MAAC Conference Basketball

With four minutes left to play in a two-point game, junior guard Sean Armand missed a three. The ball hit the rim and hovered in the air until junior guard Tre Bowman dunked the rebound through.

The Iona crowd erupted into “oohs and ahs” after the top-10esque play. Loyola head coach Jimmy Patsos was livid over his team’s lack of effort getting the rebound and was called for a technical. Senior guard Lamont “Momo” Jones and Bowman are raising their arms, signaling for the crowd to get louder. The Iona team is chest bumping and high-fiving each other. Queen’s song “We Will Rock You” bounced around the walls of the Hynes Center.

Momentum is now sitting on the Iona bench, and that is where it remained for the rest of the game. The Gaels never relinquished the lead from that point on and won 90-86, securing at worst a sixth seed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which avoids the play-in game.

“That won us the game,” Jones said afterwards. “We haven’t had a play like that all season.”

After losing the last three games and six of the last seven games by a combined 11 points, Iona head coach Tim Cluess said, “We needed that electrifying play.”

Jones, the nation's No. 2 scorer, had a game-high 35 points, but Armand, the second half of the most prolific scoring duo this year in Division I (along with Jones), was held to just eight points as his recent struggles continued.

So it was poetic justice that Bowman dunked Armand’s miss, symbolizing other players on Iona stepping up during their captain’s cold streak.

Cluess applauded his two bigs—sophomore forward David Laury, who finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, and senior forward Taaj Ridley, who finished with 15 points and four rebounds—for stepping up as well.

“David [Laury] played much better today,” Cluess said, “And Taaj [Ridley] battled underneath. We needed those two in this game against their size.”

Early on in this game, Iona threw away a 15-point lead with ill-advised passes and poor ball security, resulting in eight turnovers and 10 Loyola points.

The Greyhounds scored 10 unanswered points to close out the half and tie the game at 36. This seemed eerily similar to recent games for the Gaels.

The second half was back and forth with no lead extending beyond six points.

That was until Bowman’s dunk, which sparked an 11-6 Iona run, giving the Gaels a 82-72 lead with two minutes to play.

Loyola cut the lead to five, 82-77, but with just 56 seconds left on the clock, the Greyhounds had to start fouling to preserve the precious seconds.

The No. 3 free-throw shooting team in the nation welcomed the opportunity to shoot from line, converting 6-8 free throws inside the one minute mark.

“They could’ve layed down at any time, but they continued to fight,” Cluess said. “I’ve never seen a team work as hard as they do…They never felt sorry for themselves.”

Iona will take on Manhattan this Sunday at 2 p.m. for this year’s senior day. 

All quotes and information were obtained firsthand. 

Iona head coach Tim Cluess high-fived his two captains—senior guard Lamont “Momo” Jones and junior guard Sean Armand—as they left their postgame press conference following their 78-71 win over Rider on Saturday night.

“You have two days off,” Cluess said with a chuckle.

Armand and Jones looked back at him, and Jones said, “You know I’m always in the gym.”

That’s the workman’s mentality and dedication that Cluess has been trying to instill in his team all season long.

Just two nights ago, Cluess called out his Iona squad, saying, “Some don’t care,” after their loss to Marist, which extended the Gael’s losing streak to three games.

So it was no surprise Cluess revolved his game plan around his two passionate leaders, who combined for 56 of Iona’s 78 points (32 for Jones and 24 for Armand).

“In a game like this, when your team is struggling and a lot of guys questioning what they’re doing, and you have two players that can take the pressure off the rest of the guys and say these guys are going to carry us tonight that allows them to get the feel back and just play hard,” Cluess said. “And hopefully we’ll feel a little bit more relaxed knowing Momo and Sean are back.”

Coming into Saturday night’s matchup, Rider was the No. 1 defense in the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference against the three. Armand went 4-6 from behind the arc.

Rider was also had the No. 2 field-goal percentage defense. Jones went 10 of 19 from the field.

When Jones was asked about Rider’s defense, he shrugged his shoulders, smirked and said, “I scored 32.”

