Iona handles Manhattan in MAAC Rivalry Showdown
Iona really showed their might on Friday night in New Rochelle, defeating the rival Manhattan Jaspers 88–76. In a game where reigning MAAC Rookie of the Year Nelly Junior Joseph played just 11 minutes, the Gaels were still able to put on a show for their home crowd.
Elijah Joiner began the game with a tough layup right of the tip, and from there, it was off to the races. Iona jumped out to an 8–2 lead just two minutes in, and four minutes later, it was 17–6, leading to a Jasper timeout. Manhattan, playing in their first game since December 21, showed signs of rust early, not being able to break Iona’s press, and also struggling to find quality shots in the half-court offense. Even when Nelly Junior Joseph left the game with two first half fouls, the Jaspers struggled offensively, with the exception of Samir Stewart. Stewart drained five of five first half three-point attempts, but the rest of the Jaspers shot just 0-for-7 from distance in the opening stanza. Manhattan did get within two, 26–24 with 7:53 to play in the first half, but that didn’t last. Iona went on a run, threes from Quinn Slazinski and Walter Clayton aiding the cause. At halftime, the Gaels led 45–34.
While Manhattan eventually found ways to score points, they were frazzled by the Gaels 75th ranked defense. It’s the Jaspers’ first game against a top 100 defense since they faced the now 98th ranked Fordham defense in November. Jose Perez was the answer as the second half began for Manhattan, answering every Iona punch with a counterpunch. Perez scored the first eleven points of the second term for Manhattan. The Marquette transfer shot just 2-for-10 in the first half, but he woke up in half number 2, shooting 6-for-12 for 18 points. However, his efforts were not enough to will the Jaspers back into the game. Dylan Van Eyck lived up to the Mr. Momentum moniker by killing any sort of run that the Jaspers started by sinking threes and finishing lobs for the Gaels. Once Perez cooled off, a credit to the Gaels defense denying him the ball, the game started to get out of reach.
Despite the loss, Perez led all scorers with 27 points, also chipping in 5 assists to his MAAC leading total. Stewart struggled with foul trouble, but finished with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting.
If there are any negatives to take away from this game for Iona, it’s that the foul game must improve on both sides. After a 17–29 foul shooting performance that kept the Fairfield game close on Tuesday, they shot 21-for-38 from the line today, another poor showing. They also committed 30 fouls, with almost the whole team getting involved in that area of the stat sheet. Junior Joseph, despite limited minutes, made an impact, dropping 13 points and 2 rebounds. Tyson Jolly led the way with 16 points, and two other Gaels, Dylan Van Eyck and Elijah Joiner, were in double-figures, an impressive team performance. 7 footer Osborn Shema, who doesn’t typically get very many minutes, was impressive in those that he did play today.
The coaches embraced at mid-court before the game, as Iona’s Rick Pitino coached Manhattan’s Steve Masiello at Kentucky, and then Masiello was on Pitino’s Louisville staff before arriving at Manhattan.
For Manhattan, they fall to 8–4, and 1–2 in the MAAC, and their next game is Sunday against Canisius at home. For Iona, they’re now 13–3, and 5–0 in the MAAC, their best MAAC start since 2015–16, and their best 16 game start since 2011–12. The Gaels' next game is on Sunday at Hynes against Niagara.
