Iona flips script, finds more of itself in rout of Colgate

Jean Aranguren (4) skies up over Colgate’s Jeff Woodward as Iona crushed visiting Raiders Thursday behind 22 points from the Venezuelan freshman. (Photo by Joe D’Aloisio/Iona Athletics)

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Tobin Anderson challenged his Iona team after it reached its collective nadir Saturday night.

Following the Gaels’ 83-58 defeat at the hands of Saint Joseph’s, one in which they trailed by as many as 40 points at one juncture in the contest, a blunt Anderson intimated that his players were simply lacking the toughness and competitive fire needed to prosper on the Division I stage. Therefore, the veteran head coach turned back to his upperclassmen, urging them to lead by example in Iona’s first attempt to rectify its recent downturn.

The message was not only received, but delivered in prompt and resonant fashion.

Taking on Colgate Thursday, the Gaels torched the nets early and often, shooting over 60 percent from the floor in the first half and knocking down 11 three-point shots on the way to an 85-65 takedown of the perennial Patriot League powerhouse inside the Hynes Athletics Center.

“I told them at the start of the week, ‘we’re doubling down, we’re going back to you guys,’” Anderson revealed as Joel Brown, Greg Gordon and Idan Tretout all returned to the starting lineup Thursday. “I believed they could get us going, and they did.”

“I thought we set a tone in the first four minutes, which our older guys did. We kind of went back to them this week and said, ‘hey, listen, if we want to be what we want to be, we need our older guys to perform and play well.’ And I thought they set a great tone in the first four minutes. We were up 12-5, and we defended, we got loose balls, we were scrappy, we were tough. We’re showing some progress here. Practice has been better, and it’s a good step in the right direction against a good team.”

Iona (5-7) flustered Colgate early and often, taking advantage of the Raiders’ lack of a true ball handler and employing Anderson’s trademark full-court pressure to fluster the visitors. The Gaels also limited Colgate's 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-11 big men, neutralizing Keegan Records and Jeff Woodward to the tune of just five combined field goal attempts and only 10 points between the pair.

And while Anderson heralded the seniors for heeding his call to action, the leading scorer among Iona’s quintet of double-figure scorers was one of his younger hands. Freshman Jean Aranguren continued his recent surge with the best game to date of his young career, posting 22 points and supplementing his offense with a team-high eight rebounds on a night where his squad enjoyed a plus-13 margin on the glass, owning the boards by a 37-24 count. 

“I would say I’ve been finding myself,” the Venezuelan guard said when asked if the speed of the game had slowed down enough for him to feel more acclimated. “I’m finding the right shots and the right spots. It’s been easier with the spacing now.”

“It looks like it, right?” Anderson echoed. “I think he’s playing very well.”

Anderson harped so frequently upon the need to capitalize on hustle plays in the wake of Saturday’s loss, and did the same in Iona’s ensuing practices earlier this week. The reckless abandon on the defensive end was also on display alongside the torrid shooting, as the coach cited a loose ball in the first half that only accentuated the tone with which his pupils approached their latest task at hand.

“There was a loose ball in front of the bench at one point, and Joel Brown dove for it, like, just laid out,” Anderson recalled. “I don’t know if he got it or not, but that was huge. A lot of those plays, we haven’t been making, so you could tell we were a little bit tougher. I thought maybe that loss to St. Joe’s might, in a way, help us, but you’ve gotta build on this. This is the first time I think we’ve played well all the way through.”

Iona has one more game remaining on its non-conference ledger, a trip to Harvard one week from Saturday, before conference play resumes after the new year. The Gaels’ depth has allowed Anderson to experiment with different looks, such as the five-freshman outfit he briefly utilized last Saturday, but in order for the team to truly hit its best stride, the production needs to come from all levels, all grades. Thursday’s effort was more along those lines, the skipper shared. 

“We’re not going to win a MAAC championship or be a contender in the MAAC, or be successful playing all freshmen,” Anderson said. “It’s just not realistic. They’re all very good, but we need the older guys to play well, play hard and play tough. They’ve taken a lot of heat, but we know how good they are, how good they could be, and it was great to see that for their confidence and our confidence.”

“I think guys are getting used to playing together a little bit. We passed the ball well, we shared the ball. It was great.”