Gonzaga: 2013-14 West Coast Men's Basketball Champions

LAS VEGAS -- Sam Dower Jr. had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Gonzaga held its ground during a second-half rally to beat BYU 75-64 Tuesday night for its 13th West Coast Conference title.

Gonzaga (28-6) raced out to a 21-point lead in the first half and had an answer when BYU fought back in the second half, leaving no doubt about the NCAA tournament by earning the conference's automatic bid. 

Gary Bell Jr. had 14 points and David Stocktondished out seven assists to send the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament for the 16th straight year.

BYU (23-11) rallied after a dismal first half, pulling within eight with 3 minutes left. The Cougars couldn't finish off the comeback and now have a long five-day wait until Selection Sunday.

Tyler Haws had 24 points and Kyle Collinsworthadded 13 before leaving with a right leg injury in the second half.

Gonzaga and BYU split two meetings during the regular season.

The Zags won the first one by 15 after hitting 10 of 22 3-pointers in Spokane. The Cougars were much better guarding the perimeter in Provo, limiting the Bulldogs to 4 of 18 shooting from 3-point range.

Playing in its 17th straight WCC final, Gonzaga dominated early in the rubber match with a nearly perfect first half.

Offensively, the Bulldogs built a quick nine-point lead and kept pouring it on behind Dower, who had 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the first half.

Gonzaga was just as good defensively, contesting shots inside and getting out to BYU's shooters on the perimeter. The Cougars struggled against the Bulldogs' pressure, missing 11 of their first 15 shots on their way to a 9-for-27 half.

Gonzaga led by as much as 21 in the first half and was up 44-27 at the break.

The Bulldogs didn't let up, either, thanks to Dower.

The athletic left-hander scored on a hard drive and was fouled, then threw down a pair of dunks to put the Bulldogs up 53-33.

BYU suffered another blow when Collinsworth had to be helped off the court midway through the second half, unable to put any weight on his right leg after going down under Gonzaga's basket.

Playing without its facilitator and second-leading scorer, the Cougars found a way to claw their way back.

Haws has had trouble getting shots to fall in the WCC tournament and had a so-so first half, scoring nine points on 2-of-7 shooting. When his shots started to fall in the second half, so did Gonzaga's lead.

Haws hit a 3-pointer in rhythm to cut Gonzaga's lead to 13 and the Cougars kept chipping away at the lead, getting it down to eight on two free throws by Haws with 2:56 left.

That was it for BYU, though, leaving the Cougars to wait to see if the selection committee believes their résumé is good enough for an NCAA tournament bid.

Milwaukee: 2013-14 Horizon League Men's Basketball Champions

DAYTON, Ohio -- Picked to finish last in the Horizon League's preseason poll.

Seeded No. 5 heading into the conference tournament.

From start to finish, Milwaukee has been mostly overlooked.

Maybe that's why the Panthers so enjoyed cutting down those nets on Tuesday night with everyone watching.

Senior forward Kyle Kelm had a double-double as Milwaukee's front line dominated, and the Panthers led the whole way during a 69-63 victory over Wright State for the Horizon League tournament title.

"I might wear this for two weeks," senior guardJordan Aaron said, with one of the joyously snipped nets drooped around his neck.

Milwaukee (21-13) is back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006, when the Panthers knocked off Oklahoma in the first round before losing to Florida. They're 3-3 all-time in the tournament.

This one was most unexpected. The Panthers became the first No. 5 seed to win the Horizon League tournament, winning all but one of the tournament games on the road.

"Everything has seemed to come together," coach Rob Jeter said, wearing the other net around his neck. "There hasn't been anything they've slacked in. That's the toughness that's required to represent the Horizon League as champions.

"We never rattled."

Kelm had 20 points and nine rebounds, and Aaron scored 18 points as Milwaukee went 9 of 18 from beyond the arc against the league's top defense and had a 35-28 edge in rebounds.

"They really got after us on the boards," said Wright State's Matt Vest, who had 11 points. "That's a credit to them, especially their seniors. Kelm and Aaron really carried them."

Wright State (20-14) had a season-high six-game winning streak snapped. The Raiders were trying to get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007, but wound up losing the tournament title game for the second year in a row.

A.J. Pacher led the Raiders with 16 points despite spending much of the second half on the bench in foul trouble.

The title game wound up on Wright State's floor after the tournament's top two seeds got knocked out in the semifinals. Milwaukee beat No. 1 seed Green Bay 73-66 in overtime. No. 3 seed Wright State beat No. 2 seed Cleveland State 68-63.

