Marist men’s basketball could not slow down the high-paced offense of the Iona Gaels in a 71-64 loss.
With the win, Iona snapped a four-game losing streak. Iona had previously lost all three games since junior guard Greg Gordon announced his departure from the program for personal reasons.
Things went better for the Gaels (14-15, 9-9 MAAC) this time around as a trio of Iona guards led the way. Graduate student guard Joel Brown, graduate student guard/forward Whea Panzo and freshman guard Jeremiah Quigley all scored 18 points to give Marist (16-11, 11-7 MAAC) their first home loss since Feb. 2.
“When you’re trying to get stops and it’s been a tough game, you don’t want to give up layups, so we gave up layups. [Iona] just played better today,” said Marist head coach John Dunne.
Sophomore center Max Allen II played through a foot injury and finished with 15 points on 6-11 shooting for the Red Foxes. Yet it was not enough for Marist, as the team collectively committed 15 turnovers and missed 10 free throws in the second half alone.
“Definitely a lot of pain, just trying to get to this end of the season,” said Allen II of his foot injury. “Just want to finish strong and then get to Atlantic City and just show out then.”
Iona started hot, making nine of their first 14 attempts; Panzo drained a trio of 3-pointers during the barrage. The Red Foxes responded with 12 quick bench points as Allen II made three buckets in six minutes.
Marist hit over half their shots in the first 10 minutes of play, but Iona knocked in four more three-pointers to lead 23-17 with 9:38 left in the half. The Red Foxes scored on several possessions after breaking Iona’s press, who moved back into their zone to limit Marist in the paint.
The Red Foxes forced some turnovers and got within one after an 8-0 spurt. Brown hit the Gaels’s seventh three-pointer of the half to stop the run.
Junior forward Jackson Price scored five straight to give Marist their first lead with 3:39 left in the first half. Panzo responded with another three-pointer.
“[Iona] went small and played Panzo at the five. He’s not really a five, so that becomes a tough cover. They spread us out and their guards just made one-on-one plays,” said Dunne.
Graduate student forward Javon Cooley paced the Red Foxes from deep with his third from behind the arc, but Gaels graduate student forward Oshborn Shima beat the buzzer with a corner three-pointer to tie the game at 37 at halftime.
Iona’s pace on offense created open looks as they converted 9-of-15 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes. Panzo finished the half with 12, Brown followed with eight points and Quigley added seven points and four assists. The Red Foxes did their damage in the paint with 22 paint points led by Allen II’s 10 off the bench.
In the second half, a massive block by Cooley led to a mid-range jumper from freshman guard Jadin Collins, giving Marist their largest lead of three. That was the last Marist lead for the final 15 minutes of the game.
Panzo struck again with another three-pointer, this time forcing a Marist timeout with Iona in the middle of a 7-0 run. The Red Foxes scored just five points in the opening eight minutes of the second half while committing six turnovers.
An inside score by freshman forward Sultan Adewale forced another Marist timeout, as they trailed 51-42 and had not scored in over five minutes. Cooley nailed his fourth three-pointer to cut the deficit to five. He finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
“I think [Cooley] went 0-for-3 on Friday so he was just really focused today and played really well,” said Dunne.
Marist cut the deficit on several occasions, but the Gaels kept responding with timely buckets. At the under-eight timeout, Iona led 58-55 with the last score coming from a steal by Marist sophomore guard Isaiah Brickner.
The Red Foxes’ struggles from the free throw line prevented them from completing a comeback. Price hit two to cut the deficit to one with five minutes left in the game. Brown scored nine of Iona’s last eleven points to reach 19.
With Marist down just one possession, Iona again came up with a bucket, this time Quigley driving strong to the rim to put the Gaels ahead 66-62 with 2:06 remaining.
Allen II missed a jump hook and with under a minute left, Marist began to foul trailing by four. Quigley nailed both of his free throws to secure the win. Overall, the Gaels made 48 percent of their shots and went 12-24 from behind the arc.
Despite the narrow loss, the Red Foxes are still rounding into form ahead of the MAAC championships in Atlantic City, N.J., winning six of their last seven matchups prior to today. Their most recent victory was a primetime win over previously top of the MAAC Fairfield, and they currently reside in the upper echelon of a knotted-up conference.
Marist heads on the road for the final time in the regular season facing the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Thursday, Mar. 7. Tipoff at M&T Bank Arena is set for 7 p.m.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Graphic by Ben Monrad; Photos from Marist Athletics and Luke Sassa
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X and TikTok, and sign up to receive daily alerts here.
