MAAC Conference Basketball

Mike Glover likes playing against Marist; he scored 31 points against the Red Foxes in January, and 25 in their February game in New Rochelle. 

In the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference quarterfinals, the Iona power forward scored 29 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Gaels (25-6) advanced with a 87-63 win over Marist (14-18).

This was the second biggest offensive game of the year for Glover, who scored 34 against St. Joseph's on Thanksgiving Eve. 

After a 35-33 Iona lead at the half, the First Team All-MAAC player helped Iona pull away from Marist capping a 14-3 Gael run to start the second half.

Later in the half, Glover helped Iona decide the game with a couple of lay-ups and a free throw, which pushed Iona to a 17-point lead 74-57 with 5:32 remaining.  

Scott Machado, named MAAC "Player of the Year" on Thursday night, had a strong game with 18 points and eight assists.  The Iona point guard continues to lead the nation in assists per game.

Iona's two guard Momo Jones, who played in the NCAA Elite Eight last year for Arizona, did not attempt a three-point shot but ended with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. 

Sophomore swing player Sean Armand, who makes over 47 percent of his three-point shots was just a mortal 2-of-6 and ended with 10 points but added six rebounds.

The Gaels guard off the bench, senior Jermel Jenkins, played 19 minutes and had seven points.  Junior forward Taaj Ridley had four points and four rebounds.

Iona senior forward Randy Dezouvre, who has given the team depth at forward, did not play.  Iona SID Brian Beyrer comments this is due to being poked in the eye during Friday's practice.

For Marist, Cavaughn Lewis scored 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting, Isaiah Morton had 17 points, and center Adam Kemp had nine rebounds and eight points.

Iona ended up winning the rebound battle 33-27 and led in assists 18-14.  The Gaels won on their shooting hitting 56.7 percent from the field while Fairfield shot 44 percent.

The listed attendance of 2,256 must have disappointed MAAC officials for the Saturday afternoon doubleheader. 

In the first game, Fairfield (18-13) defeated Rider (13-19) 65-63.  In the first evening match-up Loyola (22-8) ended Niagara (14-19) by a score of 86-73.  In the last game of the day (Correction), Siena (14-16) pulled off an upset win over Manhattan (20-12) 84-82.

On Sunday at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Mass, in the MAAC semi-finals, Iona will play Fairfield at 2 p.m. with Loyola playing Siena in the second game.

Fairfield's All-MAAC second-team guard Derek Needham is out with a broken bone in his foot suffered a week ago Friday night in the early going of the loss to Iona. 

Fairfield led by five at the half before the Gaels cam back with a strong second half. led by the shooting of Sean Armand to win 77-72.  The Gaels also won the game in Bridgeport back in late January 71-62. 

Can Iona win three straight over Fairfield?  It will not be easy, but the Stags, without key starter Needham, will have to contend with the Machado-to-Glover connection and the pull-up jumpers of Momo Jones running at full speed.

These semi-finals will be high-energy games, as four good mid-major teams square off for spots in the Monday night MAAC Championship game which decides the NCAA bid. 

It is impossible to describe how important an invitation to "The Big Dance" is to these players.

I'll be on-site in Springfield tomorrow. 

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball and West Point football for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle and Sons of the American Legion Radio.  His Twitter address is @SAL50NYRadio.

Iona point guard Scott Machado led the Gaels to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season title. Now, he has been honored as the MAAC Men's Basketball Pepsi Max Player of the Year in a ceremony held in Springfield, Massachusetts on Thursday night. 

Machado was cited for leading the entire NCAA in assists at an average of 10.1 per game.  The Queens, New York native leads an Iona offense ranked first in Division One averaging 83.4 points per game.  Additionally, the senior averaged 13.1 points and five plus rebounds per game.  His shooting statistics were impressive at 47 percent from the field, 42 percent on threes and 85 percent on free throw shooting.

