ST. LOUIS, MO - The Iona College men's basketball team fell to Saint Louis, 68-67, in non-conference action on the road. The Billikens converted a second-chance opportunity with less than eight seconds remaining and held the Gaels from scoring on the final possession to earn the win. Graduate
Tyson Jolly scored a game-high 16 points and junior
Quinn Slazinski had 15 in the loss.
THE RUNDOWN
Iona led by as many 11 points with 4:01 to play in the first half following a layup by graduate
Dylan van Eyck which made the score 30-19. The home team chipped away at the deficit, finishing the half on an 11-1 run to make the score 31-30 in favor of the Gaels at the break.
The margin in the second half stayed within two possessions as the largest lead for either team was just four points. Two of the nation's most prolific free throw shooting teams combined for 37 free throws in the second half alone leading to the inability to pull away. Iona led by four on two Slazinski free throws with 4:55 remaining. Saint Louis scored eight straight to earn its largest lead of the frame. Six free throws and a dunk by Francis Okoro gave the Billikens a 64-60 advantage with 2:35 to play. Iona responded with four straight to knot the score at 64-64 with 1:16 left. Jordan Nesbitt's jumper gave Saint Louis a two-point lead with under a minute to play. Iona sophomore
Ryan Myers responded with a huge three-pointer from the wing with 33 ticks left to put Iona ahead 67-66. The Gaels got a stop on the next possession but could not convert two free throws to add separation. Fred Thatch Jr. put back a Gibson Jimerson layup attempt to give the home team its final lead. Iona's go-ahead layup attempt fell short as Saint Louis escaped with the one-point win.
IONA PERFORMERS
- Jolly added four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals to his 16-point effort.
- Slazinski had three rebounds and two steals while shooting a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.
- Myers posted his second-straight double-digit effort with 10 points in the loss. He has recorded all four of his 10+ point contests in the last seven games, averaging 8.4 points over the stretch, following a 3.4 ppg average over his first seven appearances.
- Sophomore Nelly Junior Joseph had 10 points and a team-high six rebounds. He also added four blocks, two assists and two steals.
THE OPPONENT
- Nesbitt led the Billikens with 15 points. Okoro and Jimerson each had 13 and Yuri Collins added 10. Collins who led the nation with over eight assists per game was limited to three in the contest.
TEAM STATS
- The game saw 11 tie scores and 11 additional lead changes in the hard-fought battle.
- Iona held a slim advantage in field goal percentage (35.5% - 34.5%) and on the assist-turnover battle. The Gaels had 10 assists and nine turnovers while Saint Louis posted just seven assists and had 19 turnovers.
- The key stat for the Billikens was a 48-34 advantage on the boards including 21-17 on the offensive glass. The second chance point lead was also held by the home team, 20-16.
- The two teams combined for 52 free throw attempts, with Iona converting 19 of 26 and Saint Louis converting all but one of their 26 tries. Both teams rank in the top five in the country in free throw makes per game, with Saint Louis taking over the nation's lead with their 25 in the contest.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- It was the second overall meeting between Saint Louis and Iona, following a Gael win in their season opener during the 1987-88 campaign at the Budweiser Irish Basketball Classic in Cork, Ireland.
- Head coach Rick Pitino faced his former Kentucky point guard, Saint Louis head coach Travis Ford. Ford is now 2-3 against his former college coach.
- The two teams will meet again next season in New Rochelle to complete a home-and-home series.
UP NEXT
The Gaels return to MAAC play Tuesday (January 11) at Fairfield for a 2 p.m. tip at Webster Bank Arena.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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