Iona leads at halftime, but sees season end in valiant loss to UNC

Ben Perez (5), E.J. Crawford (2) and head coach Tim Cluess salute crowd following Iona’s loss to North Carolina. Gaels led No. 1 seed Tar Heels at halftime. (Photo by Jaden Daly/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Hours before its latest NCAA Tournament experience was consummated against North Carolina, Iona had every reason to be confident, riding a ten-game winning streak and a roster of players who put it together at the most opportune of times to earn what seemed like an improbable spot among the 68-team field fighting for a national championship. And after he was reminded of UMBC’s historic defeat of Virginia last season, Tajuan Agee was unafraid to declare that such a titanic upset could happen again.

It almost did Friday night.

Iona, a No. 16 seed in the Midwest Regional, came out firing in the first half, draining ten three-point field goals and proving to the world that not only did it belong on a national stage, it could sustain a haymaker from one of the best teams in the nation. But after taking a five-point lead into the intermission, the Gaels’ torrid shooting went cold in the midst of a 25-7 run to begin the second stanza, a stretch that North Carolina capitalized on en route to an 88-73 victory in first-round NCAA Tournament action at Nationwide Arena.

“We just came out ready to play,” said Rickey McGill, Iona’s senior point guard, who scored 26 points in his final collegiate contest. “We knew they were going to come out and try and get a win over us, try and beat us by a lot, so for us to come out the way we did, that was a big one. And then, things changed.”

North Carolina actually drew first blood to start the game, as Coby White connected on a three during the Tar Heels’ opening possession, but back-to-back treys by McGill proved Iona was not only up for the challenge, it was there to stay. The Gaels (17-16) never let UNC pull away in the first half, battling back to regain the lead as the period drew to a close, using an 11-2 run to open up an eight-point advantage that held serve at 38-33 by the time the buzzer sounded on the first 20 minutes.

“We weren’t satisfied,” Asante Gist said of the five-point halftime cushion. “I told my guys they were going to give us their best shot. I knew they weren’t going to lay down and give us the game. We had to get back in transition, but it unraveled in the second half, I think, because of the tired legs that we had.”

“Making shots really took them a long way,” said UNC’s Cameron Johnson of his team’s opposition. “It took us out of getting any transition opportunities. They slowed down the tempo, used a lot of the clock and hit a lot of threes, and we were swinging the ball around the outside too much, not really getting it on the inside.”

The top-seeded Tar Heels quickly restored order in the second half, as Johnson buried a three on the first possession after halftime, with Luke Maye tying the score at 38 after UNC forced an Iona turnover. McGill temporarily delayed the run with a triple of his own, but Maye and Johnson responded with consecutive baskets to swing the pendulum once and for all. The UNC lead reached a peak of 20 points before Iona — in customary fashion — crept closer on an 8-3 run fueled by McGill and E.J. Crawford, but the Gaels could not bring the deficit past 13 points for the remainder of the evening, walking away empty-handed, but with their heads held high for all the right reasons.

“I think they gave it everything they could on both ends of the court,” head coach Tim Cluess proudly said of Iona’s performance. “In the first half, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. But they have nothing at all to be ashamed about. They should have their heads high. We’re extremely proud of what they did this year, Iona’s extremely proud of it, and hopefully anyone who watched us play enjoyed what they saw.”