ALBANY, NY - The Iona College men's basketball dropped its second straight game on the road in a 70-64 defeat at Siena. A decisive 25-7 run over a near 10-minute span in the second half proved to be the difference in the game.

THE RUNDOWN

A low scoring first half saw the score tied at the break. Graduate Elijah Joiner's three-point play to beat the shot clock buzzer with 1:11 remaining in the half sent the two teams into the locker room even at 24-24. Iona led by as many as six points on a Joiner three-pointer with 8:45 left. Siena's largest lead was the three-point advantage it held prior to Iona's final score of the half.
 
Iona raced out to a double-digit advantage early in the second half, first leading 40-30 following a 7-0 run. Graduate Tyson Jolly converted a four-point play, and senior Berrick JeanLouis a three-point play to give the Gaels the 10-point lead at the 14:06 mark. After trading baskets on the next two possessions, Siena began to chip away. Six points from the free throw line was answered by a three-pointer from junior Quinn Slazinski at 10:53. Seven more points for the Saints was followed by two free throws by graduate Dylan van Eyck. Siena added six more to take the lead for good. Senior Jackson Stormo tied it with a dunk and went ahead with a layup. A long two from JeanLouis was answered with six more from the Saints. In total, the 25-7 run saw Siena shoot 7-of-14 from the field including 2-of-3 from distance, 9-for-11 from the free throw line with just one turnover. On the other end, the Gaels shot just 2-for-11, 2-of-4 from the line and had four turnovers.
 
Iona stormed back in the final three minutes, cutting the eight-point deficit to just two with less than 31 ticks remaining. Jolly hit a three from the wing to make the score 66-64. It was the final points of the game for the Gaels as Siena connected on four straight free throws to end the game.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Jolly led Iona with 20 points in the loss. He hit four three-pointers while adding three rebounds and two assists.
• Joiner scored 15 points and dished out two assists.
• Slazinski had nine points with a rebound and a steal.
• JeanLouis had seven points four rebounds and two assists.
• Freshman Walter Clayton Jr. tallied five points and four rebounds.
• Van Eyck had four points, four rebounds, two steals and an assist.
• Sophomore Nelly Junior Joseph was held off the scoreboard but posted 12 rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

THE OPPONENT

• Graduate Anthony Gaines - who was held scoreless in New Rochelle two weeks ago - posted a game-high 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and the line. He added nine rebounds.
• Junior Colby Rodgers had 15 points and three assists.
• Stormo posted 14 points and six rebounds.
• Freshman Javion McCollum had 11 points with the help of a 6-for-6 effort from the free throw line in the second half.

TEAM STATS

• Iona was out shot 44.4% - 35.9% from the field, though it held a 7-4 advantage on three pointers made.
• The Saints shot more than double the amount of free throws as the Gaels, connecting on 26-of-36 to the Maroon & Gold's 11-for-16 effort.
• Siena held a 37-35 edge in rebounding and 6-2 on second chance points despite the Gaels' 9-4 lead in offensive rebounding.
• Iona had 11 assists and 11 turnovers while the Saints posted eight assists and 13 turnovers.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• The 35.9% field goal percentage for the Gaels was its lowest since its loss at St. Louis on January 8. Iona fell to 1-3 on the season when shooting under 40%, the lone win coming at Marist.
• Iona's 11 assists matched the third lowest total of the season behind six vs. Liberty and 10 at St. Louis. The Gaels are 2-2 when recording less than 12 assists.
• The last time Iona lost two straight conference games was last Feb. 13 and 17 vs. Manhattan and Quinnipiac. The response was its recently snapped 17-game MAAC win streak.

UP NEXT

Iona is back in action on Sunday afternoon at the Hynes Center against Monmouth at 1 p.m.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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