MAAC Conference Basketball

Iona (7-6) earned its ticket to the NCAA last season by winning December games on the road. This season, the Gaels have won at Georgia (5-7) and finished off 2012 with a New Year's Eve 93-74 win at St. Bonaventure (7-5).

Iona's junior forward Sean Armand had another big three-point shooting day shooting 7-14 from behind the arc and finishing with 27 points. Senior guard Lamont "Momo" Jones had a strong shooting game---7-11 from the field and 3-5 on three-pointers---finishing with 23 points and 5 assists.

Senior forward Taaj Ridley has picked up his game noticeably this season playing 38 minutes against the Bonnies, scoring 13 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. Ridley also had 4 assists and 1 block. Last season Ridley was a starter, but saw limited minutes because of ineffective play. This season he is playing like a leader with new maturity.

Iona's new center-forward---sophomore David Laury---was limited to 27 minutes and 13 points because he picked up his fourth foul with 5:09 left in the second half. He left the contest with the Gaels leading 81-64. Laury is from East Orange, NJ and played last season at Lamar State. The 6'8" 240 pounder joined the Gaels lineup after his transfer become eligible at the end of the first semester. So far he has shown good hands at rebounding, physical play under the basket and a scoring touch inside.

The Gaels jumped ahead 22-15 on a seven-point-run thanks to consecutive jumpers by Armand, followed by a pair of free throws made by Jones. Iona extended their lead to 12 points at 34-22 on a move to the basket by sophomore guard Tavon Sledge with 4:08 left in the first half. St. Bonaventure senior forward Demitrius Conger made a three-pointer in the last minute to make the score at the half 40-31 Iona.

A jumper by the St. Bonaventure junior forward Marquise Simmons made it a two-point game less than three minutes into the second half. Another three-pointer by Armand sparked a 20-7 Iona run to give the Gaels a 62-42 lead with 11:45 left to play in regulation. Another three-pointer by Armand at 7:37 gave Iona a 20 point lead at 78-58.

Sledge, the former Iowa State freshman who has looked good handling the ball so far this season, had just 6 points on 3-7 shooting from the field in 28 minutes.

Another bright spot for the Gaels---as they reach the start of the regular conference schedule---has been the play of true freshman guard A.J. English who shot 3-4 on three-pointers finishing with 11 points and 2 assists in 17 minutes.

Demitrius Conger led the Bonnies with eight rebounds and 26 points. Guard Charlon Kloof had 8 assists and 7 points.

Iona finishes up its three-game road trip at Siena College (2-11) in Albany, NY Friday night with a 7:00 p.m. EST start to be broadcast nationally on ESPN3.

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball and West Point football. 

In an intra-New York City matchup, the Columbia Lions will host the Manhattan Jaspers on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions and the Jaspers have both been in funks recently, each losing four of its last five games.

However, this game could still be interesting, as both teams were expected to contend for their respective conference titles in the preseason.

Manhattan (3-7, 1-1 MAAC) was picked No. 2 in the MAAC back in November and even garnered two first-place votes. But the Jaspers have regressed with George Beamon, who led the MAAC in scoring last year, missing all but four games this season due to an ankle injury.

Columbia (5-5) was voted the third-best team in the Ivy League this season, behind Princeton and Harvard. The Lions flashed their potential in an 18-point win at Villanova, but losses at home to Marist and Elon show that there is still work to do.

With conference play nearing for both teams, this game serves as an opportunity for each to turn its season around before heading into the most crucial games of the season.

Keys for Manhattan

Limiting Turnovers on Offense

Manhattan's biggest problem this season has been giving away possessions by turning the ball over. The Jaspers turn the ball over in 27.2 percent of their possessions, which is 341st in the nation.

Fortunately for the Jaspers, Columbia opponents have turned the ball over in only 19.4 percent of their possessions this year. 

Manhattan cannot afford to give the Lions extra possessions by giving away the ball.

Creating Turnovers on Defense

Manhattan has thrived by forcing turnovers and getting out in transition. Currently, the Jaspers are No. 18 in the country in turnover-percentage defense, with opponents giving the ball away in more than a quarter of their possessions.

