Iona: 2022-23 Metro Atlantic Men's Basketball Champions

ATLANTIC CITY - There was a bit of a scare from a red-hot Marist Red Foxes team that hardly played like the bottom-seeded team of the bracket, but in the end, the Iona Gaels were able to halt Marist's momentum and recapture the MAAC Tournament title with a 76-55 win.

The Gaels returned to the top, winning their sixth MAAC Tournament in seven seasons and their first since 2021, which was coach Rick Pitino's first year at Iona.

Iona held a 35-26 lead at half and every time the Gaels seemed to pull away, Marist would close the gap.

The Red Foxes finally strung together a run, feeling re-energized after the halftime break, eventually tying it up at 46 with 10:25 to go in the game.

Iona buckled down from there, never relinquishing its lead and responding with big plays on both ends of the court to regain separation. The Red Foxes never recovered from there, as the Gaels closed the game on a 19-2 run over the final 4:42 to secure the title.

Daniss Jenkins led the Gaels with a game-high 27 points, including a 6-of-9 shooting clip from long range. Walter Clayton Jr. had 17 points, six rebounds and four assists. Nelly Junior Joseph added nine points, 11 rebounds, two steals and four blocks.

For Marist, Patrick Gardner tallied 23 points and seven rebounds. Kam Farris had 12 points off the bench.

The Gaels improve to 27-7 and will await their NCAA Tournament draw on Selection Sunday.

Iona: 2021 Metro Atlantic Men's Basketball Champions

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- — Rick Pitino ended an Iona team photo, a championship trophy as the centerpiece, by pointing toward a ladder and telling the Gaels to clip the nets.

He knows the way.

From coaching perennial powers to exile to the New York suburbs, Pitino has navigated a vagabond career bathed in scandal and success the only way he can: by winning.

Asante Gist scored 18 points and Pitino took his record-tying fifth school to the NCAA Tournament with Iona's 60-51 victory over Fairfield on Saturday in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament championship.

Next stop, the all-Indiana NCAA Tournament.

"I told them I was packing eight suits," Pitino said. "We have a lot of dirty laundry, and we're heading to Indianapolis."

The 68-year-old Pitino was already the first coach to win national titles at two schools (Kentucky, Louisville) and the first to take three schools (Providence) to the Final Four. He led Boston University to the tournament in 1983.

Pitino was hired at Iona (12-5) last March to — yes, to keep the Gaels among the perennial favorites to come out of the MAAC in March — but in large part to rehabilitate his image after an ignominious end at Louisville.

Pitino had a trying first season trying to orchestrate a tourney bid through a pandemic. He contracted coronavirus and the Gaels were forced to stop four times this season because of virus issues — including a 51-day hiatus that sidelined them longer than any team in the country.

Led by the backcourt of Gist and Isaiah Ross, the ninth-seeded Gaels used a 10-0 run to close the first half at Boardwalk Hall. Ross made the postgame walk through the empty seats and kissed his 10-month-old daughter, Averie.

Pitino, his mask on his chin all game, shuffled side-to-side as if in a perpetual defensive drill, yelled instruction, harangued the officials and somehow in the roll of papers he gripped all game had the formula that showed why in stops ranging from Kentucky to New Rochelle, New York, he landed in the Hall of Fame. Well-traveled — with baggage.

"We've been the No. 1 of No. 1 overall seeds, but with the treatment by the NCAA of me, we might get an 18 seed," Pitino said.

Caleb Green buried a 3 for the Stags (10-17) that brought them to 20-18 in the first half before they faded over the final four minutes. Gist hit consecutive jumpers to kickstart the run and send the Gaels into the half with a 30-18 lead.

The championship game sprinkled mostly family and friends inside the boardwalk venue to liven the atmosphere and there was a nice round of applause when Gist needed help to the bench with an apparent knee injury. With Gist out, Fairfield's Jake Wojcik made a 3 in the second half that made it a four-point game. Gist's absence was short-lived and he hit a 3 in his return to send the Gaels on their way to their fifth straight NCAA Tournament.

"I don't think everybody knows what it's like when we take that pause," Gist said of the start-and-stop challenges.