The Jones and Armand show started early. The NCAA’s highest-scoring duo combined to create an eight-point run, which gave Iona an early 16-11 lead with 13:39 left to play in the first half.

From that point on, the two teams, who were tied for third in the MAAC, exchanged points. The biggest lead all night was an eight-point Iona advantage with 4:01 left to play in the first half.

Rider erased a seven-point halftime deficit and tied the game at 42 with a 9-2 run. The Broncs’ scoring was led by senior guard Jonathon Thompson, who finished with a season-high 26 points, and junior guard Anthony Myles, who finished with 19 points.

Jones scored five unanswered points to break a 55-55 tie with nine minutes left to play in the game, and Iona held on to the lead the rest of the way.

“Tonight we came out and played with energy from start to finish,” Jones said. “And we showed we wanted this win.”

With 3:34 left to play in the game, Armand made a milestone layup, becoming the 34th  player in Iona’s history to reach 1,000 career points.

“It feels good to do it on my home court, and after we get a win, which is more important,” Armand said. “It’s an honor to be part of that club.”

Iona’s win was also a direct result of better foul shooting. After missing critical free throws in the double-overtime loss to Marist, Iona returned to form against Rider.

The No. 6 free-throw shooting team in the nation (76.4 percent) drained 21 of their 26 foul shots. Jones led with 11, adding to his nation-leading 162 converted free throws.

Iona’s next game will be at Manhattan on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. 

All quotes and information were obtained firsthand.

Iona’s senior guard Lamont “Momo” Jones knocked down what looked like a three from the top of the key with five seconds remaining in the second overtime of Thursday’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match up against Marist.

That would’ve tied the game at 105.

But the referees reviewed the play and determined Jones’ feet were inside the three-point line, which made the shot a two-point play. That inch cost the Gaels, as they ultimately lost 105-104 to Marist—a team that has only one win since Dec. 19.

Iona was three seconds away from winning the game in the first overtime after junior guard Tre Bowman hit a foul shot with three seconds remaining.

That’s when the Red Fox’s sophomore guard and leading scorer Chavaughn Lewis received the inbound pass, dribbled to the left and heaved a half-court shot with one second left to tie the game at 94, which forced the second overtime. Lewis also made back-to-back shots to give Marist a 105-102 lead in the second overtime before Jones’ shot.

This loss extends the Gaels’ losing streak to three.

“We’ve been finding ways to lose, but this was a new way to lose tonight,” Iona Head Coach Tim Cluess said. “The kid hits a prayer and sends it to overtime and a bounce here and a bounce there and missed foul shots again and unfortunately it cost us the game.”

Iona had chances to win the game during regulation but missed free throws down the stretch hurt the Gaels. Coming into Thursday night’s game Iona was shooting 76.7 percent from the line, which is on pace to break a 26-year-old school record. But they couldn’t make a shot when they needed one the most.

Down 82-80 with 1:33 left to play, junior guard and No. 3 scorer in the MAAC Sean Armand, who’s one of the best sharpshooters in the conference, went to the free-throw line with three shots. He made only one.

About thirty seconds later, the MAAC’s leading scorer, Jones, went to the line for two shots. He made only one.

Then Bowman missed one of his two foul shots at the end of the first overtime, which would have put Iona up by four. Instead his miss opened the door for Lewis’s game-tying, half-court heave.

Jones, who didn’t start the game because of a lingering knee injury, still finished with a game-high 37 points in 45 minutes. Armand was second in points with 18. There were three Gaels with double digit rebounds—sophomore forward David Laury III (13), senior forward Taaj Ridley (12) and junior guard Sean Armand (11).

Iona’s defense continued to struggle. When Cluess was asked about the defensive shortcomings, he said there’s a lack of quickness and trust.

“We aren’t as quick as the other guys we’re playing against. The teams we’re playing against have better offensive players that get by our guys that are a half a step slow,” Cluess said. “And right now that trust factor…is something you have to build over time each other, and you have to trust each other and we haven’t built that yet among our guys.”

Marist’s junior center Adam Kemp used his 6'10", 235 pound frame to dominate the boards. He came up three blocks short of a triple double. He finished with a team-high 29 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks. Two other Marist players—junior forward Jay Bowie and Lewis—each had 21 points.