However, Columbia controls the ball extremely well, turning it over only 16.3 percent of the time.

Manhattan will not stand much of a chance in this game unless it forces Columbia out of its comfort zone with its full-court pressure.

Half-Court Scoring

With Beamon injured, Manhattan has struggled to score in its half-court offense.

Mike Alvarado is the only Jasper scoring in double figures this season, but he cannot be relied on for consistent scoring. Last week against South Carolina, he was held scoreless, and even in his good performances, his scoring has come in bunches rather than throughout entire games.

Against the Gamecocks, freshman Shane Richards kept the Jaspers in the game with 18 points on six three-pointers, but the rookie should not be relied on as Manhattan's main scoring option.

Keys for Columbia

Alex Rosenberg

Rosenberg has been a crucial piece in all of Columbia's games this year. The sophomore is averaging 10.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, but he is posting 12.4 points and five rebounds in wins and only 8.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in losses.

When Columbia beat Manhattan last season, Rosenberg was a key part, with 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.

A strong performance from him tends to create positive results for the Lions.

Home-Court Advantage

Columbia is only 1-3 at home this season, and its only win was against Division III Haverford. However, the Lions have lost close games with Bucknell, a top-two team in the Patriot League, and Elon, a contender for the SoCon North title.

Columbia needs to be able to take advantage of playing games on its home court.

Matchup to Watch

Both teams have found promise in freshman guards this season.

Richards has emerged for Manhattan as a scoring threat from beyond the arc. In his last four games, he is averaging 8.8 points per contest while making nearly 40 percent of his three-point attempts.

For Columbia, Grant Mullins immediately burst onto the scene as a scoring threat. Right now, he is playing like a possible Ivy League freshman of the year.

Mullins is averaging 11.9 points per game and posted 20 points against American a couple of weeks ago. He has also been extremely efficient, making 52.8 percent of his field-goal attempts and 51.4 percent of his treys.

My Pick: Columbia 65, Manhattan 61

Although neither team has been playing particularly great basketball recently, Columbia has shown more promise during the early parts of the season. 

Last season, the Lions played a Beamon-less Manhattan team at Draddy Gymnasium and dominated the Jaspers. Rosenberg and point guard Brian Barbour created a guard-forward duo that Manhattan had trouble stopping.

Manhattan now has more experience playing without Beamon, so it should fare better than last year's 16-point loss.

If this game were at home, the Jaspers would be my pick. But their struggles in road games this season make Columbia the favorite.

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The Iona Gaels (5-5) split games this week winning at home against Liberty 87-69 then traveling to Philadelphia and losing 88-74 to La Salle despite 21 points and 14 rebound debut performance from sophomore forward David Laury.

Against Liberty on Tuesday night in the Hynes Center, the Gaels set a school record taking 41 three-point shots and tying a record by making 18 of them.  Sean Armand had a productive game for the Gaels with seven "Threes" completed of 14 attempts, 23 points and nine rebounds on the night.  Lamont "Momo" Jones led in total points with 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and made five passes for assists. 

New comer for Iona Tre Bowman had 13 points and true freshman A.J. English had 17 points.  Bowman played 16 games for Penn State before playing last year at Midland College in Texas.  English is the son of former NBA player AJ English II, who played for the Washington Bullets in the early 90s.  The 6'4" small forward has found a comfortable spot in the corner to make his shots, making five of his eight three-point attempts.

The Gaels struggled on three point shots against La Salle, making only five of 23 attempts.  Only three Gaels had double figures in scoring as "Momo" Jones had 19 points and Sean Armand had 15. 

Iona was weak in play, making just 11 assists on the night and being forced into 16 turnovers.

In his first game as a Gael, David Laury contributes a double-double with 14 rebounds and 21 points.  The former 6' 8" Lamar State junior college forward player shot 8 of 13 and grabbed 14 rebounds. Laury came off the bench to play 26 minutes, showing that his conditioning could be better than the coaching staff might have thought for a team that plays fast break basketball.

