Monmouth will arrive in Albany next week as the top seed in the MAAC Tournament, but right now the argument can be made Iona should be considered the tourney favorite. Nobody in the conference is playing better basketball at the moment than the Gaels.
Despite a sluggish start that saw second-place Iona trail rival Manhattan by 15 points less than six minutes in, the Gaels still cruised to an 86-73 victory in Riverdale. It was their fourth straight victory and eighth in nine contests.
The biggest change of late for Iona?
“I think it’s just actually playing defense,” senior forward Aaron Rountree said. “It’s just an effort thing, trying to fly around and win games defensively instead of relying on offense.”
Iona senior A.J. English, a strong contender for MAAC Player of the Year honors, continued his torrid stretch, scoring 16 of his team-high 23 points after halftime, and added six assists and four rebounds. Jordan Washington had 16 points, Deyshonee Much notched 15 points and Isaiah Williams followed with 13 in a balanced effort.
It was the Gaels’ defense, long believed to be their Achilles’ heel, that turned the game. Iona limited the Jaspers to 25 second-half points on 33 percent shooting, and forced 20 turnovers overall, which resulted in 30 points.
The change, according to Rountree, came mid-season after three losses in four games to Monmouth, Rider and Fairfield in which Iona allowed an average of 95.6 points per game. In the nine games since, the Gaels are giving up 67.8 points per game.
“We had to figure out a way to win, and defense is what helps us win more than us worrying about hitting shots,” Rountree said. “Instead of trying to beat people 95-90, you beat people 80-70. That’s a better way to play. It’s easier to win like that.”
Iona hasn’t suddenly morphed into a defensive juggernaut, but the Gaels are working harder at the defensive end. The way they can still put up points in bunches, that has been more than enough. Take Friday night, for example. They struggled early, but took command after halftime, outscoring the Jaspers 43-25 over the final 20 minutes.
“We’ve been really putting our foot on the gas more defensively,” English said. “[Coach Tim Cluess] always says defense wins championships.”
While Iona (18-10, 15-4 MAAC) will be the second seed in the MAAC Tournament, two-time defending champion Manhattan (12-16, 9-10) can be as low as eighth, depending how it fares against Rider on Sunday. But coach Steve Masiello was encouraged by his team’s effort against Iona, particularly that of junior Rich Williams, who scored a career-high 27 points.
“I say this humbly: We’re still the back-to-back MAAC champion in this conference tournament,” Masiello said, “and we’re still going to go there with the intent of getting to a third [NCAA] Tournament in a row.”