The first thing Jones said after the game was, “I HATE losing.” He emphasized the “hate,” then he repeated his opening statement.

“I’m not used to losing since being here, so every loss gets me mad,” Armand added.

But Cluess said that feeling of anger is missing from the rest of the locker room.

“They’re feeling sorry for themselves right now, and you’re not going to be any good when you feel sorry for yourself. I would’ve loved to have had to go into the locker room and have to separate guys ‘cause they’re mad…The guys that were here last year are taking it very, very hard and are really upset. But the new guys don’t know what to do…Some care a lot, some don’t care at all and some are still trying to figure it out.”

Iona’s next game will be at home against Rider on Saturday at 7 p.m.

All quotes and information were obtained firsthand. 

When: Friday, January 25, 7 p.m. EST

Where: Draddy Gymnasium, Bronx, New York

Watch: ESPNU

Life has not been easy for the Manhattan Jaspers through eight conference games. The Jaspers hold a subpar, 3-5 record after being picked to finish No. 2 in the league, but they did show signs of life by taking Canisius and Niagara down to the wire in their recent western New York road trip.

On Friday night, Manhattan will have a chance to get their season on the right track against Loyola (Md.), picked No. 1 in the MAAC preseason.

The Greyhounds are winners of five of their last six, and their 6-2 MAAC record puts them in second place at this point in the season.

Erik Etherly, the preseason MAAC Player of the Year, has been playing well ever since returning from an injury that sidelined him for five games.

Manhattan needs to protect its home floor if it wants any chance at a late run toward the conference title, and Loyola cannot afford to lose to a sixth-place team with tough games against Iona, Canisius and Niagara coming up.

Here is what each team will have to do to get the win on Friday night:

Keys for Loyola

Stick to Shane Richards

Richards has emerged as one of the top freshmen in the conference because of his three-point shooting.

Now averaging 7.1 points per game, he appears to be a top candidate for MAAC Freshman of the Year, along with Niagara's T.J. Cline. In his last four games, Richards is posting 14.3 points per game on 47.2 percent three-point shooting.

Statistically, Loyola is the No. 7 three-point defense in the country, holding opponents to just 27.8 percent shooting from deep.

Still, Richards has shown the ability to consistently find openings and knock down jump shots, so the Greyhound defenders must limit his shot opportunities. 

Attack Manhattan

Scoring two-point field goals on Manhattan is tough because the reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Year roams the paint.

But even if you penetrate and miss a layup, there is a good chance Manhattan will foul you.

In their last four games, the Jaspers are averaging 27.3 fouls per game, and opponents are shooting 35.3 free throws.

The free-throw disparity was the main reason why Niagara avoided an upset against the Jaspers, and considering the Greyhounds shoot better than 70 percent from the charity stripe, it could be the difference for them as well.

Keys for Manhattan

Feed Rhamel Brown

Everyone knew about Brown's defensive prowess during his freshman and sophomore seasons, but this year he has emerged as one of the top offensive big men in the MAAC as well. He is averaging 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 56 percent from the field.

In the 10 games prior to the Niagara loss, he was posting 14.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.5 blocks.

The Jaspers play their best offensively when they feed Brown the ball in the post. 

Crash the defensive glass

Loyola is No. 14 in the nation with a 38.8 offensive rebounding percentage. The Jaspers have struggled on the defensive glass at various points this season, and it has cost them a few games. 

Loyola is already a much better offensive team, and giving the Greyhounds extra possessions could turn this game into a potential blowout.

My pick: Loyola 60, Manhattan 55

Manhattan is coming off a pair of close losses on the road, and this one will likely sting as well. The Jaspers are playing well enough to compete with any team in the conference; time and time again they have been unable to get over the hump and record a key victory.

Meanwhile, Loyola is putting the pieces together and has been playing great. The Greyhounds' only MAAC loss of the month is at Rider in a close game.

Jesse Kramer is a college basketball featured columnist on Bleacher Report and the founder of The Catch and Shoot Basketball Blog.