Pitino took over a program used to playing in March. Iona had completed a good run under Tim Cluess, who made six NCAA Tournament appearances and won five MAAC Tournament titles in nine seasons before stepping down for health reasons, when it hired Pitino. Pitino gave a postgame shoutout to Cluess.

Iona, an eight-point favorite, didn't necessarily need Pitino. Pitino had coached at Louisville from 2001-17 before being fired in a pay-for-play scandal and had been coaching in Greece.

"Louisville is a great program. Unfortunately, some people in life did some things wrong and a lot of innocent people have suffered," Pitino said. "Not only me, but a lot of innocent people that are behind the program and that's disappointing. But I'm the leader of this ship. I said it over and over. I deserved to be fired because if somebody under me did the wrong things, I deserve it."

Iona President Seamus Carey, who met with Pitino in Spain, and athletic director Matt Glovaski ignored the sex scandals and FBI investigations at Louisville and got their man.

"They've benefited from having him in the league and we've benefited from the PR," MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor said. "Now, there was some controversy, but that was a hiring decision. Once they're hired, I work with whoever's there."

Pitino said he intended to finish his career at Iona, calling it "a great way to end a very long career." But there's little doubt the majors will call him again, and that vow of a final stop could instead be simply a stepping-stone toward the next job.

Iona is a school where coaches usually start their careers, not end them.

The Gaels only cared about the final snapshot — Pitino waving the net and draping it around his neck, one more for the championship collection.

BIG PICTURE

Iona: Pitino joined Lon Kruger and Tubby Smith as the only coaches to take five programs to the NCAA Tournament. Ensor credited Pitino for the inspiration behind the MAAC's "Time Out for Black Lives" reading program that focused on Black culture. Pitino selected "A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis."

"For the young coaches that we typically have in our league, he provides a learning experience they would rarely get," Ensor said. "Rick come to us at the pinnacle of his career. He's had all the accolades. Now you have all these coaches with the opportunity to watch him. Sometimes I wish they wouldn't watch him in action. He can be kind of animated on the sidelines and can work the officials like a Hall of Famer."

Fairfield: The seventh-seeded Stags defeated Manhattan, Monmouth and Saint Peter's to reach the final.

"If we keep doing what we're doing, showing up every day putting the work in, we'll be back in this game with a different result," coach Jay Young said.

BACK AT BOARDWALK

The MAAC has one more year left on its contract to play in Atlantic City and Ensor hoped the conference will remain in New Jersey. Ensor said even in a pandemic the conference met its commitment in hotel rooms.

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Iona: 2018-19 Metro Atlantic Men's Basketball Champions

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Coach Tim Cluess has set the bar pretty high at Iona. It's what he's used to doing.

Asante Gist had 22 points, Tajuan Agee added 18 and top-seeded Iona defeated Monmouth 81-60 on Monday night to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title for the fourth straight time.

Iona (17-15) is the first men's team to win four straight league titles.

"It means a lot to me because I wanted to do something special for Iona because they believed in me and gave me a chance," Cluess said. "I always look to bars to try to beat."

The Gaels were the top seed for the 10th time and have won four of their 12 conference titles as the No. 1 seed. The top seed had not won the tournament since Siena in 2010, the longest drought of any conference in the country.

E.J. Crawford had 15 points, Ben Perez scored 14, and Rickey McGill added 10 for Iona. McGill, the only player to be on four conference champions in league history, was named tournament MVP

Iona started the season 2-9, losing seven straight before beating Monmouth at home. The Gaels will enter the NCAA Tournament riding a 10-game winning streak.

"It just shows how much time we put in the gym as a team, how we never quit, never gave up, and here we are now," McGill said.

Monmouth (14-21), the sixth seed, was seeking its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2006 and first under coach King Rice, who took over in 2011. It was a rematch of the 2016 title game, which Iona won 79-76, and the result left a bad taste.

"Today we lost to a better team, which is hard for me to say because I don't really believe it," said Diago Quinn, who led the Hawks with 13 points, the only player in double figures. "But we lost to a better team."

