Iona flips script, routs Fairfield in MAAC opener

Rick Pitino earned first MAAC win Friday as Iona atoned for loss to Morgan State with lockdown of Fairfield. (Photo by The Journal News)

Following Iona's shocking home loss to Morgan State, a candid Rick Pitino refused to make excuses, simply stating the Gaels were outplayed by a better opponent.

Three days later, the roles were reversed.

Opening Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play Friday, Iona took on a Fairfield team thrust into the role of Pitino’s first league opponent after both Monmouth and Quinnipiac were forced out of competition due to positive COVID-19 tests, and defended the Stags to no end, cruising to a 70-42 victory at Alumni Hall.

“That was great offense, great defense,” Pitino said of a display in which Isaiah Ross scored 30 points for the second time in the Gaels’ four contests this season, while Dylan van Eyck amassed the team’s third double-double in as many efforts with 14 points and 12 rebounds. “For the first time, the passing was spectacular. We put on an offensive clinic. It was beautiful basketball.”

“It was a huge bounce-back win from the game Tuesday,” Ross added. “Today, we came out and played hungry and aggressive. We knew that wasn’t us, so we wanted to come out here and be ourselves.”

Fairfield actually took the lead 92 seconds into the game when Caleb Green broke the seal on the scoreboard, but that seemed to be the only highlight of the evening for the Stags, as Iona (2-2) scored the next 11 points to erase any doubt or fatigue that may have lingered from Tuesday’s loss at the Hynes Athletics Center. From there, it was off to the races, as the Gaels took a 10-point lead into the halftime break and built on it from there, scoring the first nine points after the intermission to further pad their massive advantage.

Friday also marked the return of Asante Gist to Iona’s starting lineup after the senior point guard made his return Tuesday from a broken finger that required surgery. In 27 minutes, the former St. Anthony standout scored 13 points and registered five assists while leading Pitino’s offense for the first time.

“Asante’s very difficult to pressure,” the Hall of Fame coach reflected. “He makes things go, and Isaiah becomes a much better basketball player when he’s on the floor. But as great as Isaiah was and as great as Asante was, I thought the key in the Abe was Dylan van Eyck. I thought he was brilliant.”

Iona conceded just five field goals in the second half, a longtime Pitino calling card, as the Stags were hard-pressed to find an answer for the Gaels’ relentless defense, which converted 19 Fairfield turnovers into 21 points.

“It was definitely a key that Coach pointed out,” Ross said with regard to the transition game. “We wanted to show them that we could get back in transition and match up, because Tuesday, we didn’t do that. It was really just a game for us to prove ourselves as a team and what we’re capable of.”

Iona gets a chance to sweep the Stags Saturday in the second of two meetings between the schools. Pitino hinted that the next affair would be “totally different” from Friday’s game and that Fairfield would have a decided edge, but for his senior leader, the same determination carries over.

“As a team, we’re not satisfied,” said Ross, not resting on his and his teammates’ laurels. “We know we have another one tomorrow, and that’s what our main focus is, getting that one tomorrow because this game’s in the past.”