He remains a finalist for the Bob Cousy "Point Guard of the Year" Award and is one of the 30 players on the watch list for the Naismith Men's Basketball Player of the Year Award.

Accepting the award Machado spoke on MAAC TV with Rob Kennedy and Vin Parise:

"Feels good, a lot of hard work, thank all my teammates and my coaching staff. It just feels great". 

Asked about the hard work he did to get into shape, working on jump shot and playing in Brazil last summer:

"Biggest summer of my life, dedicated my life to strictly basketball, left the country just so that so I could just worry about basketball.  About all the distractions around it, I just put on the side and worked on my jump shot." 

Asked if the attention of NBA scouts coming to his games had been a distraction:

"My teammates and coaches always talk about being humble, and always trying to improve yourself, I just did that and stayed humble."

About the benefit of playing in Coach Cluess's uptempo system:

"Very important, this is the style of play that I love playing in, it makes me happy, and I have a lot fun doing it.  When my teammates are knocking down shots, and finishing shots down the lane, it makes the game a lot easier for me.  I get to pass it around the court, and that is how we need to be."

Also named finalists for the Pepsi Max Player of the Year and All MAAC First Team were:  Rakim Sanders of Fairfield, Mike Glover of Iona, Erik Etherly of Loyola, George Beamon of Manhattan and O.D. Anosike of Siena.

Anosika was likely the biggest rival to Machado for the Award.  The Siena junior led the NCAA in Rebounding averaging 12.9 rebounds per game and in double-double performances with 22.

Fellow Iona senior Mike Glover was the preseason MAAC Player of the Year and had another solid year with 18.1 points per game and 9.1 rebounds.  Much of the year Glover faced double teams and defenses collapsing around him.  The 6'7" 215 pound Bronx native made 65 percent of his shots, third best in the NCAA, often from dunks and put backs.   

At the ceremony, Iona received its trophy as the MAAC Regular Season Champion.  Accepting the award, Coach Tim Cluess was asked by Kennedy and Parise about handling the high expectations for this team.

"Difficult thing to do, but it is something every team faces at some point.  Everyone is giving you their best shots.  Our guys did a great job of taking those shots and still ending up on top.  The team has exceeded some of my expectations but the league itself and coaches and other team in the league are tremendous so it is a great accomplishment."

About blending the talent on the team:

"I thought our players were great, they really care about each other both on and off the court so for them it came easy."

About instilling an up-tempo style and being successful:

"I thought they bought in right away.  The fact they had strong guards at Iona already before I got there, we added some people.  When you have good guards, especially New York-New Jersey guards who like to play up and down, it kind of lets them play at a natural pace, they bought in right away."

About preparing for the other nine teams in the MAAC Tournament:

"We have to be ready for every team out there, because every team is really good. The coaches do a great job.  They are all going to play their best shot, no one wants to go home this time of year. If you are a player you step up."

Juan'Ya Green of Niagara was named the MAAC Men's Rookie of the Year.  The Philadelphia native scored 17.5 points per game, third overall in the league.  Green had double digit scoring in 27 games. 

Rhamel Brown of Manhattan was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Jimmy Patsos of Loyola was recognized as Coach of the Year for the Greyhounds who finished second in the MAAC with a 13-5 record.  Overall, the Greyhounds were 21-8 one of their best year 's since joining the MAAC.

On the women's side, Iona's Danika Martinez was named the MAAC Rookie of the year.  She was named four times as MAAC Rookie of the Week and led the MAAC in scoring with 16.1 points per game while averaging 4.9 rebounds.  She was voted onto the All-MAAC second team.  Teammate Alisha Powell who averaged 7.6 points per game and had 44 steals was also voted on to the MAAC all-rookie team.  Commented Martinez on the broadcast:  

"My coaches believed in me, I believed in me, so I came a long way." 

The Gaels will wait for Saturday afternoon when at 4 p.m. in Springfield, MA they will play the winner of Friday night's match-up between Marist and St. Peter's.  The winner of that game will face the Fairfield-Rider winner on Sunday at 2 p.m. On Monday at 7 p.m. two of these teams will play for the MAAC title and the all-important bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

It's Hard to describe how important winning the NCAA bid is to the players and coaches.