Trailing by six at the half, the Hawks pulled within 41-38 on Nick Rutherford's 3-pointer with 17:20 left, but the Gaels responded with a 20-2 spurt keyed by the long ball to take control. The Hawks self-destructed, missing five straight shots and committing one turnover during the Iona run.

Iona finished 12 of 29 from behind the arc, allowed only 5 of 24 3-pointers, and tied Monmouth with 34 rebounds.

Gist, who was 5 of 9 from long range, hit a trio of 3-pointers and Crawford converted a three-point play and hit a spinning layup off the glass before adding a pair of free throws to give Iona a 60-40 lead with 12:41 left.

"It's a funny thing getting to the championship game because at some point somebody is going to lose," Rice said. "Iona is a tough out. We've tried everything. You gotta give coach Cluess all the credit. He really gets his kids to play together. That's why they're the best program in the MAAC."

Leading scorer Ray Salnave hit his only basket of the game for Monmouth midway through the second half. By then, the Hawks were trailing by 22. Deion Hammond had eight points and missed all seven 3-pointers he attempted.

Iona topped Siena in the semifinals Sunday and the Hawks defeated No. 2 Canisius to reach the title game.

FAST START

Monmouth jumped to a 6-2 lead at the outset. Then Agee's three-point play started a 15-0 Iona run, and Rickey McGill's pull-up 3-pointer ended it and gave Iona a 17-6 lead less than five minutes in.

After Gist hit a 3 at the shot-clock buzzer to keep the Gaels in front by double digits, the Hawks methodically pecked away at the lead. Hammond hit a shot off the glass after a miss, followed by a fast-break layup, and Marcus McClary's layup closed the gap to 33-30 in the final minute of the half.

Agee's low-arcing 3 from the left wing gave Iona a 36-30 lead at the break. The Gaels held a 12-2 edge in points scored off turnovers.

GAELS RULE

The teams split the season series. Salnave's basket with 1.1 seconds left gave the Hawks an 83-81 home win in late January as Iona's Crawford was held to just seven points, only the second time he didn't score in double figures this season. He had 20 points in a 103-84 win over the Hawks at home in the conference opener on Jan 3.

AWFUL START

Monmouth started the season with 12 straight losses before Rice figured a way to turn things around. The Hawks had won four straight entering Monday night's game and a victory would have put Rice's record at 132-132.

FREE-THROW DROUGHT

Both teams were making an average of more than 15 free throws a game. In the first half, Monmouth was 1 of 2 and Iona hit its only one. The Gaels hit 19 of 23 in the second while the Hawks finished 5 of 12 overall.

IRON MAN

Monmouth's Quinn set a school record by playing in his 135th game.

NEVER GETS OLD

Iona has made the title game six straight times under Cluess, who was named MAAC coach of the year for the second time.

HE SAID IT

"They could have quit any time and they didn't," Cluess said about his Gaels and their tough start to the season.

BIG PICTURE

Monmouth: The Hawks showed some late-season spunk after their awful start to the season, which bodes well for next year.

Iona: The Gaels might lament that this was the last conference tournament in Albany for a while. They're 20-2 in the Times Union Center over the past seven years. The MAAC is moving the tournament site to Atlantic City for the next three years.

UP NEXT

NCAA Tournament bracket announcement on March 17.

Iona: 2017-18 Metro Atlantic Men's Basketball Champions

ALBANY, N.Y. -- New faces. Same old Iona.

Roland Griffin and Zach Lewis, transfers playing their first seasons with the Gaels, combined to score 49 points and Iona beat Fairfield 83-71 on Monday night to capture the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament title for the third straight time and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

It was the fourth MAAC title for coach Tim Cluess and every bit as sweet as the others, if not moreso, because of all the doubters that surfaced after the Gaels started the season 1-4 after being picked to win the conference.

"I love these guys because they found a way," Cluess said. "They know that people doubted. They know that people gave up on them. I think it's even more special because they never gave up on themselves. They're just a tough, gritty group."

Iona (20-13), the fourth seed, extended its league record to 11 tournament titles. Fairfield (17-16), the sixth seed, had won seven straight games and was seeking its fourth title. But the Stags were no match inside for the Gaels, who outscored them 44-22 in the paint instead of relying so much on the long ball. Iona entered the game averaging nearly 10 made 3s per game and attempted just 13.