Milwaukee had one more upset left in it.

"We've fought through a lot of adversity," Aaron said. "We've had some of the highest highs, been through the lows and we never gave up on each other."

The teams split their season series, each winning at home after building a big early lead. The Raiders won in Dayton 73-57 on Jan. 21 after pulling ahead 39-21 at halftime. The Panthers got ahead by 20 points before holding on for a 68-64 win on Jan. 30.

The rematch was another case of trying to hold onto a big early lead. The Panthers pulled it off.

Milwaukee hardly missed at the outset. The Panthers made seven of their first 10 shots, including 3 of 4 beyond the arc, during an opening 21-7 run. Austin Arians had a jumper and a 3-pointer during the spurt, which was set up by four Wright State turnovers.

The Raiders went nearly 8 minutes without a field goal as the Panthers extended the lead to 15 points.

J.T. Yoho hit back-to-back 3s that started an eight-point run and got Wright State going. The Raiders got the lead down to 32-27 with an 8-3 spurt that featured a pair of free throws and a tip-in by Pacher.

Kelm had a three-point play and a putback that helped Milwaukee extend the lead to 43-33 at the half. Kelm had a game-high 14 points in the half.

The Panthers returned to the court first to warm up for the second half, only to find there were no basketballs to shoot. They stood around for a few minutes before an equipment handler wheeled out a rack of basketballs.

Both teams took the ball inside for points at the start of the second half. Pacher had a pair of baskets but picked up his third foul as Wright State cut it to 47-43. He returned and picked up his fourth foul with 9:57 to go.

Milwaukee went on a 10-3 spurt that featured Aaron's 3-pointer and rebuilt the lead to 60-48 midway through the half.

With Pacher back in the game, Wright State made its final run. Jerran Young had a jumper and a 3-pointer, and Miles Dixon's two free throws cut it to 67-63 with 1:03 left. Aaron was fouled while driving to the basket and made both free throws with 31.5 seconds to go.

Wright State missed a pair of 3-point shots as Milwaukee finished it off.

North Dakota State: 2013-14 Summit League Men's Basketball Champions

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Taylor Braun made a key layup while being fouled with 12 seconds left and added the free throw to lead North Dakota State to a 60-57 win over Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne for the Summit League title on Tuesday and the Bison's second trip to the NCAA tournament.

North Dakota State (25-6) last earned a berth to the NCAA tournament in 2009 during its first year of Division I postseason eligibility, but lost in the opening round to Kansas 84-74.

TrayVonn Wright led the Bison with 19 points on a mixture of dunks, layups and jumpers, and Braun added 15 points.

Pierre Bland, Luis Jacobo and Michael Kibiloski each scored nine points for IPFW (24-10) in its first Summit League title game.

IPFW coach Tony Jasick said the game was a tough defensive matchup and it's hard to get clean looks against the Bison.

"I thought we had a lot of balls on the rim that just didn't fall for us tonight," he said.

Jasick said IPFW has had a great run this season and he hopes to get a postseason invitation.

"I hope for our seniors that they get to play again," he said.

North Dakota State entered the game atop the Division I field goal shooting at 51.3 percent but shot just 40.7 percent from the field in the game, including 5 of 16 from beyond the arc.

The Bison took the lead a handful of times in the second half, but couldn't extend it until near the end.

The crowd of 4,263 at the Sioux Falls Arena was primarily pulling for North Dakota State, which sits about 240 miles due north of Sioux Falls in Fargo, N.D.

Mount St. Mary's: 2013-14 Northeast Men's Basketball Champions

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- To prepare for a second consecutive trip to the Northeast Conference title game, Mount St. Mary's coach Jamion Christian looked back on his performance last season, when he thought he over-coached the game.

He called just four plays Tuesday night. Then, he cut down the nets.

Fourth-seeded Mount St. Mary's used a bunch of 3-pointers to knock off top-ranked Robert Morris 88-71 on Tuesday night and advance to the NCAA tournament.

"You saw a team really connected, and really doing whatever they could to win a championship," said Christian, the Mountaineers' second-year coach.

Five Mount St. Mary's players scored in double figures, led by guard Rashad Whack with 20 points, to give the Mountaineers their first NCAA tournament berth since 2008 and fourth in school history.

Julian Norfleet (17), Taylor Danaher (15), Sam Prescott (15) and Will Miller (11) also finished in double figures for the Mountaineers, whose four NEC championship game victories all came on the road.

