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Iona University Athletics

Justin Menard
Jordan Score - Iona Athletics
74
Winner Iona Iona 5-10,2-2 MAAC
73
Siena Siena 7-8,2-2 MAAC
Winner
Iona Iona
5-10,2-2 MAAC
74
Final
73
Siena Siena
7-8,2-2 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Iona Iona 37 37 74
Siena Siena 38 35 73

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

Iona MBB Holds Off Siena, 74-73

ALBANY. NY - The Iona University men's basketball team outlasted Siena 74-73 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at MVP Arena. The Gaels mustered one more point than their opponent in a contest that remained within two possessions for all but four minutes, saw six lead changes and six tie scores including the last with under four seconds to play and featured 49 combined turnovers and 47 fouls in the 40 minute affair. Rookies Adam Njie Jr. and Justin Menard, and senior Clarence Rupert all came off the bench to score double-figures and lead the Gaels.

THE RUNDOWN

Siena's largest advantage of the first half was just four points, with just over eight minutes remaining. Iona's biggest was six points with 2:08 left. The Saints rallied for 10 of the final 13 points in the last 122 seconds to take a one point lead into the break.

Trailing by one before the first media timeout of the frame, Menard hit back-to-back three pointers to spark a 12-2 run that saw Iona finally break past the two possession barrier with 12:44 to play. The Gaels led by as many as 11 points at 10:58 when Menard found Rupert for a tough layup and made the score 61-50. The Saints chipped away, mostly from the free throw line, with a 10-0 run closing the gap to 61-60 just over three minutes later. Iona bent but did not break and maintained a small lead until Siena finally tied it with 13 seconds remaining. Rupert put the Maroon & Gold up four with a minute to play. After a defensive stop, the Gaels called back-to-back timeouts as they struggled to get the ball inbounds with 33 seconds remaining. When they finally did, Siena's Gavin Doty cleaned up his own missed layup and was fouled and made it a one point game with 27 seconds left. The Saints forced another turnover on the ensuing inbound pass and had the possession arrow forcing a jump ball. With the chance to take the lead at the foul line, the home team converted the second of two attempts with 13 ticks remaining and made it 73-73. Njie brought the ball up the floor and got to the rim and was fouled with 2.7 remaining. He hit one of two free throws to go ahead by one. After Siena called its final timeout, Iona intercepted a long inbound and was fouled right away. Unable to convert from the line, Siena's Justice Shoats' game winning attempt from inside his own half hit the rim and the Gaels came out ahead with the one point win.

IONA PERFORMERS

  • Njie led the way with 13 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the field and 3-for-5 from the charity stripe. He posted five rebounds, three assists and five steals in the all-around effort.
  • Rupert had 12 points - 10 in the second half - on 5-of-6 shooting with four rebounds and two assists.
  • Menard scored all 11 of his points in the second half, draining three big three-pointers while adding two assists and three steals.
  • Junior Yaphet Moundi had nine points and a team-leading nine rebounds.
  • Junior Kernan Bundy added eight points and what turned out to be the game-sealing steal with under three seconds to play.

THE OPPONENT

  • Brendan Coyle scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the first half and led the Saints. He hit four three-pointers while adding three rebounds and three steals.
  • Shoats added 16 points, with 14 in the second half. He led Siena with four assists.
  • Major Freeman added 10 points while Doty posted nine points and nine rebounds in the loss.

TEAM STATS

  • Siena narrowly out shot Iona 44.4%-44.3% for the game. Iona had 16 more field goal attempts than its opponent with the help of 17 offensive boards.
  • The Gaels held a 37-26 rebounding edge but just 13-12 on second chance points.
  • Siena posted 11 assists and 25 turnovers while the Gaels had 13 assists and 24 giveaways. The Saints led 27-21 in pints off turnovers.
  • Iona dominated the paint points 38-24.

UP NEXT

The Gaels continue action on the road next Friday at Fairfield at 7 p.m. 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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