To make playing time available for Laury, the pairing at the five spot so far in the season between junior 6'9" Shawn Jackson and 6'7" senior Taaj Ridley was reduced to seven minutes for Jackson and nine for Ridley.  Iona may try a bigger lineup at times, playing both Laurie and either of the other two Gael "bigs".

Sunday afternoon will be the first time for Iona fans to see David Laury in action at the Hynes Center against Norfolk State (6-7).  Game time against on North Avenue in New Rochelle will be 2 p.m.

This should be an important opportunity for Iona to work Laurie into the lineup before heading on the road for three straight road games at Saint Joseph's Friday in Philadelphia, at Saint Bonaventure on New Year's eve, then in Albany against Siena, an ESPN3 game on January 4th. 

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball and West Point football for Sons of the American Legion Radio. Twitter @SAL50NYRadio

Not often a mid-major team goes into a South East Conference site like Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia and comes out with a road win, but Saturday night the Iona Gaels (4-4) from New Rochelle, NY defeated the Georgia Bulldogs (2-7) 81-78 in overtime.  

This was Iona's first win over an SEC team in 11 games over 27 years, although the Gaels defeated Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference earlier this year at the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands.  Iona head coach Tim Cluess said afterward:

We fought, and fought and found a way. This is a program win for us when you come into a place like this with the history Georgia has and get a win on the road, it is just phenomenal for us.

Lamont "Momo" Jones came out of the hospital to score 25 points after suffering the prior week with a stomach illness.  The senior point guard added six assists to the Iona offense after missing practise time, according to associate head coach Jared Grasso, who commented:

"Momo" was fantastic. He missed three days of practice, was in the hospital, had some stomach problems, came back yesterday, barely practised, he is a "Gamer",  down the stretch he made the plays to win it for us.

Junior forward Sean Armand scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Gaels.  Freshman A.J. English had a breakout game, scoring 17 for Iona. Afterwards Armand, a terrific three-point shooter, who makes an average of 45 percent of them, said:

We were very vocal on the court, my team mates helped me out, trying to be confident on free throws, no one was going to steal a win from our team, we played a full game tonight and came through with a tough W.

Iona went out to a 10-point early lead at 18-8 as English made two three-point shots and Tavon Sledge added a three as well.  The Bulldogs came back and led by one at the half, 36-35.

In the second half, Georgia led by seven at 48-41 with 13:09 left, but the Gaels came back with a 15-2 run initiated by back-to-back jumpers made by Jones, a three-point shot by Armand, layup by forward Sean Jackson and capped by a three by Jones. The Gaels led 56-51 with 9:23 left.

Down the stretch Georgia went on a run of its own, outscoring Iona 11- 3 to take a 66-63 lead with 2:39 left.  Armand made a clutch three-point shot with 54 seconds left and the Bulldogs missed four shots in the closing seconds to allow the game to go to overtime.

The Gaels went into overtime without one forward, Sean Jackson, who fouled out. With 1:38 left and the game tied 73, the last remaining forward in the Iona rotation, Taaj Ridley, fouled out.  Infrequently used "Digs" Moikobu went in to give Iona some size under the offensive boards. 

With 19 seconds left Iona senior Curtis Denis hit a three-point shot to gave Iona a two-point lead at 78-76.  Donte Williams of Georgia made a free throw, then Jones made a free throw but missed the second for Iona.  Gaels led 79-77 with seven seconds left.

Georgia's Nemanja Djurisic is fouled and made the first of two free throws but misses the second which would have tied the game. Iona leads by one 78-77.

Sean Armand was fouled and made both shots, and the Gaels won 81-78, a huge upset road win against a power conference team.

For Georgia, two players had double-doubles; Ken Caldwell-Pope had 18 points and 10 rebounds.  Donte Williams also had 10 rebounds and added 16 points.  Georgia out rebounded the Gaels 48-26 on the night. Charles Mann came off the bench to score 18 points for the Bulldogs.

Iona won despite being outscored in the paint 42-22 and the Georgia bench contributing 28 points compared to Iona's seven.  Georgia missed nine of 15 free throws in overtime.

