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Iona University Athletics

Nelly Junior Joseph St. Bonaventure
Stockton Photo Inc.
57
St. Bonaventure SBU 6-4,0-0 Atlantic 10
72
Winner Iona Iona 6-2,2-0 MAAC
St. Bonaventure SBU
6-4,0-0 Atlantic 10
57
Final
72
Iona Iona
6-2,2-0 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
St. Bonaventure SBU 28 29 57
Iona Iona 32 40 72

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Brian Beyrer / Sr. Associate AD / Athletic Communications

Iona MBB Runs Away Late; Tops St. Bonaventure 72-57

BROOKLYN, NY - The Iona University men's basketball team pulled away late in a 72-57 win over St. Bonaventure in non-conference action at the 2022 Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational at the Barclays Center. Trailing by one with 7:41 remaining, the Gaels ratcheted up the full court pressure and ended the contest on a 19-3 run to earn their second straight convincing victory over a top-tier Atlantic 10 opponent. Junior Nelly Junior Joseph led all scorers with 24 points and completed a double-double with 10 rebounds.

THE RUNDOWN

The Gaels trailed for only two possessions the entire contest, jumping out to a 5-0 lead before the Bonnies even had a turn. After winning the tap, Iona's first two possessions foreshadowed the rest of game. Walter Clayton Jr. buried a three-pointer to make it 3-0 just 18 seconds in. With the press on, the Maroon & Gold turned its opponent over in the backcourt and finished the play with a Junior Joseph layup. Iona maintained a single-digit advantage over the next 11 minutes, leading by as many as eight following a Parker Weiss three-pointer from the corner at 15:41. The Bonnies chipped away and created the first lead change of the contest when a Max Amadasun dunk capped a 10-3 run and put Bonaventure ahead 24-22 with 5:16 remaining. The Gaels responded with an 8-0 run and led by four, 32-28 at the break.
 
The second half started similarly to the first with a Junior Joseph layup and a Clayton Jr. three ball to quickly put the Gaels ahead by nine at 18:23. A 9-2 Bonnies run that cut it to two was answered with a 10-2 Gaels run and a 49-39 Iona advantage with 12:25 left. Less than two and a half minutes later the score was tied following 10 straight points by St. Bonaventure, capped by six straight down low from Chad Venning. Iona went up four with a pair of free throws by Clayton Jr. and another conversion down low by Junior Joseph. Bonaventure added five straight to change the lead for the penultimate time in the game. With 7:41 remaining a Daryl Banks III three pointer gave the Bonnies a 54-53 lead. Iona's big run started with a transition dunk by senior Berrick JeanLouis. During the decisive 19-3 outburst, Iona shot 7-for-8 from the field with a three-pointer, and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe. Six different players scored points; the dagger was a Weiss three-pointer to put Iona ahead by 10 with 3:31 to play. Defensively, Iona held St. Bonaventure to 1-of-10 shooting from the field with three turnovers.

IONA PERFORMERS

  • Junior Joseph posted his third double-double of the season with his season-high 24 points and 10 rebounds.  He was 11-for-14 from the field, adding two assists, two blocks and two steals and for the first time in his career did not commit a foul in a contest where he played more than 30 minutes (32 games).
  • Clayton Jr. posted 16 points in support of the big man, adding seven rebounds and four assists.  He shot six of seven from the charity stripe, missing his first attempt of the season after hitting his first 20 attempts and snapping the longest Division I streak to start the season.
  • Junior Daniss Jenkins fought through a tough Bonaventure defensive effort and scored 11 points while dishing out seven assists and grabbing four rebounds.  He hit two clutch three pointers to stop an opponent's run.
  • Weiss had a career-high eight points off the bench.  He also converted two huge three balls in the win.
  • Senior Osborn Shema's big contribution did not show up on the stat sheet. The seven-footer's presence on the inbound on Iona's full court press sparked the Gaels on numerous occasions.  He had six points, five rebounds and two assists for the Maroon & Gold.

THE OPPONENT

  • Banks II and Venning had 14 points apiece for St. Bonaventure.  Venning had a double-double with 10 rebounds.  Banks III led his team with four assists.
  • Kyrell Luc and Moses Flowers each had 10 points. Luc committed nine of the Bonnies 21 turnovers.

TEAM STATS

  • The Gaels outshot the Bonnies 50.0% - 38.7%, improving to 6-0 on the season when holding their opponent under 40% shooting.
  • St. Bonaventure held a 37-34 advantage on the boards including 14-8 on the offensive glass and 15-6 on second chance points.
  • The Maroon & Gold had 21 assists and 19 turnovers while the Bonnies had 12 assists and 21 giveaways.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

  • The Gaels uncharacteristically struggled with turnovers, posting a season-high 19. Over the first 11:30, Iona had 11, greater than their season average entering the contest. Despite the total, the Maroon & Gold forced 21 St. Bonaventure giveaways and led 27-17 on points off turnovers.
  • Following 10 straight losses to Atlantic 10 opponents, Iona went 2-0 in 2022-23 and improved to 2-1 in the Rick Pitino era.
  • The Gaels also finished 2-0 in their two events on neutral floors sponsored by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

UP NEXT

Another quick turnaround for the Gaels looms with a matchup with Princeton on Tuesday evening.   The game takes place on a neutral floor at Kean University's Harwood Arena in Union, NJ.   Get your tickets now on IonaTickets.com.  The game will be aired on SNY locally and ESPN+ nationally at 7 p.m.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Be sure to follow Iona College athletics on all social media platforms:
Iona Athletics: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
Iona Men's Basketball: Twitter, Facebook. Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)





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