Iona lands opening punch with 23-4 run, holds on to beat Hofstra for Geriot’s first win

CJ Anthony scored 25 points in Iona debut as Gaels defeated Hofstra for first win under new coach Dan Geriot. (Photo by Riley Frain/The Portal Report)

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Dan Geriot’s first and only game experience inside the Hynes Athletics Center before Friday came 15 years ago, when the Richmond team he would eventually lead to the Sweet 16 as a senior fell victim to Iona and then-rookie head coach Tim Cluess in double overtime.

It didn’t take very long to exorcise whatever demons still lingered from that 2010 night.

Geriot, now the Gaels’ head coach after being hired in March, made his debut a winner, as Iona used a game-opening 23-4 run to establish an advantage it would never relinquish in an 81-73 victory over Hofstra.

“To start the year that way was impressive for us,” Geriot declared. “We really wanted to challenge our physicality, our fortitude, a little bit. We really dialed in on hitting singles on offense, and that really opened us up to the freedom we can play with and the pace we can play with. We were winning that shot profile game quickly, and I think that’s how that snowball kind of happened.”

Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton, who saw his Pride team take UCF to the wire in its season opener Monday, was pleased with the response and resilience his team showed in the second half, but conceded that the haymaker thrown by Iona to start the proceedings proved insurmountable.

“We came back,” Claxton assessed, “but when you spot a team 20 points, it’s hard to come back from. Did we play Hofstra basketball in the second half? Yeah, but we were down so much and had to expend so much energy, so it’s gonna be hard. (Iona) was the more physical team. I thought they kind of punked us to start, and we just took it.”

Iona needed only 13 seconds to break the seal on what would be a night Geriot may not soon forget, as CJ Anthony splashed a three through the net from the right corner. The Cincinnati transfer took only six shots from the floor, making five of them, but made his name with his aggressiveness, getting to the foul line 15 times and drawing 11 fouls against Hofstra’s backcourt.

“It really just comes from my teammates and coaches,” Anthony said of his tenacity, which fueled his 25-point effort. “They believe in me and they trust in me. We started this journey June 14 and it started with me playing with Denver, saying, ‘we gotta get each other better.’ I just believe it really came from my teammates believing in me, and then just them being aggressive, too. They showed their game and it just happened to be my night tonight, but it could have easily been anybody else.”

“I’m obsessed with that guy,” Geriot gushed. “He’s like the heartbeat of our team, and since he’s got here, that’s what he’s done. We did a little bit of data collecting throughout the summer and fall, and he’s the top guy in everything. He understands, when it’s winning time, where to go. Twenty-five points on six shots is nuts. I don’t think I’ve seen that one before. That’s a unique stat line.”

Denver Anglin, playing alongside Anthony, complemented his fellow guard with six points and just as many assists, also adding five rebounds to showcase a floor game his coach praised for the versatility his unit can provide as a whole.

“I think that’s a credit to our depth,” Geriot said. “That’s something we really recruited them to understand. You’re not coming to just be a high-usage guard. This depth, this team is pretty unique with the modes we can play in. I think we saw that a little bit tonight, and now it’s on us to continue to show them what those modes are and continue to have those positive outcomes.”

Another positive to take away from Friday’s performance was the team camaraderie and chemistry, on and off the floor. Iona’s offense seemed to be in sync most of the night, if not all of it, as the Gaels stymied Hofstra by making eight of their first ten field goals. The all-for-one mentality was further underscored after the game, when both Anthony and Geriot fielded postgame TV interviews with the entire roster in the background.

“We really love each other,” Anglin explained. “This whole summer, preseason, we’re bumping heads every day. We see each other every day, we’re talking every day. We really brought that brotherhood into the locker room and I feel like everybody in here really just feels it. Everybody can say whatever they need to, we can have those hard conversations, and no one really gets on one another after. Once we talk about it, it’s done. We brought that brotherhood into the locker room and you guys saw that tonight.”

“We believe in our players,” Geriot echoed. “We believe in their talent and their demeanor, and to be honest, our biggest thing is we really believe in the human beings in that room. They really are together and for each other, and that’s a unique deal in this age.”

Iona’s team concept will get its next opportunity to be further cultivated Tuesday, when the Gaels go on the road for the first time to face Kansas City in the front end of a home-and-home series that will be returned in New Rochelle next season. Until then, Anthony, who joked with a reporter after the game about whether he looked happy to be in his new locale, summed up his first go-round by making good on the primary objective for he and his teammates.

“You learn pretty quickly here that this is a winning program,” he said. “We all felt that pressure, we felt the intensity. We just wanted to have fun and show everybody what we were capable of.”