As rumors swirled regarding his future, Rick Pitino is one win away from bringing Iona back to the NCAA Tournament.
Walter Clayton Jr. scored a game-high 22 points and the Gaels avoided an upset scare to beat Niagara 71-59 on Friday night in Atlantic City in the MAAC tournament semifinals. They will play Marist in the championship game on Saturday night at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
It was the 13th straight victory for the Gaels (26-7), who won the MAAC regular-season title for the second straight year.
Pitino, who took over at Iona in the 2020-21 season, could bring the Gaels to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in his three seasons. He previously made the dance with the Gaels in his first year in charge before missing out last year after Iona has won the regular-season title.
“We’ve built a special culture in the last three years. … We changed all the facilities within one year, then we changed the way we play,” Pitino said, per college hoops reporter Jaden Daly. “I replaced an awesome coach [Tim Cluess], as good as they get. But we had to change the culture altogether.”
After St. John’s fired head coach Mike Anderson on Friday, Pitino has become the top candidate as the Big East school’s next coach. There’s mutual interest, according to The Post’s Zach Braziller, and it would present Pitino an opportunity to return to a higher level of coaching.
Clayton paced the Gaels with 6-for-8 shooting, while adding six rebounds and three assists. Junior forward Nelly Junior Joseph scored 16 points and junior guard Daniss Jenkins chipped in 14 points for Iona.
Aaron Gray finished with 18 points for the Purple Eagles (16-15).
After entering halftime tied at 35, Iona was still tied at 48-48 with 10:34 left in the second half before the Gaels used a 12-2 run over the next five-plus minutes to pull away.
“I had to get on Nelly [at halftime] because he didn’t have a rebound,” Pitino said. “I said, ‘Son, you gotta get after it or we’re gonna go home.’ ”
Marist 69, Saint Peter’s 57
Any hope for a repeat of last year’s Cinderella magic came to an end Friday night for Saint Peter’s, falling to this year’s upstart MAAC squad — the Red Foxes — in a semifinal in Atlantic City.