Ken Kraetzer is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle and Sons of the American Legion Radio. His Twitter address is @SAL50NYRadio. 

If you looked at the schedule back in November, this game would seem meaningless—at least for Manhattan. Although Loyola (MD) was picked as the preseason No. 3, Manhattan was picked to finish in eighth place, behind the likes of Siena, Niagara and Rider.

But now, the Jaspers sit tied with Loyola (20-8, 12-5 MAAC) and Fairfield (17-12, 12-5) in second place in the MAAC entering the final game of the regular season.

Manhattan (20-10, 12-5) defeated Canisius on Friday night, 90-77, to continue its improbable run toward the No. 2 seed in the MAAC tournament and mark its first 20-win season since 2005-06.

Meanwhile, losses by Loyola and Fairfield to Rider and Iona, respectively, kept the Jaspers' chances for second place alive.

Sunday's game between the Jaspers and the Greyhounds will put the winner behind Iona as the No. 2 team in the MAAC, but the loser will fall to the No. 4 seed with a Fairfield win over Rider, or No. 3 with a Fairfield loss.

A lot will be on the line on senior day at Draddy Gymnasium, and here is what each team will have to do in order to come away with a victory:

Keys for Loyola

Control the Crowd and the Emotion

Manhattan is 9-3 at home this season, and the Jaspers have thrived when playing in front of a large home crowd. The only time they lost at home in front of a big crowd was to first-place Iona. 

Draddy Gymnasium is not particularly large, but when Manhattan students fill it up, it gets loud and hostile.

And don't forget that this is senior day. Manhattan and its fans will come out with plenty of emotion.

If Loyola allows the hyped-up Manhattan Jaspers to open up a good-sized lead early in the game, the Greyhounds will have trouble fighting back against Steve Masiello's relentless system.

Limit Beamon, Neutralize Brown

George Beamon will score—that is a given. The junior is No. 2 in the MAAC in scoring and has scored in double-figures in every game this season. What Loyola can do is limit him as much as possible by trying to get him on the bench.

Masiello has not risked Beamon picking up three first-half fouls. Every time he has two fouls in the first half, he goes to the bench. And when Beamon is on the bench, the Jaspers' offense tends to go through tremendous struggles.

The other X-factor for Manhattan is Rhamel Brown, the MAAC's leader in blocked shots.

Brown will always be a defensive force with 2.5 blocks per game, but his offensive output is inconsistent. His production has been better the last few games, most recently posting 13 points against Canisius. If Brown can stay out of foul trouble, his post presence has the potential to boost Manhattan to a win.

The best way for Loyola to neutralize him is to force him to catch the ball as far away from the basket as possible. Although Brown's low-post game has improved this year, he still does not look too comfortable putting the ball on the floor.

Keys for Manhattan

Replacing Alvarado

Michael Alvarado left the Siena game a couple of weeks ago with an eye injury, and he will not return until the MAAC tournament. Without their starting point guard, the Jaspers have a combination of Donovan Kates, Emmy Andujar and Kidani Brutus in his place.

None of these replacements have been quite as good as Alvarado, but Andujar has shown promise as a point-forward all season with three assists per game, and Kates put together a career performance on Friday with 18 points.

The Jaspers need everyone to step up and help compensate for the loss of Alvarado in order to beat one of the top teams in the MAAC.

Control the Perimeter on Both Ends

Loyola occasionally catches fire from beyond the arc, but for the most part, the Greyhounds are not a great shooting bunch. Aside from Robert Olson, who shoots 46.1 percent from three-point range, they do not have anyone who shoots better than 33 percent.

Manhattan is No. 1 in the MAAC in three-point defense, holding opponents to 32.7 percent. The Jaspers need to stick to what they do well and force Loyola to score on the inside.