But after several busloads of fans made the four-hour trip from Emmitsburg, Md., to suburban Pittsburgh, the Mountaineers often felt at home, especially after the final buzzer when dozens of fans ran down from the bleachers and danced at mid court to celebrate.

The Mountaineers (16-16) built a 20-point first-half lead and never looked back, shooting 60.4 percent from the field.

"I'm just so proud of us," said Prescott, one of the Mountaineers' three senior guards. "Every day, we challenge ourselves to get better. And this is the result -- a championship."

Robert Morris (21-13) never led and never pulled closer within single digits of Mount St. Mary's in the second half. Robert Morris won both games between the teams during the regular season.

The Mountaineers used a simple and persistent attack to break down Robert Morris' zone defense, which had limited opponents to an average of 55 points per game in the first two rounds of the NEC tournament.

Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said the Mountaineers did a good job of spacing the floor and moving the ball into the high post, where Prescott made jump shots with ease.

"They made us make choices, and unfortunately it seemed like every choice we made was the wrong one," Toole said.

With Prescott hitting his mid-range jump shots, Whack, Norfleet and Miller found space behind the arc.

"They executed it better than I could have ever dreamed," Christian said.

The Colonials, who switched from a man-to-man defense to a zone defense because of defensive woes earlier this season, allowed the Mountaineers to convert 8 of 18 3-point attempts.

Robert Morris cut the lead to 10 points midway through the second half, but the Mountaineers responded with big shot after big shot to increase their lead.

"Teams are going to make runs," Norfleet said. "They made a run today ... we've just been able to withstand those runs and stay together."

Toole said after his team cut the deficit to 10 points, the Colonials rushed too many possessions, missing a chance to capitalize.

"It just seemed like we were stuck in the mud all 40 minutes," he said.

Karvel Anderson scored 21 points to lead the Colonials, who lost the NEC championship game for the third time in the past four years.

The team has dressed just eight players since January, when the university suspended four players, including two starters, one year for an unspecified violation of school policy.

The Mountaineers made their first four 3-pointers of the game and finished the first half 6 of 9 from 3-point range. They shot 69.2 percent (18 of 26) to take a 48-32 lead into halftime.

The last time Mount St. Mary's and Robert Morris met with the NEC title on the line, the Mountaineers scored just 46 points the whole game in a two-point loss at the Charles L. Sewall Center.

Norfleet led the Mountaineers with 14 first-half points, one of three Mount St. Mary's players in double figures after the first half.

It was the second consecutive season Mount St. Mary's upset a top-seeded Robert Morris team in the NEC tournament after the Mountaineers beat the Colonials last year in the semifinals.

The two teams have met in seven of the past nine conference tournaments, and Mount St. Mary's has won four of those matchups.

Back On The Rocks

When you get to the top, you ever been to the top? 

Just listen, let me tell ya, hear what your missin', shut up and listen. 

In the beginning you get crazy, spending all the money you got. 

No more women to love you now, you gotta go and leave town. 

Back on the rocks, back on the rocks! 

Be there!  You got to keep your mind together. 

Back on the rocks, back on the rocks! 

Be there!  You gotta go and live forever. 

When you're back on the rocks, it means you've been to the top. 

Just listen to the fact boy, given the fact of it could be all gone. 

In the beginning you get crazy, spending all the money you got. 

No more women to love you now, you gotta go and leave town. 

Back on the rocks, back on the rocks! 

Be there!  You got to keep your mind together. 

Back on the rocks, back on the rocks! 

Be there!  You gotta go and live forever. 

Back on the rocks, back on the rocks! 

Be there!  You got to keep your mind together. 

Back on the rocks, back on the rocks! 

Be there!  You gotta go and live forever. 

When you get to the top, you ever been to the top? 

Just listen, let me tell ya, hear what your missin', shut up and listen. 

In the beginning you get crazy, spending all the money you got. 

No more women  to love you now, you gotta go and leave town. 

Back on the rocks, back on the rocks! 

Be there! 

Back on the rocks, back on the rocks! 

Be there!  

Back on the rocks, back on the rocks! 

Be there!  You got to keep your mind together. 

Back on the rocks, back on the rocks! 

Be there!  You gotta go and live forever. 

Back on the rocks, back on the rocks! 

Be there!  You got to keep your mind together. 

Back on the rocks, back on the rocks! 

Be there!  You gotta go and live forever!

Good riddance, Andrew Demetriou.

I’M baffled by outgoing CEO Andrew Demetriou’s comments on how far off the AFL is from meaningfully including women.