"We were mindful of their shooting and they found another way to hurt you," Fairfield coach Sydney Johnson said.

Griffin had a career-high 29 points, four blocks, and made all 11 free throws he attempted.

"The whole year coach said just make plays," said Griffin, who played at Illinois State and Midland College in Texas before transferring to Iona for his final two years of eligibility."

Lewis, a graduate transfer from Canisius, was named tournament MVP after scoring 20 points and nabbing a game-high four steals.

"This is amazing," Lewis said at the podium afterward, the shiny championship trophy at his side," Lewis said. "All I want to do is win. That's why I came here."

Iona's path to its sixth straight MAAC championship game was made easier when the top three top seeds -- Rider, Canisius, and Niagara -- were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

It was the first time since 2002 that the top three failed to make the semifinals, and the Gaels took advantage. They edged Saint Peter's 65-62 in the semifinals, never gaining the lead until three minutes remained. Fairfield beat Quinnipiac 74-64 in the other semifinal behind 21 points and 11 rebounds from Ferron Flavors Jr. and 19 points from Tyler Nelson.

Although Nelson's final MAAC game didn't turn out the way he envisioned, he didn't disappoint, hitting 6 of 8 from behind the arc and scoring 25 points to help keep the Stags in the hunt for the championship.

When it was over, Nelson and Johnson embraced along the sideline for several seconds.

"Obviously, that moment was a tough moment, but it was also something I'll remember the rest of my life," Nelson said. "I'm just thankful to him."

Iona and Fairfield split during the regular season, each winning at home, but the Stags struggled a lot in this one, especially inside against a team that had finished the regular season on the skids, losing three of its final four games before coming alive in the tournament.

The Stags trailed 43-37 at the break and Iona stormed out in the second half and built the lead to double digits with a 7-1 flurry, a 3 from the left corner by Rickey McGill boosting the margin to 50-38 at 17:04.

After Flavors briefly stopped the surge with a 3, Griffin scored four points and McGill hit an open 3 from the top of the key to make it 57-41 and the Stags were reeling. A fallaway 3-pointer by Deyshonee Much gave the Gaels a commanding 64-44 lead midway through the second half.

Nelson hit his sixth 3 of the game with 5:25 to go to cut the lead to 11 and give Fairfield a glimmer of hope, and a layup by Jonathan Kasibabu completed a 10-4 run that narrowed the gap to 75-69 with a minute left. The Gaels sank four straight free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.

DOWNTOWN FIRST-HALF FLURRY

Fairfield committed eight turnovers in the first seven minutes but stayed with the Gaels in the first half by hitting from long range. Fairfield finished 7 of 12 from behind the arc in the period but hit only 4 of 17 in the second.

FREE THROW WOES


Fairfield missed only one of 22 foul shots in the semifinals, hitting all 19 in the second half. Against Iona, they finished 10 of 20.

BIG PICTURE

Fairfield: The Stags lose Nelson, who hit 104 3-pointers on the season. But returning is Flavors, and the junior made 95 from behind the arc this year.

Iona: The Gaels have struck out in the NCAA Tournament in 12 appearances, but if Griffin and Lewis continue to excel, Iona will pose a tough matchup in the first round.

UP NEXT

Fairfield: The Stags await an invite to a postseason tournament.

Iona: The Gaels await their seed for the NCAA Tournament.

Iona: 2016-17 Metro Atlantic Men's Basketball Champions

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Jordan Washington played his way through major foul trouble -- all the way to the NCAA tournament.

Washington had 21 points and 10 rebounds, freshman E.J. Crawford had a tiebreaking layup in overtime and Iona topped Siena 87-86 on Monday night to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title for the second straight time.

Despite playing with four fouls for more than 13 minutes, Washington exerted himself in the tense extra period, hitting a tough scoop shot and four free throws around Crawford's clutch basket with 27.2 seconds left.

"My coaches said to just keep playing hard," said Washington, who was named tournament MVP. "I had to do what I had to do. I'm still emotional right now. We don't stop until [the clock] hits zero and that's what we did."

Marquis Wright hit a 3 at the final buzzer as Siena came up just short.