Afterward, Jared Grasso commented on the hard work the Gaels did to overcome close losses earlier in the season had been paid off with this big road win:

Guys stepped up on both ends of the floor, A.J. English was huge, "Momo" Jones, Sean Armand...for us to go on the road to an SEC team is a huge win for our program.  People see Iona beats Wake Forest, Iona beats Georgia, a signature win for our program.

Iona will now have five games before the end of the year starting with Liberty at home Tuesday night and a trip to LaSalle of the Atlantic 10 in Philadelphia on Thursday.  The Gaels will have a home game next Sunday against Norfolk before two more A-10 road games at Saint Joseph's and St. Bonaventure to finish out 2012.

Postgame comments courtesy of Iona Athletics. 

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

Manhattan was upset by Marist on Friday night to begin MAAC play, but the Jaspers came back much stronger on Sunday afternoon to defeat Siena in their first home game of the conference play.

Manhattan (3-5, 1-1 MAAC) came out strong in the first half and built a 22-9 lead behind junior Rhamel Brown's eight, early points.

Siena (2-9, 0-2 MAAC) fought back over the final few minutes of the half, and Rakeem Brookins' back-to-back jumpers in the final minute trimmed the Manhattan lead to 38-31 at intermission.

The Jaspers were sluggish to begin the second half, missing all seven of their shots and turning the ball over twice during the first five minutes of the period. During that time, Siena cut the lead to two at 38-36.

Michael Alvarado's steal and transition layup ignited an 18-5 run that put Manhattan ahead by 15 points. During the run, freshman Shane Richards drilled three three-pointers, giving him a new career high of nine points.

The Saints crawled back within 12 points with about seven minutes remaining, but Manhattan warded off the comeback with a 13-5 run to end the game.

After seeing Siena play, it is no surprise that the Saints have lost seven games in a row and have not scored more than 66 points in a single game.

Although O.D. Anosike is a double-double machine and the nation's No. 2 rebounder with 13 boards per game, he is a liability on the defensive end. Brown controlled the paint the entire game, as Anosike seemed too afraid to play tough defense at the risk of fouling. Although he may have the statistics of a MAAC Player of the Year candidate, there are definitely more talented players in the conference.

Also, the Saints backcourt is a mess.

Sophomore Evan Hymes, who was one of the top freshmen in the MAAC last season, has watched all his numbers drop, except for his turnovers, which have ballooned to 4.8 per game. He has shot better than 40 percent from the field in only three games and has had fewer than three turnovers only once.

Brookins, who has missed a few games due to an injury, is also very inefficient. He is shooting only 32.9 percent from the field and 7-of-33 from beyond the arc. Although he had a solid game on Sunday with 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting, he had seven turnovers against the Manhattan pressure.

On the other side, Manhattan showed that it still has the potential to challenge for a MAAC title, even without injured star George Beamon.

The Jaspers have struggled to score without Beamon in the lineup, but multiple players stepped up on that front.

Brown led all scorers with a career-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting while adding three blocks.

Sophomore Emmy Andujar had 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals, and Alvarado added 10 points.

Stores, who has struggled to find a groove in his first season of Division I basketball, is finally looking comfortable on the court. On Sunday, he had a great all-around game with 12 points on four three-pointers, five rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Over his last three games, Stores is averaging 10.7 points and 4.3 rebounds. More importantly, he has 12 assists and only one turnover during that stretch.

The most important stat of the day for Manhattan: 10 turnovers. All season the Jaspers have struggled taking care of the basketball, averaging 21 giveaways through their first seven games.

Manhattan will return to action on Sunday, December 16, when it takes on defending NEC champion LIU-Brooklyn on the road.

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Iona College (3-2) defeated Niagara (2-4) 83-72 at the Hynes Center in New Rochelle, N.Y., Wednesday night in the opening game of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.

Junior forward Sean Armand led the Gaels with18 points and 11 rebounds.  Senior forward Curtis Dennis,  a transfer from Toledo, had a breakout game with 17 points, including five three-point shots for the Gaels. 

