By Joe Budzelek
Iona extended its home dominance over Siena with a 75–72 home win—its sixth straight in the series—behind a birthday breakout from Toby Harris in his first start of the season. Harris buried three threes in the opening five minutes and scored 15 first-half points on his way to 25, while CJ Anthony orchestrated the offense with his first career double-double, finishing with 10 points and a career-high 13 assists despite not scoring his first basket until the final two minutes of the half.
In response to his second 25-point performance in three games, Harris said, “Being a shooter, you’re always looking to get open ones, but once you’re in the flow of the game, you don’t really think about it. Maybe after the third one goes in, it’s like, ‘All right, we’ve got something here,’ but I think we’re just really together as a team.”
Throughout the season, Harris has been arguably the MAAC’s best long-distance shooter, but new wrinkles in Iona’s offense have allowed him to become a three-dimensional scorer. He hit all three of his two-point attempts against Siena and has now made 12 of his last 22 twos over the past four games, after attempting just 18 total two-pointers in the first 11 games of the season.
A major factor in that versatility is the growing awareness and symbiosis between Harris and Anthony, which has helped reimagine Iona’s halfcourt offense.
“I thought his strikes were good,” Iona head coach Dan Geriot said. “The big thing for me is how elite his ability is to set up Toby. Everyone knows Toby Harris is an elite shooter, so being able to steal those reps for him is big for us, especially with CJ at the point guard spot.
“He’s also starting to evolve how he plays with different guys—Lamin differently, Kosy differently—and that’s huge for us. If those passes were off and he was dealing with more balls and strikes, our rhythm and flow would be very disjointed. Instead, he’s able to settle us down, and it’s been a huge positive to see him follow that up with 13 assists.
“I think a lot of it comes down to timing—how we’re attacking certain sets and spacing. That part of his game is really growing. When you look at CJ’s path, he was on the scout team last year, seeing all these different looks, and now there are real consequences to what he’s doing, both good and bad. Add in Vermont, being away and then coming back—he’s going through a lot right now, in a good way. He’s handling it well, and that’s been big for us as we continue to build our floor game.”
Iona led for 84 percent of the game, but short-handed and limited to a seven-man rotation, Siena turned up the pressure midway through the second half. Head coach Gerry McNamara called timeout with 13 minutes remaining and switched to a press that sparked a 20–6 run, giving the Saints their first lead of the half at 66–64.
Iona countered with momentum-swinging plays, including a Lamin Sabally breakaway dunk off a CJ Anthony strike that briefly pushed the Gaels back in front, 67–66. Over the final four minutes, Keshawn Williams—coming off the bench for the first time this season after recovering from illness over the holiday break—delivered three difficult buckets: an acrobatic layup, a mid-range pull-up, and a well-defended step-back two with 57 seconds remaining. The burst capped a decisive 7–2 run over the final 3:30 and sealed Iona’s 75–72 finish.
Speaking on Williams’ growing impact, Geriot said, “From the start, my job was to put his first year of pro basketball on paper—his routines, film habits, how much film he’s watching, and how intentional he’s being with his approach. I think he’s really fallen in love with that work. Between what he’s learned through Vermont and the different sets we can run for him now, we feel good about his spacing and timing, and I think we saw that tonight.”
Across the roster, roles are beginning to solidify: Anthony as the offensive leader, Harris as a lethal shooter, Sabally as a two-way Swiss Army knife, Alliou Fall as a low-post presence beyond his years, Kosy Akametu as a mismatch glue guy, and Denver Anglin as a secondary creator. But Williams remains the most intriguing, flashing the late-game scoring reputation he built at Northern Illinois—a bigger guard with length, athleticism, and moxie who can make timely plays.
“You know, I don’t develop all my players to shoot mid-range twos,” Geriot added, “but Keshawn’s one of them. When he’s in his rhythm, in his spots, and in that hunter’s role, I feel pretty confident about where we’re at—and I think the team does too.”
Williams was also leaned on defensively as Iona worked to counter Siena sophomore Gavin Doty’s career-high 31 points. Explaining the matchup decisions, Geriot said, “It came down to size and defense. We were making real-time decisions about what our best defensive lineup was based on where Doty was getting his spots. We put Lamin on him, which we didn’t anticipate going into the game, and Keshawn’s size at the guard spot helped a lot with the other matchups.”
After handing Siena its third straight loss, Iona has now won four of its last five and heads into Sunday facing a difficult road test against the physical, defensively stout Marist Red Foxes in Poughkeepsie.
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