Also, Manhattan is No. 3 in the conference in three-point shooting (36.7 percent), while Loyola is No. 8 in three-point defense (36.4 percent). The Jaspers have a number of shooters on their squad, and they should try to take advantage of the Greyhounds' mediocre three-point defense.

Stats you should know:

• Manhattan leads the all-time series, 31-21.
• Brown set a Manhattan single-season blocks record on Friday night with 76 blocks.
• Beamon has scored in double-digits in 44 straight games, the second-longest active streak in Division I (John Jenkins—Vanderbilt, 61).
• Loyola is enjoying its first 20-win season since 1948-49.

My pick: Manhattan 73, Loyola 69

Tipoff: Sunday, February 26, 4:00 p.m. at Draddy Gymnasium

After compiling a 13-3 record in MAAC play, Iona found themselves in a position that they were familiar with from last year.

The Gaels twice found themselves needing to win just one game to secure both the MAAC tournament and CIT Championship, yet they were unable to win either title.

This time, the Gaels were playing at the Hynes Athletic Center against Fairfield, needing to win the game to win the MAAC regular-season title and at least a spot in the NIT.

Earlier in the season, Iona had defeated Fairfield 71-62 in Bridgeport. Yet, both teams were the hottest sides in the MAAC since their matchup on Jan. 27.

Fairfield had won their last seven MAAC games since then, while Iona had won five of their six games in conference play.

This game was highly hyped, and there was a huge group of people who waited outside before the game started to try to get tickets, with many of those fans failing to get admission.

Despite a boisterous student section, the Gaels were not able to please their fans in the first half, trailing throughout the first half, and the Stags led the home side 38-33 at the half.

The Gaels' offensive flair did not exist throughout the first half, with star point guard Scott Machado only registering four points and Momo Jones only getting two points of his own.

Early in the second half, the Gaels found themselves down by eight points to Fairfield. Machado was able to respond with a three-pointer to spark a 10-0 Iona run.

Fairfield and Iona continued to play uptempo basketball, but it looked like everything was going to change when Machado picked up his fourth foul with just under seven minutes remaining.

Iona only held a two-point lead at the time, yet as he has done since his 32-point effort at Madison Square Garden against Siena, Sean Armand stepped up for the Gaels.

Armand scored the next nine points for the Gaels over the next four minutes to give Iona a 71-65 lead with just under three minutes to go.

Throughout this season, Armand has continued to progress into one of the most dangerous players in the MAAC. Armand has scored some important baskets this year, and his performance tonight was the most important effort that he has had for Iona in his short career.

This effort only recapped what was a fantastic effort from the sophomore guard from Brooklyn. Armand also registered three rebounds, two assists and two steals to propel Iona to the 77-72 win.

Outside of Armand, Machado registered 10 points and seven assists, while Michael Glover had 13 points and seven rebounds.

The Gaels will finish off their regular season with a game tomorrow against Saint Peters in New Rochelle, before playing in the MAAC Championships in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Iona will play either Marist or Saint Peters on March 3 to start off the tournament now that they have secured the No. 1 seed.

Follow me on Twitter @Andrew_Jordan

Sean Armand had 17 points Friday night as the Iona Gaels (23-6) win the regular season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship with a 77-72 home court win over the Fairfield Stags (17-12). 

The title is Iona's first MAAC regular season championship since 2001.  Many Iona basketball alumni were on hand as alumnus Stanley Hill'59 was honored at half-time.  In 1956-57 the University of Mississippi refused to play Iona in a tournament because of the presence of Hill, an African-American on the Gael team.   "Ole Miss" officials publicly apologized to Hill and Iona when the two schools met in the NCAA tournament back in 2001.

Iona Coach Tim Cluess said afterwards, "I am very proud of my guys for what they accomplished tonight.  They never gave up.  They were down early, did not look they were playing well, struggled a little bit, but they kept on fighting". 