"Life's a funny thing," Siena coach Jimmy Patsos said. "Sometimes, you just don't get that extra bounce."

Iona (22-12) won its MAAC-record 10th title and improved to 9-0 against Siena in the conference tournament. Fourth-seeded Siena (17-17) advanced to the conference championship game for the first time in seven years.

Beating the Saints again on their home court made the championship more special for Iona, which split regular-season games with Siena, each team winning on the road.

"We said if we can win in this environment, this will be one that you remember forever," Iona coach Tim Cluess said. "The place is packed, everyone's against you. These guys can remember it's an overtime game, on the road, with 7,000 or 8,000 [fans] screaming against you."

Deyshonee Much had 18 points for Iona, and Rickey McGill finished with 14.

Wright finished with 29 points. Javion Ogunyemi had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Saints, and Brett Bisping added 16 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out in the final seconds.

"Right now, it hurts," Bisping said. "I mean, I'm really proud. We really fought. I can honestly say I think everyone gave it everything they had tonight, and you can live with that."

Trailing by a basket at the break, the Gaels tied it at 40 when McGill drained an open 3 from the corner early in the second half. Schadrac Casimir and Much followed with two more from beyond the arc and a layup by Much gave the Gaels a 50-44 lead with 16:44 left.

When McGill rattled in another 3 from the top of the key, Iona led 57-48 and seemed ready to pull away.

Bispring responded with a pair of 3s and Wright swished another from long range, part of an 11-0 run that gave the Saints a two-point lead.

Neither team led by more than five the rest of the game, which was tied five times in the final 7:11 of regulation. Bisping sent the game into overtime by hitting a pair of free throws with 13.7 seconds left.


To have a shot at the title, the Saints had to defend the perimeter against the Gaels, who had made 323 shots from beyond the arc, seventh in the NCAA. Siena opened an eight-point lead midway through the opening half as the Gaels missed their first six 3-point attempts.

Iona erased the deficit quickly, getting 3s in a 34-second span from Casimir and Crawford to spark a 10-0 run. A hook in the lane by Washington gave the Gaels a 25-23 lead, their first of the game.

BIG PICTURE

Iona: Cluess has led the Gaels to the title game five straight times, a conference record. He is 12-4 against Patsos.

Siena: The Saints have lost eight straight to Iona on their home court at the Times Union Center after winning 11 of the first 12.

UP NEXT

Iona awaits its opponent for the NCAA tournament.

Siena's season is likely over.

Iona Gaels: 2015-16 Metro Atlantic Men's Basketball Champions

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A.J. English hit a fadeway jumper with 1:39 left to break a tie and Deyshonee Much followed with a driving layup that he converted into a three-point play, and second-seeded Iona beat top-seeded Monmouth 79-76 on Monday night to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament title and the NCAA tournament berth that goes with it.

The Hawks (27-7), who joined the MAAC in 2013, were seeking their first tournament appearance since 2006 when they were members of the Northeast Conference. They entered the title game on a five-game winning streak and had won 13 of 14 in a storybook season, the lone loss coming at Iona (22-10).

With a solid resume, the Hawks were still in the running for an at-large bid and the MAAC has twice had multiple bids (1995, 2012).

Iona: 2012-13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Champions

The fourth-seeded Iona Gaels completed their sweep through the MAAC tournament and secured a second-straight NCAA tournament berth with a 60-57 win over the No. 6 Manhattan Jaspers in Monday's MAAC tournament championship game.

The Gaels earned a bid to last year's big dance at-large last year, but a 20-13 record this season and a fourth-place MAAC finish would obviously have fallen well short of the field of 68 without Monday's win. The Gaels earned a 79-73 upset Sunday over the No. 1 Niagara Purple Eagles to set up Monday's win.

The Gaels are 1-8 all-time in NCAA tournament competition, and the one win, an 84-78 victory over Holy Cross in the first round of the 1980 tournament, was later vacated because of NCAA sanctions.

Manhattan, under second-year coach Steve Masiello, was looking for its first NCAA tournament bid since making back-to-back tournaments in 2003 and 2004.
Senior guard Lamont Jones led the Gaels with 14 points.