Follow @Jesse_Kramer

Iona College’s offensive firepower was on display Friday night at the Hynes Center, as the Gaels knocked off Fairfield University 84-73 to remain tied with Niagara for the best in-conference record (6-1) in the MAAC. However, the Gaels' 12-6 overall record is better than Niagara's (10-8).

Fairfield shut down the nation’s fifth-leading scorer, Iona senior guard Lamont “Momo” Jones, in the first half, holding him to five points.

“They took Momo out of the game early in the first half,” said Iona head coach Tim Cluess. “They were denying him and doubling him every opportunity they had, just trying to deny him touches.”

Unfortunately for Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson, the Iona offense is led by one of the most prolific NCAA Division I scoring duos. And the second half of that tandem, junior guard Sean Armand, carried the Gaels through the first half with 15 points, the only player on either team to be in double digits at the half.

Iona hurt itself early, missing six of its first eight free throws, which allowed Fairfield to maintain a slim lead. But Armand’s three with 6:41 left in the first half tied the game at 24, which was followed by junior guard DaShawn Gomez’s three, giving Iona a 27-24 advantage.

The first half ended with a 41-30 Iona lead.

But Fairfield came out scoring in the second half, opening with a 9-1 run. The Stags got as close as three, 53-50, when Gomez and Jones hit back-to-back threes.

The remaining 12 minutes of the game belonged to Jones, who scored 16 of his 22 second-half points down the stretch to preserve the Gaels’ win.

But one glaring weakness for Iona was its defense, or lack thereof.

“We showed we could score, but we got to play defense for a whole game,” Armand said.

They gave up 26 points to Fairfield’s senior forward and leading scorer Derek Needham, and 12 points apiece to freshman guard Marcus Gilbert and junior forward Maurice Barrow.

When asked why the defense was struggling, Armand replied, “It's effort and lack of focus. We have to key in on defense. The same way we have fun on offense, we have to have fun on defense. We have to have a will to want to play defense, and I don’t think we have that will as a whole.”

Iona won despite being without senior forward Taaj Ridley, who didn’t play because he was in violation of team academic policies. Ridley was riding a hot streak, averaging 9.3 points per game and 6.1 rebounds over his last seven games.

Sophomore forward David Laury III played 33 minutes in his absence. He struggled offensively, shooting 2-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-11 from the line, but his 14 rebounds were more than double the amount of the second-leading rebounder (English, with six).

Cluess said Ridley's return date is not known at this time.

But the Gaels need him back soon. They will be on the road for four of the next five games, and Cluess said this will be a big test for this Iona team.

“Road games in this league are wars, home games are wars, so imagine what it’s like on the road. But we will find out a lot about ourselves by the time we come back from that,” Cluess said.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

The 2012-13 season has been nothing short of a struggle for the Manhattan Jaspers, who were picked to finish second in the MAAC but are currently only 5-11 and 3-3 in conference play. One of the big reasons why the Jaspers have disappointed is because senior wing George Beamon, who led the MAAC in scoring last season with 19 points per game, has missed all but four games with an ankle injury, and even in those four contests he was playing hurt.

As anticipated by many college basketball fans, Beamon was officially announced as out for the season, and Manhattan will now seek a medical hardship waiver so that he can receive a fifth year of eligibility and play next season, according to a tweet by Vin Parise.

This is bittersweet news for Manhattan fans.

The chances of the championship season that 2012-13 had the potential to be is now a stretch, although even without their star the Jaspers are only two games out of first place with a third of the MAAC season in the books.

But, if Beamon does get the medical redshirt and is back for the 2013-14 season, Manhattan will be a clear favorite in the MAAC.

In addition to Beamon, Manhattan would add Maryland transfer Ashton Pankey, who averaged 4.7 points and 4.9 rebounds as a freshman; junior college transfer Chris Thomas, who was ranked a top-five recruit by Rivals coming out of high school; and two freshmen, Carlton Allen and Tyler Wilson.

Meanwhile, the Jaspers will also bring back all-MAAC guard Mike Alvarado and reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Year Rhamel Brown. Also returning will be Emmy Andujar, who made the all-MAAC freshmen team in 2011-12, and Shane Richards, a freshman who is averaging 13 points in his last four games and recently won a MAAC Rookie of the Week award.