Early on Fairfield forced Iona out of its up-tempo game and into playing half court by as much sets. Stags went out to a 18-13 by out-shooting and out rebounding the Gaels.  

Iona trailed by as much as eight in the first half and 38-33 at the half.  The Gaels were able to shoot 73 percent from the field in the second half led by a trio of three-point shots by sophomore swing-man Sean Armand. 

The second of two consecutive threes by Armand with 7:29 left gave the Gaels a 62-58 lead.  Fairfield answered with a layup by Rakim Sanders and a three by Desmond Wade to give the Stags back the lead at 63-62.

Sean Armand answered on the next possession with a two-point jumper with 5:57 left to give the Gaels a 64-63 lead that they would not relinquish.

Afterwards, the sophomore from Brooklyn said:

"Eraly on (Rakim) Sanders was trying to shut me out. It is a long game, so I didn't force anything.  I've learned that coming to college.  I just tried to rebound and defend.  After a while I knew there would be open shoots.  I told coach, I wanted the ball, he got me the ball and good things happened."

Armand led Iona with 17 points on 6-8 shooting from the field, a perfect 6-6 in the second half.  Mike Glover had 13 points and seven rebounds contending with Ryan Olander all night under the boards.

Coach Cluess was very pleased with the play and growth of Armand:

"Sean has grown into the position, and we saw it briefly at the end of last year, and spotty throughout this year.  There was just something I saw in him, that IO thought clicked, where he grew up as a player, not only on the defensive end but his commitment to defense.  So he has done a great job of being that guy , that knocks down the shot, and he wanted the ball, it is huge when a player comes to you and says, run something for me and I am going to make it". 

Point guard Scott Machado was looking to drive inside much of the game but picked up a fourth foul driving down the lane with 6:40 left. He ended up playing 29 minutes, recording 10 points and seven assists.

Senior guard Jermel Jenkins played 15 minutes his most time in recent games and provided Iona with instant offense hitting three of five shots for nine points.  Jenkins had started much of last year but lost time with the addition of Momo Jones to the team and starting lineup.

Iona went deep to their bench with Randy Dezouvre contributing six points, two on a left handed lay-up in the lane to cut a Fairfeld lead back to six at 39-32. In the second half he feed a pass underneath to another Gael back-up Ra'Shad James to bring Iona back to trail by three.  Machado tied it at 42 all on the next play. 

Commented Cluess,

"Guys off the bench gave us such a lift both defensively and offensively, and our guys just came out and played to the very end." 

Fairfield senior Rakim Sanders had 22 points and 12 rebounds. The 7'0" senior center Ryan Olander had 15 points, including a three-point shot.  Junior Wade Desmond hit a trio of threes for nine. 

Commented Fairfield coach Sydney Johnson,

"Out of bound plays, transitions, half court, zones, Tim (Cluess) does a good job with his guys. We knew we had to stop them from scoring,and it just got away from us, the smallest amount of separation.

Junior Derek Needham suffered a foot or ankle injury eight minutes into the game and did not return. Coach Johnson did not have an update after the game.

Now just a week away, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will decide which team goes to the NCAA tournament, the Holy Grail for college basketball teams. The semifinals could be very competitive if Iona, Fairfield, Loyola and Manhattan hold their anticipated seeds and reach the semifinals in Springfield, MA.

I asked Scott Machado if it helps to have momentum going into the conference tournament, the MAAC conference all-time assist leader commented:

"We get to go into the tournament winning, We have one more game against Saint Peter's on Sunday.  We want to win that game as well.  So we just want to go into the conference tournament on a roll, with everyone playing good".

 Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle and Sons of the American Legion Radio.  His Twitter address is @SAL50NYRadio

Fairfield (17-11) will challenge Iona (22-6) for first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tonight, in New Rochelle, while a remarkable former Gael player, Stanley Hill will be honored for his role in the 1950s fight for integration of college basketball and our country.