Not that I disagree with his assessment, but it’s essentially a report card on his own performance over his 10 years at the helm and seems like it’s a fail.

In his wide-ranging season launch address, Demetriou claimed the AFL was “miles away from where we must be” in including women in senior roles at the league and in clubs.

Only two days after telling the AFL family that he was leaving, he flagged the need for more women to be on the AFL executive and in senior roles in our 18 clubs.

Sorry, you can’t expect to win points from women by saying that on the way out, when there was every opportunity to show that belief while you were there. When it wants to, the AFL gets its way — just ask Essendon and Melbourne — so are we to assume it just didn’t want to? One women on the AFL executive — Dorothy Hisgrove, in that typically “female” portfolio of People, Customer and Community — doesn’t cut it, however capable she is.

Equally capable are Sam Mostyn and Linda Dessau, significant additions to the commission, and Peggy O’Neal taking over the chair at Richmond was a logical and important step.

But in the machine rooms of the clubs, a women has yet to be given the nod.

What’s disappointing is that I believe Demetriou always got the need to embrace women more broadly and had the clout to pay more than lip service to the notion.

Certainly, things have changed in the lower levels of the game and that matters. Women are being brought through coaching paths, Chelsea Roffey was our first female goal umpire in a Grand Final and there are many more running around in suburban games.

One chasm remains and that’s a serious commitment to an affiliated women’s league. Female players are the fastest growth area of the game: 160,000 girls and women now play nationally and they can play through from Auskick to seniors. But that’s where it stops.

Last year’s AFL-branded match between Melbourne and the Bulldogs was a start, and they will do it again this year.

Had some of the men on the commission bothered to attend the first female draft, they would have got a sense of the raw emotion on display as the young women got the call-up and a guernsey rich in heritage.

If they paid close attention to the actual game they would have seen the skills and abilities on display. But some of the most senior AFL men were surprised at the standard — why have they not being paying attention?

None of the women involved expect to attract thousands to their games or to have the following the boys do. But neither do the girls playing cricket and soccer and they get decent financial backing from their national leagues, even small payments for their efforts.

And the only way to continue to raise the barre is to give these talented women a legitimate outlet.

If the AFL is serious about bringing through capable women beyond football, that is where it should start. After all, both Demetriou and commission chair Mike Fitzpatrick played the game at the highest level before combining significant business skills to rise to their current roles. So it stands to reason that is not a bad pathway for women either.

There are signs that the AFL approach to women is changing. This year, thankfully, there won’t be a “women’s round”. It finally understands that women should not be treated as “special” once a year — they are, and want to be, involved as part of every round.

Significantly, it will be the Breast Cancer Network Australia’s Field of Women that will once again send the most powerful message of community.

On May 10, 15,000 women and men will don pink ponchos and stand together in the fight against breast cancer. The perfect Pink Lady they form acknowledges that women can have a different but no less significant voice through football.

Over the years I’ve had countless meetings with well-meaning male executives about setting up women’s groups to get “the girls” involved in footy, often seeing it as a lucrative revenue stream.

But they’re baffled when I tell them women don’t want to be segregated — we just want to be part of it all, at whatever level we choose.

Beverley O’Connor is a Herald Sun columnist. Twitter @bevvo14

ISML 2014: The next eight in...

Wofford: 2013-14 Southern Men's Basketball Champions

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Wofford guard Karl Cochran remembers waking up at 6 a.m. for preseason conditioning workouts, leaping over chairs and diving for loose balls and wondering how it was going to help him.

Now he knows.

Cochran scored 23 points, and the Terriers beat Western Carolina 56-53 on Monday night to capture the Southern Conference championship and a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Cochran, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, was 8 of 16 from the field and had five 3-pointers. He made two big free throws with 5.3 seconds left to give Wofford a three-point lead. The Catamounts had a chance to send the game to overtime but Trey Sumler's 3-pointer rimmed out as time expired.

"In the preseason you're like when I am going to do this in a game?" Cochran said. "But you get here and you're like, it pays off. It certainly pays off. It's a long journey. You fight and struggle, but it pays off."

Lee Skinner had 11 points for the third-seeded Terriers (20-12), who will be making their third trip to the NCAA tournament in the last five years, but first since 2011.

Fifth-seeded Western Carolina (19-15) had another impressive comeback, but was unable to get the win this time. Brandon Boggs had 17 points, and Tawaski King added 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Catamounts made just 5 of 23 shots in the first half and trailed 27-20 at the break.James Sinclair then had a pair of jump shots in a 7-0 run to begin the second half.