Although this news hurts the hopes for Manhattan to revive the current season, the return of a healthy Beamon in 2013-14 would help the Jaspers to their most memorable season in a long time.

The Iona Gaels (11-6, 5-1) made 16 three-point shots and used a small, but quick lineup to win their 11th game of the year 97-87 over Canisius Golden Griffins (10-7, 3-3). 

Junior Sean Armand led the Gaels with 32 points, his highest offensive point total of the year.
The forward from Brooklyn made nine of 15 three-point shots including six of seven made in the second half helping Iona pull ahead.

Iona had 37 points off the bench, led by the 28 contributed by guard Tre Bowman who made eight of thirteen shots and added six rebounds.  The junior from York, PA had his best outing as a Gael since transferring from Midland College in Texas where he played last year.

Also in double figures for Iona was forward David Lawry with 13 points in 26 minutes while freshman A.J. English came off the bench to score 10 on four of seven shooting including two three pointers.  The 6'8" Lawry continued to show good hands rebounding since becoming eligible to join the Gael's lineup after the end of the fall semester.  English has shown he can come into games and provide instant offense for the Gaels.

Leading Canisius with 26 points was Harold Robinson who made eight of of fourteen shots including three three-pointers.  The Griffs showed a strong inside presence provided by 6'10'', 240-pound Jordan Heath who had 13 points and 6'6'' 235-pound Chris Manhertz who had seven points, but dominated the boards with 14 rebounds. 

Junior guard Billy Baron had a double-double with 20 points and 11 assists on the afternoon for Canisius.  Baron is the son of Canisius head coach Jim Baron who coached at Rhode Island the past twelve seasons before moving to Buffalo to coach the Griffins this year.  As a college player in 1977 Baron led St. Bonaventure to the NIT title. The younger Baron played for his Dad two seasons in Kingston, where he averaged 13 points a game last season. 

The first half of this contest was run and gun with Iona trying to force a fast tempo against the size in the Canisius lineup provided by Heath and Manhertz.  Sean Armand gave Iona a 22-16 lead at 11:08 left hitting three three-pointers and a two point field goal for 11 points in just two minutes and twenty seconds time. 

Hot shooting by Washington who had 15 first half points and Baron who provided a spark-plug with seven assists gave Canisius a seven point lead with 5:34 left.  Iona answered with offense provided by Tre Bowman, who came off the bench to provide 12 points before the intermission.  At the half, Canisius led by two, 49-47.

The second half opened fast with Sean Armand hitting two early threes to give Iona a six point lead 55-49.  Canisius came back to take the lead 58-57 with a three point play by Manhertz and free throws made by Jordan Heath and Washington. 

After Armand made another three, Iona guard Lamont "Momo" Jones picked up his fourth foul and was replaced in the lineup by junior DaShawn Gomez who played last season at Antelope Valley College in California.   A moment earlier, English had come in for starter Tavon Sledge who was having an unproductive day. 

Iona went with starters Lawry and Armand joined by English and Gomez and Bowman off the bench,  a very small lineup.  It worked.  Gomez looked sure handed at the point for Iona providing five assists against one turnover in 17 minutes.  Iona went on an 11-2 run to lead 74-63 with 10:55 remaining.  Iona pushed the lead to 16 points at 84-68 on yet another three by Armand and a lay-up by English with 6:44 left.

The Gaels then worked to hold the lead which they have struggled with in the past. Baron hit back to back threes to get Canisius within eight at 93-85 with 2:02 left, but the Gaels guards worked the clock to hold on to the win.

Afterwards Iona coach Tim Cluess said about what amounted to a four guard offense in the second half, "We play better with our small line-up".

This was Iona's fifth win in a row, the last four in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference competition.  The Gaels are tied for first place with Niagara both at 5-1 in the MAAC so far.  Iona defeated Niagara 83-72 back on November 28 and the two play again in western New York on January 31st.

