ESTERO, Florida - The Iona University men's basketball team never trailed in an 89-64 win over Buffalo in its final contest at the 2023 Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena. Graduate
Wheza Panzo led four Gaels in double-figures with a season-high 20 points in the win.
THE RUNDOWN
The Gaels jumped out to a 13-0 lead and never looked back. After trading buckets with the Bulls made it 17-7, Iona ran away with a 15-0 run and led by at least 19 points the remainder of the game.
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The Maroon & Gold led by as many as 34 on junior
Greg Gordon's dunk at the 11:07 mark made the score 75-41.
IONA PERFORMERS
- Panzo shot 7-for-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from long distance for his 20 points.
- Gordon scored 16 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the field while adding four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
- Graduate Idan Tretout posted 11 points with four steals and two assists.
- Freshman Jean Aranguren scored 10 points, with three assists and two steals.
- Rookie Sultan Adewale added eight points and a team-high five rebounds.
- Graduate Joel Brown scored six points and dished out an Iona-best seven assists.
THE OPPONENT
- Buffalo was led by Sy Chatman's 14 points. He added five rebounds and five blocks.
- Jonnivius Smith had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double.
TEAM STATS
- Iona out shot Buffalo 52.3%-42.0% including a 60.6% effort in the first half.
- The Gaels shot 56.5% from distance, connecting on 13 three-pointers, and limited the Bulls to 6-of-23 shooting (26.1) on defense.
- Buffalo outrebounded the Gaels 39-24 and had an 18-13 advantage on second chance points.
- The Bulls also had an advantage at the charity stripe, converting 16-of-20 attempts to Iona's 8-of-11.
- The key for the Gaels defensively was the turnover game. Iona had 22 assists and six turnovers while Buffalo had just eight assists and 22 giveaways. The Maroon & Gold led the points off turnovers margin 28-6.
UP NEXT
The Gaels complete a four-game stretch away from New Rochelle on Sunday when they face No. 18/21 Colorado in Boulder for a 2 p.m. ET tip.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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