Both teams are anxious to set up for the conference tournament next week in Springfield, Massachusetts. Iona, 13-3 in the MAAC, leads Fairfield, 12-4, by one game, with two games to go in the regular season. Last year, the Stags lost the conference semifinals on their home court to John Dunne's Saint Peter's team, which went on to beat Iona in the final and play in the NCAA tournament. 

Fairfield has won nine of its last last 11, with a 67-63 loss at Wisconsin-Milwaukee last week at the Bracketbusters event, a tough draw. Senior swingman Rakim Saunders leads the Stags with 16.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Junior guard Derek Needham averages 12 points a game. Fairfield has a real center in 7-foot senior Ryan Olander. 

Iona goes in to the 9PM late-start game at the Hynes Center coming off three wins in a row, including last Saturday's Bracketbuster win over Nevada, 90-84. They lead the country in both points per game at 83.0 and assists at 19.4. Led by the inside play of Mike Glover, the Gaels are third in the country in field goal percentage at 49.8. The Gaels go play this weekend with a "Real Time RPI" of 42, Fairfield is 122.

Against Nevada, point guard Scott Machado put on another remarkable performance, with 15 assists and 13 points. The pro scouts, including a delegation from the New Orleans Hornets, could only be impressed with the maturity Machado has shown. The long postseason run to the CIT Tournament final helped, as did summer play for a Brazilian national team. Machado's family is from Brazil.

Another senior, Mike Glover, has been a consistent force for the Gaels, despite how much opponents try to double team or collapse their defenses in the paint around him. The power forward averages 18.5 points and nine rebounds per game. What is remarkable Glover's 64.7 shooting percentage. Of course, many of his shots are dunks; but he has good hands and catches passes often from Machado and takes the ball cleanly to the basket.

As the season has progressed, Lamont Jones has increasingly become an offensive force for the Gaels, now averaging 16.2 points per game. This is an increase from the 9.7 points per game he had last year playing for Arizona's Elite Eight team. After a disappointing performance at St. Peter's, "Momo" put in extra gym time to work on his shooting. His effort was rewarded with a 43-point performance against Canisius, when he hit seven of 12 three-point shots. In other recent games, he has switched to a pull-up jumper in the lane; against Nevada, he drove under players to get to the basket. 

Sophomore small forwards Sean Armand and Randy Dezouvre have both been giving Iona extra offense. Armand is the best three-point shooter on team, making over 47 percent of his threes. He totaled 22 points against Rider and 25 in Iona's loss at Loyola two weeks ago. Dezouvre has shown good hands, rebounding, holding passes from the guards and making clutch shots. The senior from Montreal had 17 points last week against Nevada. Dezourve has been splitting time with junior Taaj Ridley at the four position. Ridley has a field-goal percentage of 52.5; but Coach Clues would like to see him improve his rebounding, which stands at 4.3 per game, third on the team.

A special event at the game will be a halftime award presentation to Iona graduate and former player Stanley Hill, from the class of '59. He will receive the Trailblazer Award by the athletics department for his presence on the 1956-57 Gael team that the University of Mississippi refused to play because Hill was African-American. The two schools were scheduled to play in a tournament in Owensboro, Kentucky, when the Ole Miss coach Bonnie Graham refused to let his team play the integrated Iona team.

According to the release issued by Iona, Graham had the support of the university president and the state governor on his stand. The Iona coach, Jim McDermott, refused to take Hill out of the lineup. The Gaels were awarded a forfeit and several of the Mississippi players went to the hotel Iona was staying at to offer apologies.

In 2001, when Iona played Mississippi in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Ole Miss officially and visibly apologized to Hill and Iona for the actions taken over 40 years before. Hill was invited to attend an Ole Miss practice and to sit with university officials for the first half of the NCAA game. Hill went on from college basketball to have a distinguished career as a New York labor leader.

Sometimes sports does make a positive difference. Thank goodness our country has come so far since the segregated times of the 1950s. Sports was a contributor to this change. Stanley Hill is part of that story.

