NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona University men's basketball team scored on its first possession and never trailed in a 93-60 win over Siena in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play. Coupled with a Rider loss to Mount St. Mary's, the Gaels clinched the outright MAAC Regular Season Championship and the No. 1 seed in the tournament in two weeks. The Maroon & Gold increased its league-record to 13 titles and captured back-to-back regular season crowns for the third time in history and first since 2013-14 and 2014-15. Five Gaels recorded double-digit points in the all-around win. It was Iona's ninth-straight win.
THE RUNDOWN
Iona scored nine seconds in and the first seven points of the contest and never looked back. Its first double-digit lead came 3:45 into the game junior
Nelly Junior Joseph's layup that made it 14-4. The Gaels led 23-5 at the 13:37 mark on a jumper by sophomore
Walter Clayton Jr. that capped a 13-1 run. The Saints cut the margin to 14 points by the midway point, but Iona answered with 11 straight points and a 16-2 run to lead by 25 with less than five minutes remaining. The Maroon & Gold's largest lead of the first half was 42-14 with just over three minutes to go. Siena ended the half on a 7-2 run to make the margin 44-21 at the half.
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Iona had a 20+ point cushion for all but one possession in the second half. Its largest lead was the final margin. Intrigue in the frame was sparked in the final 90 seconds as senior walk-on
James Carey electrified the capacity crowd with a seven-point outburst in a minute span. He sank all four free throw attempts and drained a long three-pointer from the left wing to record his first points of the season. Carey was subbed for in the final 30 seconds of the game to a standing ovation for his career-effort from the Gael faithful.
IONA PERFORMERS
- Iona's big three of Junior Joseph, Clayton and Daniss Jenkins combined for 50 points, 22 rebounds, 12 assists, 10 steals and two blocks.
- Clayton and Jenkins led with 18 points apiece.
- Clayton added five assists, four rebounds and a career-best seven steals. The steal total was a season-high by a MAAC performer and the highest single-game total for the Gaels since A.J. English reached the mark on January 15, 2016 vs. Monmouth.
- Jenkins posted nine rebounds and six assists. He was 5-for-8 from the field, 3-for-4 from long distance and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe to account for his 18 points.
- Junior Joseph had 14 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
- Sophomore Anton Brookshire posted 12 points and three rebounds, draining 4-of-5 three-point attempts.
- Senior Berrick JeanLouis had 10 points and three rebounds.
- Senior Osborn Shema chipped in eight points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.
- Carey recorded seven points in three minutes of playing time, a career-high point total from his one season at Gettysburg College and now third season at Iona.
THE OPPONENT
- Siena freshmen Michael Eley and Zek Tekin were the lone Saints in double figures with 12 and 10, respectively.
- After combining for 52 points of the team's 70 points in the first meeting, the Gaels limited Andrew Platek, Jackson Stormo and Michael Baer to a combined 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting and 1-of-7 from distance.
TEAM STATS
- Iona out shot Siena 46.0%-36.5%. They limited the Saints to 25.0% in the decisive first half.
- The Gaels had a marked advantage from long distance, converting 50.0% of their attempts while the Saints converted 23.3%.
- The Maroon & Gold also posted 34 free throw attempts, to the visitor's 12. The 22-point difference was the largest for Iona in a MAAC regular season contest since at least the 2010-11 campaign.
- Iona held a 44-37 edge on the boards and 22-9 on second chance points.
- The Gaels had 21 assists and 11 turnovers while the Saints posted 18 assists and 20 giveaways. After committing 16 turnovers in the first half, Siena settled down with just four in the final 20 minutes. Iona held a 30-8 lead in points off turnovers.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Coupled with the Iona women's basketball team's clinching of a No. 1 seed this weekend, Iona is the first MAAC school to have its men's and women's programs win regular season titles in the same year since Marist in 2006-07.
- Only two other schools currently have both their men's and women's teams in first place: Princeton in the Ivy League and Toledo in the Mid-American Conference.
- Junior Joseph had his sixth effort of the year with at least two steals and blocks and Shema his third. Junior Joseph's total leads the MAAC and is now two more than Jeanlouis, three more than Shema and four more than five other MAAC performers who have reached the mark on multiple occasions.
- The 33-point win was the program's 17th overall 30+ point MAAC regular season victory. Iona's three efforts this season match the program record set in 2011-12. The Gaels' have recorded only one other season with multiple 30+ point wins, with two in 2010-11.
- It was Iona's largest margin of victory over the Saints since Sean Armand's 10 three-point field goal effort at Madison Square Garden led to a 95-59 win on January 3, 2012 in that 2011-12 campaign.
- Iona won its ninth-straight contest, the longest winning streak under third-year head coach Rick Pitino and longest since a 10-game streak in 2019 that was capped by a MAAC Championship win over Monmouth.
UP NEXT
The Gaels host Senior Night at the Hynes Center Thursday vs. Marist at 7 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the women's team (4:30 p.m.). Tickets are going fast for the final home game for both regular season champs, buy your tickets today on IonaTickets.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow Iona University 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)
