Iona eliminates Siena for fourth time in five years to reach seventh straight MAAC final

Asante Gist's 22 points led Iona Sunday as Gaels defeated Siena to advance to MAAC championship game. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

ALBANY, NY -- The song remains the same.

For the seventh time in as many years, Iona will play for a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship, reaching the precipice of what would be an unprecedented and historic fourth consecutive postseason tournament crown by defeating Siena, 73-57, furthering a surge to reach a stage that seemed improbable a month ago.

"I'm really proud of my team," head coach Tim Cluess said as the Gaels (16-15) gave their leader -- who turned 60 on Saturday -- a belated birthday present in the form of an opportunity to win a fifth MAAC championship in seven years. "They played their tails off, fought hard, fought for each other, kind of the story of our resurgence at the end of the year."

Iona led wire-to-wire Sunday, taking advantage of a Siena team playing its second game in less than 24 hours after advancing past Rider in the quarterfinals Saturday night. The Gaels needed only 16 seconds to break the seal on the scoreboard, doing so on an E.J. Crawford three-pointer and riding the hot hand of both the junior shooter and Asante Gist, who led all scorers with 22 points. The lead of the regular season champion swelled to as many as 16 points in the opening stanza, and dictated clear sailing for most of the evening as Iona disposed of the Saints for the fourth time in the last five MAAC tournaments, upping its record against the tournament hosts to 10-0 all-time in postseason play while holding Siena to just 37 percent shooting from the floor.

"A lot of people were talking about the other guard on the team," Gist said of Jalen Pickett, the unanimous MAAC Rookie of the Year and the challenge he imposed on Iona's defense. "Coach made it a point to make sure we had to assert ourselves on defense, and it was a good team effort."

"I think after watching them play last night, we knew that if we didn't defend them, this was going to be a long night for us," Cluess added. "They have a lot of guys who are a lot of weapons, and half the shots they take are three-pointers, so if you let them play their game and they were going to be on, we were going to be in trouble. We had to do something to try to adjust to them."

Iona now awaits the winner of Sunday's second semifinal between Canisius -- who has not played for a MAAC championship since 2001 -- and Monmouth, against whom the Gaels won the first of their three straight conference titles in 2016. As the tournament leaves Albany after this weekend to begin a three-year residence in Atlantic City, Cluess was both jovial in victory and cognizant in what lies ahead as his team readies itself for the last step in its quest to rewrite the record books.

"I want to move Iona up here to play all our home games here," he quipped. "Is that okay? It's just the next game up, and it's going to be a tremendous one. We're playing to go to the NCAA Tournament, and that's what you work for all year long -- all spring, summer and offseason -- and these guys have an opportunity tomorrow to go out and do something special. It's great stuff."

"We're trying to make history, but we've got to take it play-by-play," Crawford said. "We're not trying to push it too fast, but we play Iona basketball, so we'll be alright."