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball and West Point football for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle, NY and Sons of the American Legion radio. His Twitter address is @SAL50NYRadio.

The Iona Gaels (22-6) put on a running, pressing and shooting exhibition before a national ESPN audience, winning a Sears BracketBuster game 90-84 over the Nevada Wolf Pack (22-5) in New Rochelle.

Lamont "Momo" Jones led Iona with 18 points and four assists.  Scott Machado had 13 points and 15 assists, as he continues to lead the country in assists per game.  Forward Randy Dezouvre made one clutch shot after another and finished with 17 points.

For Nevada, Olek Czyz dominated the boards in the early going and ended up with 28 points and seven rebounds.  Deonte Burton had 21 points. 

It was a playoff atmosphere in New Rochelle, as the Wolf Pack traveled across the country to play the Iona Gaels.

Iona Coach Tim Clues went into the game knowing he would have to depend on speed and quickness to handle a much larger Nevada team.

Nevada's senior from Poland, Olek Czyz, showed good hands by making six quick inside points to give the Wolf Pack a 17-15 lead.

Iona's Kyle Smyth hits a three-pointer to tie the score at 20.  Dario Hunt scored inside for Nevada, and then Randy Dezouvre answered.  The Wolf Pack switched to a zone defense, which helped them regain the lead, 36-27.

But the Gaels came back with a 16-7 run—sparked by a Momo Jones three and followed with a Taaj Ridley jumper, a Mike Glover layup, a Sean Armand jumper and a Kyle Smyth three-pointer.  The Gaels went into the locker room at halftime leading 47-46.

In the second half, the Gaels came out running and pressing.  Nevada struggled to keep up the pace.  The Gaels took a 57-51 lead on a Randy Dezouvre jumper. 

Later in the half, Momo Jones artfully made three inside plays to give the Gaels an 80-69 lead. 

Nevada kept the game close with a couple of inside baskets by Dario Hunt.  But Iona gained the win 90-84.

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle, NY.  His Twitter address is @SAL50NYRADIO

It is Sears Bracketbuster weekend and the University of Nevada (22-4) will fly East to New York to play the Iona Gaels (21-6). The game will be aired on ESPN 2 in matchup of first place mid-major NCAA contenders.   

The Sears Bracketbuster event involves 142 teams and 71 games to be played around the country, matching teams from 16 mid-major conferences.  This is a chance for the teams to showcase their skills and ability for the NCAA Tournament Committee. 

It is an opportunity for the teams to improve their RPI standing by playing other top mid-majors.  

For a select few it is a chance to show they belong in the NCAA's even if they lose their conference tournament on a buzzer beater.  For those that will go on to win conference tournament it is a chance to improve their seeding so they can avoid first round match-ups with top opponents. 

With a 4 p.m. start, the Iona-Nevada game matches two teams with twenty wins and low RPIs. Iona has an RPI of 52 and Nevada 56. 

This is a big, veteran Nevada team, coming in to play the self-described undersized but quick Gaels.  The Wolf Pack have gone 22-2 since two season opening losses.  They have beaten the likes of Bradley, Washington and Arizona State in Tempe.  Their only loss since November was on Feb. 4 to Idaho 72-68.

Nevada, from the Western Athletic Conference, is led by third year coach David Carter, a graduate of St. Mary's, who has been with the program 13 years.  The Wolf Pack have a scoring average of 70.3 points per game and shoot 45.3 percent from the field. They have a lot of size on their roster with eight players that are 6'6" or taller.  The Gaels are going to have their hands full playing a much bigger team than what they are used to in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. 

Deonte Burton, a sophomore from Los Angeles at 6'1" is the Wolf Pack's leading scorer at 14.9 points a game.  His backcourt partner 6' 7" junior guard Malik Story from Pasadena, CA,  averages 14.7 points a contest.  Story's height advantage will make him a tough player to guard for either of Iona's guards.

Another big player for Nevada is 6-8 guard Jerry Evans from Lawndale, CA who averages 6.7 points and 4.7 assists per game.

