NEW ROCHELLE, NY - Harvard used a 12-0 run late in the second half to hold off the Iona University men's basketball team 67-61 at the Hynes Center Sunday afternoon. Senior
Dejour Reaves scored a game-high 25 points and rookie
Adam Njie Jr. had 12 to lead the Gaels in their final non-conference game of the 2024-25 campaign.
THE RUNDOWN
The two teams went into the break knotted at 26-26. Harvard led for more than 15 minutes and held an eight point advantage with 8:19 to play. Trailing 20-12, a 7-0 run over a four minute span pulled the Gaels within one. An Njie layup followed by a Reaves three-ball and layup accounted for the run. The run extended to 12-2 and a two-point lead for the Maroon & Gold when Reaves hit his second three-pointer of the half. Harvard pulled even a possession later and the two teams traded buckets to make it 26-26 at halftime.
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The game remained within one possession for the first nine minutes of the contest. Down 39-38, Iona scored seven straight to earn its largest advantage of the contest. Junior
Yaphet Moundi dunked a Reaves feed to make it 45-39 with 10:58 to play. Harvard answered with five unanswered on their next two possessions. A pair of free throws by Reaves and another bucket by Njie made it 49-44 with 8:56 to play. The Crimson held Iona scoreless for the nearly five minutes in their decisive run and led by seven with 5:13 to play. Reaves cut the deficit to three points in the final minute, but Iona could not find an equalizer.
IONA PERFORMERS
- Reaves' 25 points came on 8-of-18 shooting, 3-of-6 for long distance and 6-for-7 from the charity stripe. He added four rebounds, four steals and two assists in 37 minutes.
- Njie 12 points with three assists and four steals.
- Moundi had eight points, five rebounds and four blocks in 20 minutes off the bench. All eight points came in the final 20 minutes.
- Junior James Patterson grabbed a season-best 15 rebounds while adding three assists and three steals.
THE OPPPONENT
- Thomas Batties II and Austin Hunt led four Crimson in double-figures with 16 points apiece.
- Hunt scored 14 points in the second half, adding three assists and two steals.
- Batties added a team-high eight rebounds and six blocks.
- Tey Barbour scored 11 of his 14 points in the final 20 minutes of the game.
- Chandler Pigge posted 12 points.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Harvard out shot Iona 45.5%-34.3%. The Gaels converted three more field goals, but the Crimson had four more from long distance.
- Harvard's big advantage came at the charity stripe, shooting 20-for-24 to Iona's 12-for-14 effort.
- The Gaels had 12 turnovers and 11 assists while the Crimson posted 14 assists and 19 turnovers. The Gaels held a 20-14 advantage off turnovers.
- Rebounding was even at 34-34, Iona had 18 offensive boards and a 15-9 advantage on second chance points.
UP NEXT
Iona begins the heart of MAAC play on Friday night, hosting Marist at the Hynes Center at 7 p.m.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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Iona Men's Basketball: Twitter, Facebook. Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)