RIVERDALE, NY - The Iona College men's basketball team fell to Manhattan, 74-72, in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at Draddy Gymnasium. The Gaels erased a 15-point second half deficit but fell short following a go-ahead layup by the Jaspers with less than two seconds remaining. Sophomore Nelly Junior Joseph led the way with 18 points and 12 rebounds and freshman Walter Clayton Jr. added 17 points in the loss.

THE RUNDOWN

Manhattan held a small single-digit lead for first ten minutes of the contest as the game remained within two possessions. Junior Quinn Slazinski's dunk at the 10:15 mark gave Iona its only lead of the first half at 19-17. The Jaspers responded with a 14-2 run, leading by as many as 10 points following Samba Diallo's steal and dunk with 4:13 to play. The Gaels got within five points less than a minute later, but Manhattan carried a nine-point, 40-31 advantage into the break.
 
After scoring eight of the first 10 points to start the second half, the home team quickly opened it largest advantage of the contest at 48-35, less than 90 seconds into the period. Iona chipped away and took a one-point lead following a 9-0 run midway though. Sophomore Ryan Myers made the score 56-55 with a layup at 10:29 to give Iona a brief 56-55 advantage. The final 10 minutes mirrored the first 10 as the game remained within two possessions. The final two minutes saw three tie scores, the final coming on senior Elijah Joiner's pullup with 31 ticks left. On Manhattan's final possession, senior Jose Perez was able to get to the rim with the clock running down and give the Jaspers the lead. Iona's final attempt at the buzzer rimmed out.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Junior Joseph posted his 10th double-double of the season with his 18 points and 12 boards. He added five assists and two steals.
• Clayton shot 6-for-9 from the field and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. He recorded two assists and a block.
• Slazinski had 11 points and six boards with the help of three three-point field goals.
• Graduate Tyson Jolly had nine points and seven rebounds while Joiner added six points and six assists in the loss.

THE OPPONENT

• Perez led the Jaspers with a game-high 27 points.  He shot just 8-for-23 from the field but was 10-of-14 from the free throw line. Perez also recorded a team-best six assists.
• Diallo and Marques Watson each had 13 points.  Diallo added a team-high eight rebounds and three steals.

TEAM STATS

• The Gaels out shot (50.0%-42.4%), out rebounded (35-32) and led the assist-to-turnover battle (16/16 - 11/12) but fell short on the scoreboard.
• Second chance points were even at 19-19 and the Jaspers held a 19-16 advantage on points off turnovers.
• Manhattan's main advantage statistically was attempting nearly twice as many free throws as the Gaels (27-14).

UP NEXT

• The Gaels complete the 2021-22 campaign at home on Saturday vs. Quinnipiac.
• Iona celebrates senior day and the careers of its four graduate students, Joiner, Jolly, Colton Cashaw and Dylan van Eyck along with its lone senior manager Omorede Rainey.
• The pregame ceremony will begin at 12:55 p.m.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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