HISTORY!!!! Iona completes first MAAC four-peat with dismantling of Monmouth

Tim Cluess and Iona celebrate as Gaels rewrote history Monday night, becoming first school to win four straight MAAC tournament championships. (Photo by Jaden Daly/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

ALBANY, NY -- Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

In arguably the most parity-laden Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference season in the league's 38-year existence, Iona reigned supreme once again, making history and leaving no doubt while doing so.

Three days removed from advancing by the skin of its teeth past Saint Peter's in the quarterfinals, needing a fortuitous missed free throw to escape in the final seconds, Iona reverted back to the MAAC powerhouse it has come to be recognized as in recent seasons, comfortably defeating Siena in the semifinals to set up its latest date with destiny.

Once on the championship stage for a seventh consecutive year, the Gaels handled the task at hand in a businesslike fashion, seizing control from Monmouth Monday evening with a coup de grace in the form of a 20-2 second-half run, not looking back en route to an 81-60 drubbing of the Hawks to become the first team to win four MAAC postseason crowns in a row.

"I am so proud of my team for what they've accomplished this year and their hard work, and how they turned something that didn't look pretty early on that was really tough, and overcame a lot of obstacles," head coach Tim Cluess proudly remarked as Iona won not only its tenth straight game, but its MAAC-record 12th conference tournament championship, seven more than any of its other league brethren. "As Iona says, 'fight the good fight,' and that's what they did. So I'm really proud of them."

"It just shows how much time we put in the gym as a team," senior point guard Rickey McGill -- who closed his collegiate career with an undefeated 12-0 record in MAAC tournament play while also capturing Most Valuable Player recognition -- added. "We never quit, never gave up, and we're here now."

The Gaels (17-15) spotted Monmouth three of the night's first four baskets, but took the lead for good shortly thereafter with a 15-0 run that left the Hawks (14-21) sputtering as the effect of four games in five days, coupled with an inability to both control the basketball in the opening minutes and neutralize Iona's outside shooting, took its toll on the unlikely sixth-seeded finalist. Monmouth chipped away as the opening stanza drew to a close, pulling within three before Tajuan Agee's three-pointer on the left wing with eight seconds preceding the intermission swung the momentum back toward the champions, who took a 36-30 cushion into the halftime break.

The Hawks again crept within three early in the second half, at 41-38, but a 21-2 spurt by Iona put the game out of reach, as Agee's three-pointer in that stretch to turn a nine-point advantage into a 12-point edge that soon seemed insurmountable kept the margin on the scoreboard in double digits for the remainder of the contest.

"For junior college players, it may take them a semester, sometimes a year," Cluess said of newcomers learning the intricacies of Iona basketball while discussing the impact of Agee -- who finished with 18 points and seven rebounds -- as an integral replacement for Roland Griffin after the latter was dismissed from the team two weeks before the season began. "We were hoping that Tajuan's learning curve would be a semester, and the kid was in the gym working really hard every single day. He actually sped that learning curve up, so we're really proud of him."

"Growing up, just watching March Madness, it's always been a dream of mine to be a part of that," said Agee. "It's just a blessing to me. We put in a lot of work together. It's still surreal, I can't describe the feeling."

Iona -- for the sixth time in eight years and fifth as MAAC champions in Cluess' tenure -- once again awaits its NCAA Tournament fate, which will most likely decree a trip to Dayton as part of the tournament's First Four. But wherever the wind takes the Gaels, the dynasty of New Rochelle can bask in the satisfaction of having the fruits of its labor pay off in handsome fashion, from a 2-9 record in non-conference play to an all-too-familiar sight at the end of the proverbial rainbow.

"I would like to thank God and the angels above who bless our team, and I truly mean that," Cluess gushed. "Sometimes we forget that it's supposed to be a game for kids, played by kids, and they should still enjoy it. We try to remind our guys of that. Yeah, we work really hard, but we work hard for a reason, to train them for life and better things ahead. I'm so proud that Iona now is the team that everyone's going to look at, and has raised the bar to number four."