BUFFALO, NY - The Iona College men's basketball team remained unbeaten in MAAC play and survived a second half surge by Canisius in a 70-62 win at the Koessler Center. The Gaels saw a 19-point halftime lead cut to as little as seven points on multiple occasions in the second half and held on for its eight straight victory. The Maroon & Gold improved to 19-3 on the season and 11-0 in the MAAC in the opening contest of its annual Western New York trip.

THE RUNDOWN

Everything went right for the Gaels in the first half, as they led by as many as 23 points late in frame and held a 40-21 advantage. The Gaels shot 53.3% from the field, 4-for-8 from long distance, limited Canisius to 37.5% shooting and just 2-for-10 from beyond the arc. Iona also had a 19-13 advantage on the boards, dished out eight assists and did not commit a turnover. Eight players got on the scoreboard, led by graduate Tyson Jolly's 12 points.
 
Iona's tight ball security in the first 20 minutes quickly ended on the first possession of the second hall The Gaels proceeded to commit nine turnovers in the first nine and a half minutes and saw their advantage trimmed to nine. The two teams placed evenly over the quarter of the contest, the Griffs edging the Gaels 19-18 on the scoreboard to account for the eight-point margin. Iona cut down the turnovers in the final 10:03, committing just two in over the final 10:03. While the Gaels shot just 4-of-11 from the field, they were 9-for-11 from the charity stripe to hold off the hard charging home team.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Sophomore Nelly Junior Joseph led all scorers with 17 points. He grabbed three rebounds and recorded four blocks.
• Jolly finished with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. His jumper in the paint with 2:39 remaining was the final field goal of the contest for the Gaels, stopping a Canisius mini-run and putting the Gaels ahead by five. The Griffs sent Iona to the foul line on their final five possessions following the Jolly bucket.
• Freshman Walter Clayton Jr. had 14 points, two rebounds and two assists.
• Senior Berrick JeanLouis posted nine points with seven rebounds, two assists and a block.
• Graduate Dylan van Eyck stuffed the stat sheet with five points, a team-leading eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

THE OPPONENT

• Canisius' Akrum Ahemed rebounded from a zero-point first half performance to lead the team with 14 in the game.
• Ahamadou Fofana, Jordan Henderson, and Malek Green each chipped in eight points.
• Jacco Fritz had seven points and seven boards.

TEAM STATS

• Despite a second half that saw Iona take 13 less shots than its opponent, the Gaels out-shot Canisius 49.0%-43.1% for the game.
• Coming into the game as the top rebounding squad in the MAAC, Iona held a 36-30 advantage on the boards.
• Even with all 11 of their turnovers in the second half, the Gaels won the assist-to-turnover battles, posting 13 dimes. Canisius had eight assists and 10 turnovers in the loss.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• The Gaels became just the fifth team to win at least its first 11 MAAC games. They now stand behind La Salle's 16-0 and 14-0 marks in in 1990 and 1988 and Siena's 14-0 and 12-0 starts in 2010 and 2009.
• Iona's 70 points scored are the lowest during its eight-game winning streak. The 62 points surrendered is its third lowest.
• The 62 possessions in the game are the second lowest of the season for the Maroon & Gold, one more than its win over Liberty on Nov. 19. The program has played its 20 other contests with 66 or more.
• Iona won its first contest on the "Buffalo swing" for the first seventh time in its last eight trips up North. Only twice has it followed up with a win in game two during the notoriously difficult stretch. Iona has posted a 2-0 record just seven times in in the 30 seasons Canisius and Niagara have been a part of the MAAC. It has split the weekend 17 times and been 0-2 six times.

UP NEXT

Iona takes on Niagara in Lewiston at the Gallagher Center Sunday afternoon. The two teams met in January at the Hynes Center with Iona earning a 78-55 win in the third game of the current winning streak. The Purple Eagles pulled off a thrilling come-from-behind overtime win vs. Manhattan Friday night at home.

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