Iona explodes with 17 threes, 103 points in MAAC opener

Rickey McGill's 29 points were season-high as Iona erased sluggish non-conference start in rout of Monmouth. (Photo by Vincent Simone/NYC Buckets)

NEW ROCHELLE, NY -- As Iona struggled through an uncharacteristic 2-9 start to the season, much had been made of a new roster still working out its kinks through the non-conference slate, prompting head coach Tim Cluess to comment on his team's necessity to raise its energy level going into Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.

As it turned out, all the Gaels needed to turn the page was a flip of the calendar and a return to the familiar competition against which they have won three consecutive conference championships.

In its MAAC opener, Iona turned in a performance that harkened back to the teams Cluess first made a name for himself by coaching in the earlier part of this decade, running and gunning en route to a 103-84 victory over Monmouth that saw 17 three-point field goals find their way into the Hynes Athletic Center nets, just two shy of the conference record Iona set -- ironically enough, at Monmouth's expense -- in the 2015 MAAC Tournament semifinal matchup between the two.

"I think in the past couple of games, we'd go on a run and we'd kind of get complacent," Ben Perez, one of five Gaels in double figures on the scoreboard with 19 points, said of the apparent change in mindset between Sunday's loss to Holy Cross and Thursday's offensive clinic against Monmouth where Iona (3-9, 1-0 MAAC) shot 58 percent from the floor. "That's something Coach emphasized the whole week in practice. When we get on a run, we've got to step on their throats and really up it some more. We knew from the very beginning we could shoot better than what we've shown, and me personally, my teammates have just been instilling that confidence in me to keep shooting the ball."

"Yesterday in practice, we said we weren't 2-9 anymore, we're 0-0," Jahnathan Maxwell added after scoring 16 points off the bench. "So today, we came out, fresh year, fresh start, and started off 2019 the right way. It's been a long time coming. It was just a matter of time before we put all the pieces together and figured something out. Now we just have to keep getting better."

Iona opened the game on an 18-7 run, dictating the pace throughout the night and forcing Monmouth (1-13, 0-1 MAAC) to abandon its methodical offense in favor of an uptempo attack that contradicted head coach King Rice's game plan on an evening where the beleaguered head coach admitted his program was ultimately not prepared for what it was facing.

"We weren't supposed to run," he lamented. "We were supposed to do what we practiced, and tonight, we didn't do what we were supposed to do."

"You're going to have to fight a team that has Tim Cluess on the sideline. You are not walking in their building and not being ready for just a brawl and getting a win. And tonight, we came in thinking this is just a game against Iona, and if you do that, you get embarrassed. We got what we deserved today."

Iona, its confidence restored after its first win since November 25 -- and an exorcism of sorts against a Monmouth team which held the Gaels to its lowest point total in a home game under Cluess in the last meeting between the two schools this past February -- now seeks to further its newfound stroke Saturday against Fairfield, which opened MAAC play by losing a 17-point lead in the final seconds to Rider. As the rematch of last year's conference title tilt now approaches on the schedule, Cluess is equally as reinvigorated as his players, and deservedly so.

"Our guys came flying in practice, and they were doing it again yesterday," he recollected, citing the approach following Sunday's setback. "Today, I just saw a pep in their step as well, and I just felt good -- I didn't know if we were going to win or lose -- that we were going to have a good energy game, and that's what we're kind of preaching right now. Let's bring energy, and let's try to get better through that. And today, I thought they did a great job."