A second-half Siena run kept it perilously close, but Iona fended off the Saints to a 72-to-68 victory with the team now riding a three-game winning streak and closing up the two-game regular season series with their long-time rivals victorious in both tilts.
In comparison to the first matchup three weeks ago – a sloppy affair with both teams giving up a combined 49 turnovers and committing 47 fouls – both teams played more cohesively, with twenty less turnovers and nine less fouls, even though the energy and assertiveness was on high tilt all afternoon.
“Second game on a weekend is sometimes a gut check,” said Iona head coach Tobin Anderson after the team’s first weekend sweep of the season after today’s win and Thursday’s visiting victory against Rider, “but winning helps everything. Winning helps the attitude and they’re coming to practice more excited, so getting some positive momentum for us is a good thing.”
Combining the factors of a brand-new roster with a smattering of injuries, it has been hard for Anderson and his staff to maintain consistent rotations, but it was clear this afternoon that the team’s new-look starting lineup, which was first debuted on Thursday against Rider, was getting a lot of time together and there is a lot to like about this blend of talent.
“We go together well,” said freshman point guard Adam Njie who finished the game sixteen points and six assists, “We’ve got two great creators with me and DaeDae [Reaves] – I feel that we’re the best playmakers in the MAAC – and we’ve got two great shooters, Justin [Menard] and Luke [Jungers], so with our playmaking ability, we can just go into the paint and find shooters, making the game that much easier.” Entering the game, Iona shot just 30% from three, but this new-look starting lineup, paired with the physicality, leadership and moxie center Clarence Rupert brings, possesses a balance that has been lacking for most of this season.
In a game filled with runs, the growth in maturity in Njie along with the much-needed spacing of junior power forward Luke Jungers fueled the game’s opening 7-0 run. “Adam [Njie] turned down two threes – and I think he could have shot them – to find Luke for two open threes to start the half,” said Anderson, “ and I think a month ago, Adam would have taken those shots but he made that pass. That was great to see.”
Averaging fourteen points and seven assists per game throughout the winning streak, Njie is amidst his most consistent stretch of play on both sides of the floor. “I’m just getting my groove,” said Njie, “My teammates, my brothers, they’ve been here before and they tell me different things to work on, so I’m just taking in all the information I can to get better.” The season’s 2-8 start was tough to stomach, but Njie added “I feel like the losses at the beginning of the year helped us get to the point that we’re at right now.”
Jungers was this afternoon’s surprise star, making four threes and finishing with a season-high sixteen points, the most the sharpshooter has scored in two calendar years. In response to his landmark afternoon, Jungers reflected “We as a team are playing so much better together, offensive and defensively. When we’ve got three or four guys in double-figures every night, it’s hard to stop a team like that. Defensively, I get a lot of energy with my guards turning the other team over, bigs blocking shots, s— like that.”
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| Iona guard DaeDae Reaves (#3) converting one of his nine made two-points against Siena. |
Freshman guard Justin Menard also converted two of his five three-point attempts, with the combo of him and Jungers providing ample spacing for Njie and Reaves make 15 of their combined 23 shots from inside the arc, which was especially impactful once Siena switched to a zone defense early in the second half.
“At times, we were just stagnant,” said Reaves, “so once we started moving, it was hard to guard because we’ve got shooters on the perimeter.” After acclimating to Siena’s defensive shift, Reaves’ poise within the dead spots of the zone was key, navigating out of a 12-2 Siena run during the midway point of the second half. In response to Reaves’ adjustments, Anderson adds “I thought Dejour did a nice job in the high post [against the zone].” After a bit of a lull earlier in the month, lately, Reaves has been a maestro creating inside the arc, attempting 14 or more two-point attempts in three of the last four games, scoring at a rate that is so efficient, it’s almost quietly noticeable, but the senior continues to show why he is the most trusted player on the roster.
As of this evening, Iona’s win now makes the Gaels one of just four teams in the MAAC with a conference record above .500, but to continue their winning ways, they need to sustain approaches on both sides of the ball that Coach Anderson foresees the recipe for success: “When we move and pass the ball, there’s just so much more energy from our guys,” says Anderson, “Overall, our defensive was good, but we can get a whole lot better – not from lack of trying – but we still have mental breakdowns sometimes.”
Of course, it is only natural that these lapses will lighten as the roster continues to jell together, especially if the current starting lineup sticks together and the rotations tighten up.
Next weekend, the Gaels will take a quick Friday jaunt to Riverdale and host Fairfield on Sunday. A clean sweep next weekend won’t be easy, but it will plant Iona firmly atop the most dangerous teams in the MAAC, alongside Merrimack, Quinnipiac and Marist.
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