It looked as if Western Carolina had the momentum at that point, but it couldn't grab the lead.

Instead, Wofford put together a 17-6 run to make it 44-33 with 8:33 left. Cochran, a junior guard, had eight points during that key stretch.

Western Carolina rallied from nine points down to beat fourth-seeded Elon and overcame a 15-point deficit in the semifinals against top-seeded Davidson. Boggs tried to lead the Catamounts on one last comeback.

He scored on three straight possessions and King had a dunk to help trim Wofford's lead to 46-43 with 4:04 left.

"We've shown a million times that we don't give up," Boggs said.

Cochran and Sumler exchanged 3-pointers, and Skinner and King each scored to leave Wofford in front 53-50 with 35 seconds remaining.

Western Carolina quickly fouled four times to put the Terriers into the bonus.

The strategy seemed to work when Spencer Collins missed the front end of a 1-and-1. But Skinner grabbed the rebound off the miss and was fouled. He made one of two free throws to make it a two-possession game with 28 seconds left.

The Catamounts failed to convert on their next possession and sent Skinner to the line again. This time he missed the front end and Boggs drilled a 3 from the left wing to make it 54-53 with 6.3 seconds left.

The Catamounts fouled Cochran on the ensuing inbounds pass and he calmly knocked down both free throws. Sumler was shadowed well on the final shot, but worked his way free to get an open look and his 20-footer hit the rim and bounced away.

Wofford coach Mike Young said he briefly contemplated having his team foul Sumler to avoid a potential tying 3, but decided against it.

"We contested well and it worked out well in the end for us," Young said. "Thank goodness."

Skinner called the idea of heading to the NCAA tournament the best feeling in the world.

"It's the ultimate," Skinner said. "Having that brotherhood around you and then with the fans and the school behind us it's incredible."

It's the second time Western Carolina has reached the Southern Conference tournament final in the past three years, only to leave heartbroken. It lost to Davidson in 2012 in double overtime.

"We came up a little short on the scoreboard again, but you just keep grinding and we'll eventually get over that hump," Western Carolina coach Larry Hunter said. "I'm very disappointed and our players are very disappointed. We had focused on this all year long and put ourselves in great position. I'm disappointed for our university. We had a chance to do something really special for a lot of people and we didn't get it done."

Delaware: 2013-14 Colonial Men's Basketball Champions

BALTIMORE -- Delaware guard Devon Saddler is headed to the NCAA tournament. A few years from now, the kid just might find himself working as a basketball coach.

Saddler showed his prowess as a strategist in the closing seconds of the Colonial Athletic Association championship Monday night, and the result was a 75-74 victory over William & Mary that thrust the Blue Hens into the NCAA tournament for the first time in 15 years.

Delaware trailed by a point when coach Monte Ross gathered his team to draw up a play with 25 seconds left. Ross wanted to have Saddler, the Blue Hens' all-time leading scorer, take the pivotal shot." The first thing he said was, 'Get the ball inside to Bap,'" Ross said.

Good move.

Carl Baptiste made the go-ahead layup with 10 seconds left, and not long after that the Blue Hens (25-9) were cutting down the nets at the Baltimore Arena to celebrate their fifth trip to the NCAA tournament.

"We've had a heck of a year," Ross said. "To cap it off like this is really special."

The Hens, who previously qualified in 1992, 1993, 1998 and 1999, were making their first appearance in a league championship since losing to Hofstra in the 2001 America East tournament.

This one wasn't easy. Delaware trailed 74-68 with 1:20 left before scoring the game's last seven points. After Saddler made two foul shots, Jarvis Threatt added a three-point play and Baptiste finished the comeback with a bullish layup.

"I tell you what, it was crowded in there when we got it to him, but he powered it into the basket," Ross said.

William & Mary had one last chance, but Marcus Thornton bounced a jumper off the rim just before the buzzer sounded. An instant later, Hens fans rushed the court to celebrate with the team.

In the end and from the outset, the 6-foot-9, 260-pound Baptiste was too much to handle for the third-seeded Tribe (20-12). He finished with a career-high 24 points, including 16 in the first half on 7-for-7 shooting. He finished 9 for 11 from the field, in addition to going 6 for 7 at the foul line and grabbing eight rebounds.

Thornton scored 22 and Tim Rusthoven had 16 for William and Mary, which trailed by 12 early in the second half.

"We fought and fought and fought until we got back in it," coach Tony Shaver said. "But they made some big plays."

