NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College men's basketball team never trailed in its 74-57 win over Siena in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play at the Hynes Center. The Gaels improved to 9-0 on the season in conference play and 17-3 overall. A trio of Maroon & Gold performers led the way with 13 points apiece, including graduate Elijah Joiner and sophomores Nelly Junior Joseph and Ryan Myers.

THE RUNDOWN

In a relatively low scoring first half, the Gaels scored the first two baskets of the game and never relinquished the lead. Siena cut the lead to 8-7 at the 15:06 mark. Iona followed with a 17-7 run to take its first double-digit advantage of the contest. in the 11:06 span, the home team shot 7-of-16 from the field and recorded five steals. Siena shot just 3-for-15 and had six turnovers in the decisive stretch. Siena's Colby Rogers hit a three pointer on the team's final possession to make the halftime score 29-21.
 
With Iona ahead 37-30 just over five minutes into the second half, the Gaels turned up the defensive effort and scored seven points in an 11 second span. Graduate Tyson Jolly made a free throw. On the ensuing full court press by the Gaels, Myers picked up a steal and banged a three pointer from the wing. The Maroon & Gold caused a second straight turnover with the press on a graduate Dylan van Eyck steal. He proceeded to dunk the ball and convert a free throw for a conventional three-point play and a 44-30 advantage with 14:30 to play. Over a 2:38 span with 12 minutes remaining Iona scored 10 straight points to lead 58-35. Junior Joseph did most of the damage with five of the 10 points while sandwiching a Myers three ball. Freshman Trey James cleaned up a near turnover with a layup to cap the run. The Gaels led by as many as 25 in the second half, but a late Saint rally led to a final margin of 17.

IONA PERFOMERS

• Myers 13 points came on 5-of-8 shooting and three three-pointers. He added five rebounds, two steal an assist and a block in 16 minutes off the bench.
• Junior Joseph shot 5-for-9 with eight rebounds, four steal sand three blocks.
• Joiner was 4-for-8 from the field, 5-of-5 from the charity stripe with five boards and two assists.
• Jolly scored 12 points and stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal.
• Junior Quinn Slazinski added seven points, while van Eyck posted six points, six assists and three steals.

THE OPPONENT

• Rogers was the top scorer for the visitors, posting a game-high 17 points. He connected on all five of the Saints three-pointers in the game.
• Aidan Carpenter added 13 points in the loss.

TEAM STATS

• Iona out shot Siena 45.9% - 37.3% with the aid of a 55.2% effort in the second half.
• A late surge also resulted in a 42-37 advantage on the boards for the Gaels, though the Saints doubled up the second chance point board, 14-7.
• The Maroon & Gold had 15 assists and 15 turnovers, while Siena had just six assists and 20 giveaways in the loss.
• Iona posted a season-high 11 blocks while matching a season best with 13 steals.
• Rogers shot 5-of-8 while the rest of his team was 0-for-9 from distance.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• The Gaels became the sixth team in MAAC history to start league play with at least nine wins. Manhattan posted a 10-0 mark in 1991-92, Siena was 12-0 in 2008-09 and 14-0 in 2009-10. Former MAAC member La Salle, the only team to go an entire season without a loss was 14-0 in 1987-88 and 16-0 in 1989-90.
• Iona has now defeated 15 straight MAAC opponents dating back to last season including the final two regular season contests and all four tournament games.
• In his 34th season of coaching in NCAA Division I, Iona College head coach Rick Pitino earned his 799th career victory.

UP NEXT

• The Gaels are back in action on Sunday when they host second place Saint Peter's at the Hynes Center in a 1 p.m. tipoff on ESPN3.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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