Senior forward Dario Hunt, 6' 8" and 238 pounds from Colorado Springs, Colorado; scores 9.7 a game, grabs 9.5 rebounds per game, and has 55 blocks on the season.  Another Nevada forward averaging double digits in points at 12.7 and while producing 6.3 rebounds per game is 6' 7", 240 pound senior Czyz Olek from Poland. 

Nevada has started the same line-up all season of Burton, Story, Evans, Hunt, and Olek. Except for Burton, Nevada's whole core is 6'7" or better.

I asked second year Iona Coach Tim Cluess about how an undersized Iona team can compete against a very tall and strong Nevada squad:

"We have no choice but to play small and fast as that is all we have".

 

Iona at 21-6 on the year is leading the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with a record of 13-3.  They have signature non-conference wins over Maryland, Richmond, and Vermont.

Iona is first in the country in assists per game at 19.2 and second nationally in scoring averaging 82.9 points a game while giving up 72.5  The Gaels led by the inside play of Mike Glover are sixth in the NCAA in with a 49.4 percent shooting average.  Their opponents shoot 44.3 percent against them.

Gaels' point guard Scott Machado, from Queens, NY leads the country in play-making with a average of 9.9 assists game.  Machado had a triple double Sunday night against Marist and averages 13.3 points per game. 

He was featured this week in a Sports Illustrated article.

Under the boards, fellow senior Mike Glover from the Bronx, NY leads the team in scoring at 18.6 points a game and rebounding with 9.3.

Lamont "Momo" Jones, from Harlem, transferred to Iona from Arizona and received an NCAA hardship waiver to play right away, is the second leading scorer at 16.1 points per game 3.4 assists.   

Jones credits extra time in the gym working on his shooting as contributing to his 43 point outburst February 2nd against Canisius.  Jones is second on the team in threes, hitting at 36 percent. As an alternate, Jones will shift to his "Pull-up" jumper midway down the lane.

Sean Armand from Brooklyn NY, at the swing 3 position, had 22 points Wednesday night against Rider and is the team's best three-point shooter.  Armand has made a team leading 65 three-point shots at a remarkable 47 percent rate. 

Kyle Smyth from River Edge, NJ is a noted defense player that splits time with Armand at the 3. Smyth also has a terrific three-point shot from the corner.

At the four for Iona is the combination of senior Randy Dezouvre from Montreal, Canada and junior transfer Taaj Ridley from the Bronx, in his first year with the Gaels. 

Dezouvre has good hands with the basketball and can make clutch shots, as he did when he made the game winner at Denver in December.  Ridley averages 7.3 points per game and is third on the team after Glover and Machado with 4.3 rebounds per game.  

Iona needs Taaj Ridley to step up against Nevada's big forward line to give some additional muscle under the boards and take some pressure off of Glover inside.

Senior Jermel Jenkins from Union, NJ started at the two guard part of last season and is playing 13 minutes per game to give breathers to Machado and Jones.  When hot, Jenkins hits the three at 37% rate providing another outside threat.

The biggest challenge for Iona is on defense, they sometimes give up quick baskets when their defense is not set.  At times, they have struggled playing with a lead in the second half, most notably in the home game against Manhattan, in which they gave up a large lead.

Watch how Machado and Jones matchup against the Nevada guards Burton and Story.  They may play a lot of zone to avoid the match-ups that the 6-7 Story can create.  Then watch how the two Iona inside players, Glover and Ridley can do against the bigger Nevada forwards Hunt and Olek. 

If Iona can run the ball, they may do well, but if Nevada can control the pace and force Iona to play a lot of half court defense, the size of the advantage of the Wolf Pack could be the edge. 

Interview comment from Coach Cluess was exclusive to this article.

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona Basketball and West Point Football for Sons of the American Legion Radio on WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle and heard nationally on WVOX.com.  Reach Ken on kgk914@aol.com or Twitter @SAL50NYRadio.