Point guard Lamont "Momo" Jones, who went into the game as the No. 2 scorer in the NCAA with 25.8 points per game, struggled through playing on a sore ankle and finished with 12 points.

The Gaels had five players in double figures scoring with 2 guard Tavon Sledge and forward Tre Bowman also adding12 points apiece.  Sledge demonstrated strong ball-handling skills in the game often sharing the point duties with Jones and grabbing six rebounds.

For Niagara, Antoine Mason led with 24 points and Marvin Jordan had 14. 

The Gaels sport a reloaded lineup this season, with nine new players, several of whom are transfers with experience at major Division I programs. Jones commented about the chemistry on the team built around only three returning players:

We have a group of guys who really get along well on and off the court, we hang out together, we trust each other.  It is just getting everyone to learn the things, and get confident in the things we do.

In the first half, Iona appeared to split the point guard duties between senior Jones and Tavon Sledge the sophomore from long Island who transferred in after starting his college career at Iowa State, the Gaels went out to a 43-31 lead.  The two seem to work well together, especially with Jones slowed slightly by an ankle injury.

Now in his second year at Iona after transferring from Arizona, Jones was the point guard on the Wildcats' Elite Eight team.  The native of Harlem has worked to become a strong scoring player evidenced by a 40 point game at the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands against Quinnipiac.

Sledge looks like a solid Division 1 player, he handles the ball well and can rebound.  He looks like one of those players with great hands, if the ball is loose nearby he gets it.  At times when Sledge was given the ball playing the point, Jones had the opportunity to move around the court looking for open spots to take a pass and shoot.  Jones and Sledge playing together in the backcourt look like a capable pair. 

Curtis Dennis, the senior transfer from Toledo, hails from the Bronx and played part of his high school career locally at Blessed Sacrament in New Rochelle.  He came in with 12 minutes to go in the half and gave Iona instant offense, getting eight quick points. Iona coach Tim Cluess commented about Dennis's strong game,

Really happy about Curtis Dennis, we expected a lot from him, and he struggled early.  Before the game we talked about trusting your teammates and they trusted him by getting him the ball.  He rewarded them by making shots.

Sean Armand, in his third year with the Gaels, is averaging 21 points per game and is their best three-point shooter.  The native of Brooklyn led Iona in the first half with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting.

The Purple Eagles were making shots on Iona mostly inside.  Junior guard Marvin Jordan gave Niagara 10 points in the half on four of six shooting including two threes.  The Gaels led 43-31 at the break.

Tre Bowman, helped Iona get the second half off to fast start with a three-point jumper from the corner to give Iona a 46-34 lead.  Bowman is from York, Pa., and played 16 games as a freshman at Penn State before playing last year at Midland College in Texas.  He was a late roster addition announced in October.  Curtis Denis followed Bowman's play with a three to give him 11 on the night.

Senior Taj Ridley, in his second year with the Gaels, has been alternating with junior Sean Jackson, came in and hit a short jumper to give Iona a 53-38 lead.  Last year, Ridley saw decreasing time but has increased the speed of his play and has earned more time so far on the year. 

After the game, Coach Cluess said he is reluctant to play the big lineup with both Ridley and Jackson in the game because, if both get in foul trouble, he has no big players to go to.  This will change after the end of the first semester when 6'8", 240-pound David Lawry will be eligible to play.  

Jones struggled somewhat missing shots, but Sledge was picking offensive rebounds with one putback that gave Iona a 66-56 lead.  Moments later when Niagara narrowed the lead to 67-62 on a layup by Antoine Mason, Sledge made a smooth move down the lane for two points to put the Gaels up again by seven.

The Gaels scored eight of the next 10,punctuated by another three-point shot from the corner by Curtis Dennis for a 77-64 lead.

With the Gaels playing down the clock, Jones sped in from the perimeter for a layup and a 79-66 lead.  The final score of 83-72 gave Iona its third win of the young season and demonstrated progress in implementing the talents of the players brought together for this season.

