The Iona Gaels are making their second trip in as many years to the big dance. The 4th seeded Gaels defeated their rivals, the #6 seed Manhattan Jaspers, to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
It is a trip that they had to earn against a very determined and scrappy Manhattan squad.
The Manhattan Jaspers took the Gaels out of their game in the first half. The Gaels’ explosive run-and-gun offense, first in the nation averaging 81.2 points per game, had been held to 22 first half points with seconds left before halftime. Every time the Gaels had tried to pick up the pace of the game, Manhattan would force turnovers and use timeouts to keep the game mired in the half court. The Jaspers dictated the tempo.
Manhattan had possession for the final shot before halftime and looked to extend their lead, but RaShawn Stores air-balled with 4 seconds left and gave the Gaels one last shot to trim the deficit.
Tournament MVP Lamont “Momo” Jones took the ball coast-to-coast and hit an off-balance jumper as time expired to cut the Jasper lead to two and ran straight off the court holding his hand up signaling “number 1”.
Photo Courtesy of Andrew Varnon
Jones’ jumper proved to be the momentum boost Iona needed. The Gaels stormed out of the locker room in the second half. After the teams exchanged baskets back and forth for the first six minutes of the half, the Gaels were finally able to get their offense online and, for the first time in the game, dictate the tempo.
With the score 35-30 in favor of the Jaspers, Iona guard Tre Bowman drew a foul on a three-point attempt. He would hit 2 of 3 free throw attempts to cut the lead to 35-32. The play ignited the Gaels to 17-2 run in which they were able to get out on the break and quicken the pace of the game.
As the Gaels piled on the points in an offensive flurry, Manhattan coach Steve Massiello became increasingly more animated on the Jasper bench and received two warnings for coming out onto the court. With 9:03 left in the game he received a technical foul for this violation and the ensuing free throws gave the Gaels a 10 point lead 47-37. It was a lead they would never relinquish.
Bowman, who led all scorers with 20 points, played a spectacular game. In the first half, he kept his team in the game and scored 15 of their first 39 points.
The Gaels also got a stellar performance from their now MVP guard “Momo” Jones. He scored 14 points and created multiple plays for his teammates driving to the lane and drawing double teams before dishing out the rock to the open man.
David Laury, who was the story of their semifinal win over Niagara when he put up a double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds, was held to a meager two points in the first half. He struggled to find a rhythm for most of the game and had to leave the game after being shaken up fighting for a loose ball, but the 6’8” forward came through for his teammates when they needed him.
With 8 minutes to go in the game Manhattan cut the lead to 47-41. Laury scored three straight baskets for the Gaels to counter the Manhattan push and was able to keep the lead at 5 as the jaspers scored on 4 consecutive possessions to make it 53-48.
(Photo By Andrew Varnon)
Then Bowman hit a 3 to push the lead out to 56-48 and Iona had breathing room again. Laury finished with 10 points, including a slam dunk on a fast break with six seconds left to put the exclamation point on the win.
Manhattan’s Michael Alvarado played an outstanding game and finished with 14 points an led a furious rally. The Jaspers buried a trey to make it 60-55 with .1 seconds on the clock and Iona stormed the court. They received a technical foul since the game was not over and Manhattan hit the two free throws. However, Ion had possession on the in-bounds and the final tenth of a second ticked off and left Manhattan rally short at 60-57. The Jasper’s season is finished.
Iona now moves on to their second straight appearance in the NCAA tournament. Last year, the Gaels were a 14 seed and lost in the first round to the 3 seed Brigham Young University 78-72. This year’s team boats the number one offense in the nation and they look to make some noise when March Madness tips off on Tuesday March 19th.
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