Despite playing in the CAA championship game for the third time in the last seven seasons, William & Mary remains in search of its first NCAA tournament appearance. Along with Army, St. Francis (N.Y.), Northwestern and The Citadel, the Tribe are one of five original Division I members never to have made the NCAAs.

"We felt like we should have won the game," Thornton said. "We were in position to do it, so to lose is disappointing."

Delaware led 39-33 at halftime and went up 47-35 with 16:42 remaining before William & Mary used a 12-4 run to close to 51-46. Baptiste got his third foul with 11:37 left and was on the bench when Brandon Britt scored for the Tribe to make it 55-53.

It was 65-62 before layups by Rusthoven and Omar Prewitt gave the Tribe their first lead since 30-29. William & Mary increased its advantage to 69-65 with 3:34 to go before Darvon Usher popped a 3 for Delaware.

Thornton answered with a jumper and Prewitt drilled a 3-pointer to make it 74-68, but the Tribe would not score again.

William & Mary advanced by defeating second-seeded Towson in the semifinals after losing twice previously to the Tigers. William & Mary could not duplicate the feat against the Hens, who have won seven straight against the Tribe, including 76-71 and 89-72 previously this season.

Delaware overcome a 2-for-12 performance beyond the arc to go up 39-33 at halftime.

William & Mary made seven of its first nine shots in racing to an 18-10 lead. The Hens then rattled off seven straight points before Kyle Gaillard interrupted the run with a three-point play.

Baptiste followed with a three-point play of his own and added two layups in a 12-3 spree that put Delaware up 29-24.

Rusthoven responded with three successive baskets for the Tribe, the last a hook in the lane over Baptiste, but the Hens closed the half with a 10-3 spurt.

Manhattan: 2013-14 MAAC Men's Basketball Champions

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Manhattan's first trip to the NCAA tournament in a decade came at the expense of rival Iona one year after the Gaels beat the Jaspers for the conference championship.

Yup, this was one fun victory for George Beamon and the Jaspers.

Beamon scored 16 points and Manhattan beat Iona 71-68 on Monday night for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament title.

"The feeling we had last year, we weren't trying to have that," Beamon said. "I did not everything in my power and the guys did everything in their power not to let up any 3s."

Beamon was one of four players to score in double figures for second-seeded Manhattan (25-7). Rhamel Brown had 15 points, Shane Richards finished with 14 and Emmy Andujar had 12.

The Jaspers have won 11 of 12, including an 80-77 overtime win over Iona at home just 10 days ago.

"This is just an amazing run," coach Steve Masiello said. "It doesn't happen. It's storybook-like. Normally you have like two or three things that are wrong. There's nothing wrong."

A.J. English had 15 points for top-seeded Iona (22-10), which had five players with at least 10 points.

The Gaels had a chance to tie it at the end but David Laury's first 3-point attempt of the season hit the side of the rim at the buzzer.

"They did a good job switching out and unfortunately, I had to take the shot," Laury said. "And I missed it."

Laury and Sean Armand finished with 13 points apiece. Tre Bowman scored 14 and Isaiah Williams had 10.

Manhattan led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but had to hold off a late charge by the Gaels.

English cut the deficit to two points twice down the stretch, with a layup and uncontested dunk with 18 seconds to play.

Iona then fouled Donovan Kates, who made one of two free throws for his only point of the game. That set up the last try by Laury.

Iona, which averages more than 10 3-pointers per game, went 6 for 21 from long range against the Jaspers.

Manhattan led by eight early in the second half, but Iona responded by scoring the next 11 points, highlighted by Isaiah Williams' big dunk after he grabbed the rebound of a Laury miss.

Manhattan came right back. C.J. Jones' dunk capped a 9-0 run that put the Jaspers back on top 44-38, and they never gave the lead back.

Whenever Iona would get close, Shane Richards would hit a 3-pointer. His third of the half made it 59-54, and sparked an 8-0 run that put the Jaspers up by 10 points with 6 minutes to play.

Iona was looking for its third straight trip to the NCAA tournament. The Gaels, who got an at-large bid two years ago, are not expecting one this season.

"If you look at what we did in the last 20-25 games of the year, then we're an NCAA team," coach Tim Cluess said. "If you look at our overall record, we're probably not. Our job was to win tonight. We didn't."

The New York rivals, whose campuses are less than 10 miles apart, were playing for the 85th time. They split their games in the regular season.

The two losses to Manhattan are the only two the Gaels have had in their last 16 games.