Positive signs for Iona were the six players who had nine points or more and the fact that the bench outscored Niagara 26-9.  Iona showed a lot of energy on defense, which appeared to be a hybrid between a zone and man coverage.  Defending against three-point shots forced defenders away from the basket.  Sean Armand commented about the progress Iona has made on defense,

Our defense was fine in the first half, especially holding them to 31 points.  Of course teams get going in the second half and we need to learn to play a full 40 minutes of basketball.

The Gaels are now 3-2 on the season and play at St. Peter's next Wednesday night before a date with Rutgers at Madison Square Garden on December 8.

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball and West Point football for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle, NY. His Twitter is @SAL50NYRadio Quotes obtained from post game press conference.

Steve Masiello continued to move the Manhattan rebuilding process forward last week with the signings of three recruits.

During the early signing period, Chris Thomas (Denver, Colo./Chipola College), Carlton Allen (Ewing, N.J./Life Center Academy) and Tyler Wilson (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) signed National Letters of Intent for Manhattan College.

Thomas is the star of this class. A former five-star recruit, Thomas initially committed to Xavier but then decommitted from the Musketeers in September. In high school, he was ranked the No. 1 shooting guard in his class by Rivals.com and was an ESPN Super 60 recruit.

According to Rivals, Thomas also had scholarship offers from Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Memphis and Tennessee.

However, there are some questions surrounding Thomas and if he will ever play in a Jasper uniform. He played at four different high schools when he was younger, and his recent decommittment from Xavier shows that there is no guarantee that he will stick around.

But if he does play for Manhattan next year, he could help replace senior George Beamon, who led the MAAC in scoring last year. Beamon has proven to be an indispensable part of the Jaspers' rotation. In the last two seasons, the Jaspers are 0-3 with an average margin of defeat of 26.7 points. To think about how Manhattan will fare without Beamon next year is a little scary.

Thomas is a pure scorer who could replace Beamon on the wing and fill the hole that the MAAC's best scorer will leave.

Allen will add depth to the frontcourt next season, while Wilson will likely spend a lot of time on the bench during his first season

A 6'9" center, Allen is a two-star recruit on ESPN.com and was receiving interest from high-caliber schools, such as Virginia Commonwealth, Auburn and Penn State. Scout.com ranked him the No. 29 center in the Class of 2013.

Next year, the Jaspers will have one of the best frontcourts in the MAAC with Rhamel Brown, Emmy Andujar and Maryland transfer Ashton Pankey. The addition of Allen will add depth and a much-needed big body to Manhattan's rotation.

Wilson could play a larger role as Manhattan's point guard in the future, but next year he would be playing behind returnees Mike Alvarado, Rashawn Stores and CJ Jones. Last season, Wilson averaged 12 points and seven assists per game as Cardinal Hayes advanced to the Catholic High School Athletic Association Class AA semifinals.

In other recruiting news, Pope John XXIII High School senior Jermaine Lawrence attended Manhattan's game against Hofstra on November 21. Lawrence is ranked the No. 19 recruit in the country and had tweeted a few weeks ago that he narrowed his list down to UNLV, St. John's, Syracuse and Cincinnati. 

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The Iona College Gaels (2-1) men's basketball team had an impressive win Saturday 94-68 over Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. 

Iona will play for the fifth-place trophy on Monday playing University of Illinois-Chicago Flames from the Horizon League at 5 p.m. EST.

This type of success for a mid-major team like Iona against a team from a major conference like Wake Forrest from the ACC is why these tournaments are valued. Normally it is very hard for a school like Iona to schedule home and away games against teams who don't want to play in a small gym environment like Iona's 2,500 seat Hynes Center. But in these early season tournaments played at neutral sites, the mid-major teams can get a chance to show what they can do against power conference opponents.

The Gaels lost their Friday night opening round game 98-92 to Quinnipiac University in overtime despite the 40-point effort of senior point guard Lamont "Momo" Jones. At the end of regulation, Jones hit a three-point shot to extend the game. 

