasson had 11 points and five assists.
• Cintron nearly missed a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.

TEAM STATISTICS

• Iona shot just 40.6% from the field, due in part to its slow second half start. They outshot the Purple Eagles who were held to 35.7%.
• The Gaels held a massive rebounding edge, 48-34, including 19 offensive boards and a 16-6 advantage in second chance points.
• The assist-to-turnover battle was won by the home team. Iona had 15 assists and a season-low seven turnovers. Niagara posted 10 assists and 13 turnovers.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Iona improves to 6-0 in league play for the third time in 41 seasons, matching the effort from 1995-96 and 2015-16. In the two previous years they failed to reach a seventh straight win to start the season.
• The team that spoiled the Gaels' last 6-0 start is their next opponent, Monmouth. The Hawks won an epic 110-102 regulation shootout at the Hynes Center in a nationally televised affair at the Hynes Center.

UP NEXT

Iona completes a three-game in five days and four-game in eight days stretch on Tuesday at Monmouth's OceanFirst Bank Center. The contest is a makeup for the previously postponed contest from last weekend and will tip off at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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