ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — If this season is it for Rick Pitino at Iona, he’ll leaving the MAAC school as a winner.
For the second time in three seasons, the Hall of Fame coach is taking Iona to the NCAA Tournament, and he will be looking to net the Gaels their first March Madness victory since 1980 — a victory that was later vacated due to NCAA violations.
Amid reports that Pitino could be leaving the New Rochelle school for St. John’s or Texas Tech, he guided the top-seeded Gaels to their 14th MAAC Tournament title with a 76-55 victory over No. 11 Marist at Boardwalk Hall on Saturday night. It was sweet redemption for Iona, which lost as the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals a year ago.
“The pressure I feel with the MAAC is so much greater than at Kentucky, Louisville, Providence, Panathinaikos [in Greece],” Pitino said after the win. “You gotta bring it every night, or you’re going home. And you’re not going to say, ‘OK, we’ll get a three-seed instead of a two-seed.’ Doesn’t work that way in the MAAC.”
If Pitino or his players were distracted by the noise about his future, they have done a good job hiding it.
Iona (27-7), which has won 14 consecutive games, cruised to the MAAC regular season crown and won its first two tournament games by a combined 32 points.
The title game was far tougher.
The score was tied at 46-46 on a 3-pointer by Marist’s Kam Farris with 10:28 left in the game before Iona’s pressure defense took over, spearheading a game-turning 11-2 run over the next five minutes that locked up Iona’s 27th win, it’s most since the 1997-98 season.
Berrick JeanLouis and Nelly Junior Joseph blocked Marist dunk attempts during the run, as the Gaels held the Red Foxes without points on eight of nine possessions, building a 57-48 lead with 5:24 left.
“We look for plays like what Berrick made to spark our run, and that’s what we did,” Daniss Jenkins said. “We were just playing off his energy.”
The giddy Iona players showed off their T-shirts, which read in large bold letters: “Not Today.”
As in, their season wasn’t going to end today. It didn’t.
When Jenkins sank his fifth 3-pointer, pushing the lead to 65-53 with 3:07 left, the result was no longer in doubt.
Over the final 10:25, Iona outscored Marist, 30-9, closing out the game with a flourish.
Jenkins scored a game-high 27 points to earn Most Outstanding Player honors for the tournament, MAAC Player of the Year Walter Clayton Jr. added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists and Junior Joseph had nine points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and three assists for the Gaels.
Patrick Gardner led the Red Foxes (13-20) with 23 points and Farris had 12 points off the bench.
Defense won this game. Iona forced 22 turnovers that led to 23 points and held Marist to 33.3 percent shooting from the field.
The big four of Jenkins, Junior Joseph, JeanLouis and Clayton each logged at least 32 minutes, and were at their best in crunch time.
“These guys are exhausted, they play a lot of minutes,” Pitino said. “I’m so proud of them for what they’ve given me this year. But it’s just starting for us. We’re just starting this.”
Pitino was in his glory afterwards, hugging players, assistant coaches and fans, posing for photos and recording his players cutting down the nets.
He embraced reserve Michael Jefferson, and told him: “This is what it’s all about, kid. This is it.”
When it was time for the final strand of the net to be cut down, Pitino called on Jenkins to do it.
The coach wasn’t going to get up on the ladder.
“I was so tired, I couldn’t get up there,” Pitino said with a smile. “The pride I have for them is so unbelievable, because they’re such great people. From all walks of life, four from Africa. … They’re like my children, I’m like a strict dad, but I know they love me and they certainly know I love them.”
