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Iona University Athletics

Wheza Panzo
Joe D'Aloisio - Iona Athletics
63
Manhattan MC 5-18,2-12 MAAC
73
Winner Iona Iona 13-11,8-5 MAAC
Manhattan MC
5-18,2-12 MAAC
63
Final
73
Iona Iona
13-11,8-5 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Manhattan MC 31 32 63
Iona Iona 29 44 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Brian Beyrer / Sr. Associate AD / Athletic Communications

Strong Second Half Propels Iona MBB To Win Over Manhattan, 73-63

NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona University men's basketball team earned a 73-63 win over Manhattan in a nationally televised affair on ESPNU in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Play Friday night at the Hynes Center. After a first half that saw eight lead changes and four tie scores and the Gaels trailing by two, the home team pulled ahead early in the second and held on for the 10-point home win. Graduate Wheza Panzo scored a game-high 21 points on seven three pointers to lead the Maroon & Gold.

THE RUNDOWN

Manhattan took an early advantage and led by five following Briggs McClain's second three pointer in the first six-plus minutes. It was 13-8 in favor of the visitors at the 13:44 mark. In building the lead, Manhattan converted 5-of-its-first-7 field goal attempts with three from long distance. Iona began the half shooting 3-for-14 before ending the frame connecting on 8-of-19.
 
Panzo's third trifecta of the first half gave Iona its first lead, 18-17, with 9:31 to play. After alternating leads over the next five minutes the score stood tied at 26-26 with 4:03 to play. The two teams traded three pointers on back-to-back possessions with under 2:30 left. Seydou Traore scored the final bucket of the half at the 59 second mark to make it 31-29 at the break.
 
The first half featured just one trip to the foul line (for the Jaspers) and just three fouls whistled.
 
Manhattan struck first with a single free throw in the first minute and Iona responded with 11 straight points for the final lead change of the contest. Junior Greg Gordon went to work during the run getting to the run on three of four possessions, sandwiching Panzo's fifth three to give Iona a 40-32 advantage just 2:28 into the second half. After a Traore bucket for the Jaspers ended the Gaels' run, Iona added four more from the free throw line for good measure to earn the first double-digit lead of the game for either team. In total, Iona's run was 15-3 after 3:13 elapsed. Manhattan cut it to four with 12:47 left but seven straight points on a Panzo three, a Gordon layup and a midrange jumper from rookie Jeremiah Quigley made it 54-43 just over a minute later. The Jaspers made one last run, cutting it to six at 9:07, the closest they would come the remainder of the contest. Iona's largest lead was 14 on Panzo's seventh long distance dagger with 74 seconds remaining.
 
In contrast of its slow start from the field, the Gaels hit nine of their first 12 attempts in the second half and shot 63.6% over the final 20 minutes.

IONA PERFORMERS

  • Panzo's 21-points came on a 7-for-10 shooting effort from long distance. He matched his season-high for makes, following his seven at Fairfield in December. It was a season-best 70% shooting effort on 10 or more attempts. Panzo made 13 three pointers in Iona's last two home games. The graduate transfer added two rebounds, two steals and two blocks, his team leading third contest with multiple blocks and steals.
  • Gordon chipped in 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds, with 17 points coming in the decisive second half. He also recorded two assists.
  • Quigley had 13 points and matched a season-best with seven assists with just one turnover.
  • Graduate Idan Tretout returned to the lineup after missing five games with an injury and scored nine points off the bench with four rebounds, an assist and two steals, shooting 3-of-5 from long distance.
  • Graduate Joel Brown also recorded seven assists to go along with a team-high three steals.

THE OPPONENT

  • Traore led the Jaspers with 20 points and nine rebounds. His 9-for-14 effort from the field was supported with three assists, a steal and a block in 40 minutes of play.
  • Jaden Winston also played all 40 minutes and recorded eight points and 12 assists.
  • Daniel Rouzan had nine points and six boards.

TEAM STATS

  • Iona's slow start from the field did not allow them to catch up to Manhattan on the field goal percentage board as the visitors outshot the home team 46.0%-45.5%. Iona flipped a 54.2%-33.3% first half deficit into a 63.6%-38.5% advantage in the second.
  • The Gaels held a 32-30 lead on the glass, including 10-8 on offensive boards and 11-5 in second chance points.
  • The Maroon & Gold had 21 assists (on 25 field goals) and 12 turnovers in the contest while Manhattan had 17 and 17.  Iona held a slight 14-12 advantage on points off turnovers.
  • For the first time in seven games and just the sixth time this season, Iona was outscored in the paint, 30-22.

UP NEXT

A quick turnaround finds the Gaels hosting Saint Peter's Sunday for a 1 p.m. tilt at the Hynes Center on ESPN+.

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)





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