After a first half tied at 32, the Gaels fell behind by eight 74-66 to the Bobcats with 1:46 left, but Jones' three-point shot tied the game with four seconds left in regulation. Quinnipiac dominated the overtime, building its lead to 95-85 on a free throw by James Jackson.

Adding to the 40 points scored by "Momo" Jones, Sean Armand had 18 points and Tre Bowman finished with 15. Senior forward Taaj Ridley contributed nine rebounds and seven points in 32 minutes.

In the 94-68 win over Wake on Saturday, the Gaels motored to a 37-5 lead with just 8:48 gone in the first half and later, extended the lead to 37 points at 48-11. In the second half, Iona avoided its tendency to give up big leads never letting its advantage to dip below 25 points.

Junior Sean Armand led Iona with 28 points including seven three-point shots while "Momo" Jones added 21 points, six assists and four rebounds. Junior Tre Bowman, who originally intended to play at Penn State but played junior college basketball, added 15 points for the second straight game.

After three games, Jones is averaging 27 points per game, currently No. 4 in the nation behind Kevin Foster of Santa Clara, who leads with 28.5 points per game.

Tavon Sledge, the guard who transferred from Iowa State, is leading the Gaels in rebounding with seven per game. 

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle, NY.

Iona (1-0) made a statement in last week's 65-58 opening night win over the Denver Pioneers (0-1) that it has reloaded for another NCAA Tournament run built around senior guard Lamont "Momo" Jones and junior swing-man Sean Armand.

After Mike Glover, Scott Machado and much of a talented team graduated in May after playing in the NCAA tournament "First Four" game in March, many long-time Gael followers though it would be rebuilding time in New Rochelle for another NCAA run two or three years in the future. That is the way for mid-majors or the bottom dwellers in the major conferences: stack a lineup with upperclassmen pointing towards a key year to take a run for the top.

Head coach Tim Cluess and his assistant coaches Jared Grasso, Bill O'Keefe and Zak Boisvert went out and recruited nine new players, a mix of transfers, junior college players and two true freshmen.

Among the key additions are swingman 6'5" Tre Bowman, who was originally targeted for Penn State, senior guard Curtis Dennis, who transferred from Toledo, and junior 6'9", 240 pound forward Shawn Jackson, who played for Murray State before attending junior college in Florida. Another big man addition is sophomore David Laury, who is expected to be eligible to play at the completion of the first semester.

Key good news for the Gaels was the news that Iowa State transfer Tavon Sledge, a 25 PPG player at Half Hallow Hills West on Long Island, had been cleared to play this year. Sledge had joined Iona with the thought he would have a shot at point guard after "Momo" Jones graduated. Sledge will a chance to play alongside Jones in the backcourt.

Iona College, looking to improve on last year’s 25-win season and at large bid into the NCAA tournament, survived a second-half surge by Denver University  to win the Nov. 10 season opener at home.

For the Gaels, it was a tale of two halves. The first half started with a bang. Senior guard and team captain Lamont “Momo” Jones put Iona on the board first with a lay-in, then added a three-point shot to give Iona a 5-2 lead with 16:05 left to play of the first half.

And the maroon and gold never looked back from there, lighting up the scoreboard with a 15-2 run, finishing a dominating first half with a 40-17 lead.

Junior guard and team captain Sean Armand led Iona in first half scoring with 13 points. They shot 14-23 as a team, hitting all seven free throws and knocking down 5 of 6 three-pointers.

But Coach Tim Cluess, now in his third season as Iona’s head coach, praised his first-half defense.

“It’s all about our defense,” said Cluess. “In the first half we really had all our rotations down well.”

But then the defense broke down in the second half and gave up open shots, said Cluess. And Denver took full advantage and exploded for 41 points in the final 20 minutes to make the game close.

“In the second half…we seemed to lose guys. They are a great shooting team. In the first half they didn’t make (their shots), but I think that’s because we contested everything,” said Cluess. In the second half “…we gave them that extra step and once we gave them that extra step, they knocked it down.”

Iona’s second-half slide coincided with Armand’s absence from the lineup. Foul trouble reduced him to a vocal spectator on the bench. Cluess acknowledged not having him on the court had a huge effect on the team and exposed a weakness of the Gaels’ offense.

