NEW ROCHELLE, NY — On Friday night, the emotions of playing on the biggest stage were on full display at the Hynes Center in the latest chapter of a storied rivalry. The Jaspers made their runs in the second half, including a late 7-0 run to get to within one possession in the final minute, before bowing out on the road 65-60.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- With Iona's defense asserting its pressure early, Manhattan found itself in a 20-8 hole early following a jumper from Dejour Reaves at the 12:01 mark.
- A 6-0 Gaels run late in the second half pushed the Iona lead to 14 at 26-12 with 7:28 left.
- Back to back threes from Swish Gilyard and Fraser Roxburgh cut it back down to 10 before the Jaspers offense went cold again.
- Manhattan had one point in the final 5:09 of the first half and trailed 35-19 at the break.
- The Jaspers came out of the locker room hot, firing an early 11-0 run that cut the Iona lead to seven with 15:50 left. Roxburgh had the final word on that run, scoring off a third-chance opportunity after grabbing his own rebound twice.
- After Iona pushed their lead back to double-digits, Manhattan went on a 7-0 a pair of lay-ups from Gilyard and Jaden Winston sandwiched around a three-point play for Wesley Robinson.
- Iona came through with timely baskets down the stretch to keep the Jaspers at bay. Manhattan made one last push when Dinkins' four-point play got them right back in it only down four with 1:23 left.
- With Manhattan trailing by five with 19 seconds left, Dinkins drew a foul on the ensuing possession and hit both his free throws to cut the deficit to three. Winston came inches away from a steal on the ensuing inbound before a pair of free throws from Iona's Luke Jungers put the game out of reach.
STATS AND NOTES
- Devin Dinkins (18 points) and Swish Gilyard (13 points) were the Jaspers lone double digit scorers.
- Dinkins, the top three-point shooter in the MAAC at 46.4% (51-110), went 2-5 from long range on Friday night.
- Freshman forward Fraser Roxburgh returned to the line-up after missing the previous 12 games due to a foot injury.
- Roxburgh scored 5 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 13 minutes of action.
- Manhattan as a team were 7-32 (21.9 percent) from three which was the Jaspers' fourth-lowest three-point field goal percentage of the season in a game.
- The Jaspers were outrebounded 52-40, including 20-15 on the offensive glass.
- Manhattan forced Iona into 14 turnovers which were converted into 15 points.
- The Jaspers and Gaels split the season series.
QUOTES FROM MANHATTAN
Manhattan head coach John Gallagher: "They (Iona) controlled the tempo in the first 20 minutes. They game-planned certain actions. In the second half, we did a good job making adjustments but obviously it wasn't enough. Never in my life have I seen numbers like this and it being a one-possession game late."
Gallagher: "In this league, if it's a negative you can't think about it tomorrow. You have to have great amnesia tonight and we'll learn from this. There were positives to even be in this game."
NEXT TIME OUT
Manhattan will play host to Quinnipiac (16-10, 12-3 MAAC) on Sunday at 2 P.M. on ESPN+.
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