By Pete Janny (@pete_janny)
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — On Sunday at the Hynes Center, it was Iona’s freshman backcourt duo of Jean Aranguren and Jeremiah Quigley that had no problem picking up the Gaels’ upperclassmen.
Iona beat Saint Francis University, 61-54, and used 32 combined points from Aranguren and Quigley to overcome a late run by the Red Flash.
Aranguren, who scored a career-high 20 points off the bench, was the ace in Iona’s deck of cards and hit big shot after another to help his team avoid an upset. During one run, the Venezuelan scored 12 of 16 points, which served up as high as a seven-lead for Iona midway through the second half. Saint Francis had one last rally, a 7-0 run which tied the score at 47 with 6:12 remaining, but Aranguren went deeper into his bag and unearthed another three that regained the lead for good. He finished with a career-high three triples in a game, arguably turning in the most clutch performance of any Gael this season.
“I try to make the right play, but sometimes the right play is shooting the ball too,” Aranguren said, when asked about his confidence on a night where he went 7-of-9 from the field.
Quigley was a thorn in Saint Francis’ side for stretches, dishing out four assists in the first half. In the final minute, he was tasked with clinching the win from the free throw line and did so with three tallies to wrap up his performance of 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
“In my role, I feel like I need to give the team a spark off the bench when the team is down,” Quigley said. “We came together as a team today and grinded out a win.”
Iona’s defense was rock solid most of the night. The Gaels only led by one point at halftime, but did hold the Red Flash to 24 points in the opening stanza after watching the visitors jump out to an 8-2 lead. On paper, Saint Francis’ offense did not match up well with Iona’s defense, and it was on display in a first half that featured a flurry of air balls from the Red Flash. Iona’s pressure simply suffocated them and forced a bunch of late shot clock situations that went nowhere for Saint Francis. As a result, Saint Francis’ shooting numbers in the first half were hemorrhaged to the tune of 22 percent from the field and 3-of-15 from long distance.
The 54 points allowed was the lowest amount given up by Iona this season. It would be an understatement to say the Gaels pride themselves on their work at that end of the floor.
“We love guarding,” Aranguren said.
“I don’t like a person scoring on me,” added Quigley.
Saint Francis’ last field-goal came at the 3:22 mark. The mission was accomplished on that end, but not so much on the rebounding front, where Iona was outrebounded 44-38 and gave up 15 offensive caroms, making head coach Tobin Anderson flabbergasted at times. Fortunately, the Gaels were able to get some back toward the end to save some face.
“Big strong five guys haven’t hurt us as much, but I thought they did tonight,” Anderson said, in direct reference to Eli Wilborn’s 13 rebounds. “We gave up 15 offensive rebounds tonight and a bunch to Hofstra. That has to stop.”
The veteran core led by Idan Tretout and Wheza Panzo was quiet tonight. Those two were a combined 3-for-17 from the field, as things rightfully gave way to the hot hand of Aranguren late. Instead, the most encouraging development from the veteran ranks was the inspiring play of Terrell Williams, who has surprisingly struggled to get involved in most games this season. Williams had his best performance of the season against Saint Francis, with nine points and seven rebounds.
“I thought he gave us great minutes and brought us a lot of energy,” Anderson said about Williams. I was really about Terrell Williams. That’s a great piece moving forward.”
Anderson sat Joel Brown for an extended stretch in the second half, but that had more to do with the strong play of the freshman guards, according to Anderson. For what it’s worth, Brown is in a funk and did not score these last two games, but there’s still a bigger picture for him and the integral role he assumes on defense.
“The biggest impact for him is defensively,” Anderson said about Brown. “He’s got to be a great guy in our press because that’s where he impacts the game.”
The full-court press remains a staple, even on days like this where mega-athlete Greg Gordon was sidelined due to conduct detrimental to the team. According to Anderson, the air has been cleared with that and Gordon is set to return to practice on Monday. Iona can only dream about what the press will look like at full-strength, with both Gordon and Osborn Shema, who has been medically cleared to play after injuring his knee during the preseason. Anderson said the first team all-MAAC selection would only make his season debut Saturday against Saint Joseph’s if he feels fully comfortable.
“A lot of when you hurt your knee is your mental state,” Anderson said. “How do you feel playing, cutting, and all of that stuff. He looks good doing it, but it’s just if he’s comfortable.”
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