“He’s not only a threat to shoot, but he’s a threat to drive and with Momo handling the ball, there’s no threat of the wing and it’s a lot easier to defend us,” said Cluess.

Despite all the second half struggles, Iona never relinquished the lead. A big reason why was a clutch,
demonstrative three-point shot by Jones that ignited the crowd into a frenzy and swung the momentum back into Iona’s favor. He followed that shot up with a lay-in 18 seconds later to give his team a 64-53 advantage with 3:31 left to play in the game.

“They were plays I had to make to win the game,” Jones said, who finished with 20 points.

Sophomore guard Tavon Sledge set up that dramatic three with a steal and the assist.

Sledge, a transfer student from Iowa State who was granted a hardship waiver by the NCAA that allows him to play the 2012-2013 season, will be an exciting player to watch as the season unfolds. He
had an early impact on his new team and impressed his head coach with his energy, quickness, athleticism and play making ability.

“He had seven rebounds. He led us in rebounds at 5’9”. Defensively in the first half, he’s blocking jump shots from guys that are 6’3”, 6’5”,” said Cluess. “When things were getting stagnate, we were talking about flowing the ball, and all of a sudden Sledge gets the ball and breaks everyone down and goes in for a layup…And he’s only going to get better and better.”

Denver’s 6’6” junior forward Chris Udofia was the Preseason All-SBC First Team member as well as the 2011-2012 SBC Defensive Player of the Year and All-SBC First Team, and he did not disappoint.
Udofia finished with 20 points and six rebounds, leading the Pioneers in both categories.

Iona’s next game will be at St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands in the eight team Paradise Jam.  The Gaels first round opponent will be Quinnipiac on Friday Nov. 16 at 9 p.m.  The winner will play the winner of Connecticut and Wake Forrest on Sunday evening.  The tournament championship game will be on Tuesday evening.

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A sad note from the Iona community that former Gael assistant coach Kenny Williamson passed away at age 65 from cancer. Williamson coached at Iona under Jim Valvano and Pat Kennedy. Currently he served as the assistant coach/general manager of the NBA Memphis Grizzlies. A Vietnam veteran, coach Williamson was a native of Harlem.

Chris Eberhart gathered quotes and contributed to this article.  Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball and West Point football for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle, NY.  Twitter @SAL50NYRadio

The Iona College Athletic Department announced Thursday that sophomore Tavon Sledge, who started his college career at Iowa State, had been granted a hardship waiver by the NCAA to play for the Gaels' basketball team in the 2012-2013 season.

With this announcement Iona could be considered to be reloading instead of rebuilding after losing six seniors from last year's NCAA team—led by point guard Scott Machado, who is now with the Houston Rockets. 

An account from slamonline.com indicated that Sledge was attracted by the guard play at Iona (Machado and current Iona senior Lamont "Momo" Jones") and the fast-paced game taught by head coach Tim Cluess.

The account mentioned that going to school close to home in New Rochelle was attractive after spending a year in the Midwest. 

Tavon Sledge is a native of Rockland County and attended Half Hollow Hills West High School on Long Island and Saint Benedict's Prep School in Newark, NJ before originally signing with the Cyclones. 

The 5'9" point guard was considered one of the best high school players coming out of the New York City area in 2011, having been named All-New York City First Team by NYHoops.com. 

Sledge can play, averaging 25.3 points, 5.2 assists and 3.5 steals per game as a senior. He received All-State, All-Long Island, and All-Conference honors and was ranked the 79th best high school player in the country during 2011 by Hoopscoop.com.

His breakout performance in the state quarterfinals was a 46 point effort scored in a double-overtime win over Elmont. 

During his junior year, Sledge played on the Half Hollow Hills team which won the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA Championship. He played in eight games last season for Iowa State.

This is quite a recruiting win by Iona as Sledge can be expected to complement "Momo" Jones in the backcourt this year rather than sitting and waiting for next year.

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona Basketball and West Point football for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle, NY.