NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona University men's basketball team used a late second half surge to pull away in a 93-74 win over Marist in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Play on Senior Night at the Hynes Center. The Gaels won their 10th straight contest as they celebrated their four senior student-athletes and four senior managers prior to the contest. It was the Maroon & Gold's big three underclassmen that paced the team as junior
Nelly Junior Joseph posted a 27-point, 11 rebound double double, junior
Daniss Jenkins had a 21-point, 10-assist double double with seven rebounds and sophomore
Walter Clayton Jr. had 18 points, nine assists, five steals and four rebounds in the win.
THE RUNDOWN
The Gaels led wire-to-wire and jumped out to a 21-5 advantage less than seven minutes after a 15-0 run capped by sophomore
Anton Brookshire's three-pointer at the 13:24 mark. Marist answered with nine straight of their own to trim the deficit to seven. Iona led by as many as 14 with 7:44 remaining and 10 points at the half.
The Maroon & Gold scored the first eight points of the second half to lead 53-35 just 97 seconds into the frame. Leading 66-49 at the 12:11 mark, the Gaels surrendered 10 straight points as the Red Foxes trimmed their deficit to just seven less than three minutes later. After trading two free throws for a jump shot, Iona led 68-61 with eight minutes to play. The Gaels ripped off 10 straight in less than two minutes to increase its advantage to 17 with 5:19 remaining. The run became 14-3 and an 18-point lead at 4:30. Senior
Osborn Shema's dunk gave Iona its largest lead of the contest, 89-69 with 2:32 left. In the final minute, senior manager
Stephen Boateng, who dressed and played in his first-ever game, sank two free throws to electrify the crowd and make the final margin 93-74.
IONA PERFORMERS
- Junior Joseph recorded his 17th double double of the season and 15th in his last 18 games. It was his third 20/10 effort this year. He shot 11-for-16 from the field and added two blocks and a steal.
- Jenkins had his third points/assists double double and second 20/10 effort of the year and fell three rebounds shy of a triple double in the win.
- Clayton Jr. posted his second straight contest with five or more steals.
- Jenkins and Clayton Jr. combined for 19 assists and just two turnovers.
- Shema had 11 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block.
- Senior Berrick JeanLouis had nine points and four rebounds for the Gaels.
- In addition to JeanLouis, Iona honored seniors James Carey, Quinn Slazinski and Parker Weiss along with managers Boateng, Scott Galst, Christian Murphy, and Javier Raudales.
THE OPPONENT
- Marist was led by Kam Farris' 17 points as four players recorded 10 or more points.
- Noah Harris, Javon Cooley and Patrick Gardner each had 14. Harris led with six assists.
- It was the first time since December a player other than Gardner led the Red Foxes in scoring.
- Jaden Daughtry had a team-high seven boards.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Iona out shot Marist 49.3%-45.8%.
- The Red Foxes connected on 12 three point field goals and shot 42.9% from long distance. The Gaels were 7-for-17 (41.2) from deep.
- Iona held a 41-31 advantage on the boards and 17-9 on second chance points.
- The Gaels had 27 assists and just seven turnovers, while the Red Foxes had 17 assists and 15 turnovers. Iona led 26-12 on points off turnovers.
- The home team also dominated in the paint to the tune of 56-26.
- Iona's 1.29 points per possession was its highest of the season.
UP NEXT
The Gaels play their final contest of the 2022-23 regular season on the road at Rider in a battle of the top two seeds in the upcoming 2023 MAAC Championship next week in Atlantic City.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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