Also in the MAAC Sunday:

Niagara (9-8) won 67-64 at Fairfield (10-8)

Rider (9-9) won 64-57 over Loyola (12-6)  in NJ

Siena (4-13) won 66-53 over Saint Peter's (6-10) in Albany

Manhattan (5-11) won 65-53 defeating Marist (4-13)  in Riverdale

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball and West Point football for WVOX in New Rochelle, NY.

The first two months of the 2012-13 season have not been pretty for the Manhattan Jaspers, who were picked to finish No. 2 in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

With star wing George Beamon missing all but four games, the Jaspers stand at 3-9, 1-1 in the MAAC. Just after they appeared to be turning the season around with a strong, 75-55 victory over Siena, they then dropped four games in a row.

But with nonconference play in the past, Manhattan can now look ahead to MAAC competition, where it is currently one of eight schools tied for second place.

St. Peter's (6-6, 1-1 MAAC) has solid wins over Rutgers and Iona already, but it has also been plagued with awful losses to teams like Binghamton and Fairleigh Dickinson.

Here is what each team needs to do on Friday in order to improve to 2-1 in the MAAC:

Keys for Manhattan

Don't give away possessions

Scoring in general has been difficult for Manhattan this season. The Jaspers effective field-goal percentage ranks No. 284 in the nation, and they are averaging fewer than 57 points per game.

However, the problem that looms larger on offense is the Jaspers' turnover rate.

Manhattan turns the ball over in 27 percent of its possessions, and you simply cannot win games when you give away possessions so often, especially when scoring is difficult to begin with.

Contain Desi Washington

Delaware State transfer Desi Washington was a key addition for St. Peter's this year. With his team-best 16.2 points per game, he has been an important reason why the Peacocks are a surprising .500 team entering the new year.

In home games, he is posting 19.4 points.

Although seniors Blaise Ffrench and Yvon Raymond both have the ability to be double-digit scorers, Washington is by far the main scoring threat. If Manhattan lets him go off for a huge performance, St. Peter's will run away with this game on their home floor.

The biggest key to stopping Washington is getting in his face every time he touches the ball on the perimeter. Although his 36.5 percent conversion rate from beyond the arc is not outstanding, more than 48 percent of Washington's points have come from there this season.

In the Peacocks' most recent game against Central Connecticut State, Washington was quiet for most of the game until he scored eight points down the stretch on a pair of three-pointers and a long jumper, finishing with 15 points.

He has only scored in double figures twice when being held to fewer than three three-pointers.

Keys for St. Peter's

Take care of the basketball

As poor as Manhattan has been at taking care of the rock, it has also used pressure defense to cause plenty of problems for opponents.

The Jaspers rank No. 21 in the nation turnover percentage defense, with opponents giving the ball away in nearly a quarter of their possessions. Although they give away many possessions each game, they have been able to stick with a lot of teams by forcing other teams to cough up the ball as well.

As evidenced by the first two months of the season, the Jaspers' turnover woes will almost surely continue to strike on Friday. 

Contain Rhamel Brown

In his first two seasons, forward Rhamel Brown cemented his reputation as a defensive force. This year, especially in the last two games, his offense has taken off.

Through 12 games, he is averaging 11.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. In the last five games, he is posting 15.2 points, 2.8 blocks and 1.8 steals per contest.

There is no doubt that Brown is turning into the type of player that could make the All-MAAC First Team, and St. Peter's is thin in the frontcourt.

The Peacocks' best forward is senior Darius Conley. Conley, who struggled last year against Manhattan with averages of only 6.5 points and three rebounds in two meetings, has a large body at 6'7" and 235 pounds. If he stays out of foul trouble, he can compete with Brown in the post.

My pick: St. Peter's 56, Manhattan 51

The first team to score 50 points will be the winner in this game. Both schools have struggled to score this year; Manhattan ranks No. 336 in the nation with 56.8 points per game, and St. Peter's is No. 282 with 62.4.

With Manhattan still lacking a go-to scorer, Washington's scoring ability will give St. Peter's a huge offensive advantage.

For the Jaspers to come away with a win, they will need to get hot from three-point range as well as receive a big game from Brown.