Elijah Joiner led Iona with 24 points as Gaels outlasted Monmouth to remain undefeated in MAAC. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — Playing its third game in five days after a 22-day hiatus, Monmouth returned home looking to get right. Its opponent, the unquestioned Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference favorite, found itself in yet another close game, pushed to the limit like no other encounter in league play to date this season.
The end result was befitting of one of the MAAC’s top rivalries, reprised Tuesday between the consensus top two outfits in the conference, with Iona scraping an 86-85 overtime victory away from a Monmouth squad that acquitted itself well just 48 hours removed from a 36-point loss at Marist that led many to question, albeit prematurely, if the Hawks should be taken seriously.
“This was a tough game for us, and we knew it would be tough,” Iona head coach Rick Pitino confessed as the Gaels (15-3, 7-0 MAAC) won their seventh MAAC game in as many attempts this season, led by 24 points from Elijah Joiner. “Not only do we have great respect for Monmouth, and we knew coming into here they were going to play great tonight.”
“I’m proud of my team,” King Rice countered in an impassioned defense of his program. “We had a bad week last week. We lost a bad game at Marist, and everybody seems to want to pile on. We’re fortunate to get to play. We’re a team of fighters, we want to come after everybody. We feel like we’re one of the better teams in this league, and we still feel that way. Our kids ran into probably the best team in the league, with definitely the best coach, and we gave them a run.”
Still recovering from a late December COVID pause, Monmouth (10-6, 2-3 MAAC) fought back several times in a seesaw affair, even as Iona built a double-digit lead in the second half. The Hawks had a chance to win in regulation, but inefficiency at the free throw line plagued the hosts. Shavar Reynolds, who amassed 21 points, did make a pair at the charity stripe in the final seconds to force a 79-all tie as Iona’s 3-point attempt for the win cut through the air to force overtime.
Once in the extra session, Joiner, who was chastised by Pitino for only shooting 18 percent from 3-point range compared to 55 percent inside the arc, drained a jumper and a triple in succession to open an 84-79 edge for the Gaels, furthering his growth and taking his coach’s challenge to heart.
“Coach told me I wasn’t getting it done, so for me, that was all I needed to hear from him for me to step up and be a better leader,” Joiner said. “I do a lot of things well outside of scoring, so I just wanted to take a good jump in my game for the better of the team.”
“I’m lucky to have him on my team, and I’m excited to coach him,” Pitino added. “I wish it was for more than one year. As good as he was tonight, the two games prior to this, he was just awesome. Tonight, he took over the game. He’s a tough young man, one of the best leaders I’ve had as a coach.”
nice work!
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