Iona survives, ends Canisius’ win streak to begin homestand

Tajuan Agee scored season-high 24 points as Iona fended off late run to defeat Canisius. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Following a much-needed win one week ago Friday, E.J. Crawford praised Iona’s development effusively, citing that the collective buy-in of the Gaels had risen to a crescendo halfway through a season rife with adversity and a roster still feeling itself out through its first two months of playing alongside one another.

Seven days later, the individual and group commitment manifested itself in the form of a 22-point lead, but threatened to evaporate after the four-time defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions surrendered 19 unanswered points.

That was when muscle memory and senior leadership kicked in.

After opening up a 59-37 advantage over Canisius and then seeing its cushion whittled down to a mere three points, Iona found a way to close its opener of a three-game homestand, salting away a 69-66 victory over the Golden Griffins to remain just two games out of the lead in what has shaped up to be an even more unpredictable MAAC race than that of one year ago, where the Gaels rode a seven-game surge at the end of the regular season to an historic conference tournament crown.

“I feel like we still haven’t played to our fullest potential,” Tajuan Agee candidly opined after his season-high 24 points propelled Iona (5-9, 3-4 MAAC) to a bounce-back win on the heels of a disappointing loss last Sunday at Marist. “We got off to a good run, got up 22, but I think we fought hard. We’ve still got a lot to work on, but tonight was a good win to get us rolling.”

“We’ve made big strides,” Crawford added after supplementing Agee with 18 points of his own. “We’ve got to keep going and we’ve got Monmouth on Sunday. We’ve got to come and play the right way, and get that W as well.”

For the majority of the evening, Iona fed off its customary brand of transition offense and deceptively strong defense, seizing control midway through the first half with a 17-4 run and holding Canisius (8-11, 3-5 MAAC) to just two field goals during a five-minute outburst that illustrated the Gaels’ potent attack at perhaps its most complete appearance to date this season. But a 19-0 run by the Griffs, punctuated by a Majesty Brandon 3-pointer with 3:15 remaining in regulation, forced acting head coach Tra Arnold to call a timeout to rally the troops for a suddenly intense stretch run.

“We’ve been having lulls like that throughout the year,” Arnold, who continues to fill in for Tim Cluess as he recovers from a health issue that has sidelined him, said. “I just told them to be tougher offensively and make plays offensively, and then defensively, we can’t have lapses at those points.”

In addition to Agee and Crawford leading the way, Isaiah Washington flirted with a triple-double, ultimately finishing with eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists while demonstrating an all-around game that has markedly improved since his Gaels debut in November.

“It’s something we’ve been talking about,” said Arnold. “We want him to score, but we want him to get in the paint and pass, and get guys shots, because he has the ability to do that. When transfers come in, it usually takes a while to adjust to a system, and I think he’s really recently grasped what we want him to do, and hopefully it continues going forward.”

Iona resumes its stay at the Hynes Athletics Center on Sunday, when it welcomes a resurgent Monmouth team currently tied for the MAAC lead. The Hawks already own a victory over Iona, on January 5 in West Long Branch, but the Gaels have a shot at retribution with a momentum-boosting triumph to fuel the fire.

“It’s definitely better to win and learn than lose and learn,” Arnold admitted. “We had shown spurts in the game, especially in the second half, and defensively, we were really good.”