ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — It’s tough to play a complete 40-minute basketball game, especially in a postseason setting. It’s even tougher when your three best players are all fasting to observe Ramadan.
“All three of us were fasting for the month of Ramadan,” Iona senior guard Dejour Reaves said following the Gaels’ 77-65 win over Manhattan Thursday night. “So I feel like that gave us more confidence to go out there and play knowing that we got God on our side.”
But head coach Tobin Anderson wanted to clarify that he wasn’t.
“I’m not fasting,” he interjected with a smile.
Reaves — along with backcourt partner Adam Njie, Jr. and forward Yaphet Moundi — all had phenomenal games. All three played on empty stomachs, something Anderson finds even more phenomenal.
“Pretty impressive, right?” Anderson said. “You gotta admire how loyal they are, how disciplined they are, right? And they’re really good kids.”
Anderson also shared that the Iona stars are getting help from one of the members of their training staff. Mohamed Magassa, an athletic training intern for Iona, is also observing Ramadan and has helped keep Reaves, Njie and Moundi in shape.
“We also have a director of Ramadan, Mohamed, our assistant trainer who’s traveled with us,” Anderson said. “He’s excellent. He also is fasting, he’s helping the guys on getting up in the morning, drinking, eating, all that kind of stuff.”
It was pretty clear that these three players, who combined for 67 of the team’s 77 points, all came in with a passion. Reaves had one of his biggest games of the season, scoring a team-high 28 points, 18 of which came from behind the arc. Njie (16 points, nine assists) and Moundi (23 points, eight rebounds) had their bright spots for a team ready for Friday’s quick turnaround against top-seeded Quinnipiac.
“I know I can do it,” Moundi said about how he feels his level of physicality will meet the Bobcats’ own. “I’m just going to show you tomorrow.”
Sure, some of their regular season wins hadn’t been pretty, but for the team to grind out a second half that saw them grab 21 rebounds is something that the Jaspers had to tip their hat to.
“Credit to them for making an adjustment,” Manhattan senior forward Wesley Robinson said. “We tried to pack the paint, they started hitting outside shots. So credit to them.”
The Gaels will need their three stars to bring the same energy for their semifinal bout with the Bobcats, a team that can rebound the ball as good as anyone in the nation and bested Anderson’s squad twice in the regular season.
“We have to be locked in mentally, locked in preparation-wise,” Anderson said. “That’s the most important thing, like, how I feel, what I say, is not as important as how they feel. We have a bunch of guys who really believe in each other, believe what’s going on, believe in our staff and what’s happening.”
That belief was tested for a bit. The Jaspers’ strong close to the first half carried over to the second. A 14-2 run — catapulted by some impressive shots by Njie — sent Manhattan into a tailspin that was too tough to come back from.
“They hit shots that sometimes I didn’t see them hit all year,” Manhattan head coach John Gallagher said. “People don’t give enough credit to the opponent. Give credit to Iona, Tobin did a great job. Their players did a great job.”
MAAC Rookie of the Year Will Sydnor was held to just two points, both of which came at the free throw line. Gallagher credited this to how the Gaels defended his dribble, and is confident both Sydnor and his program will use this as a stepping stone into next season.
“Tonight doesn’t erase the steps we made this year,” Gallagher said. “I really believe we’ll circle this game. I do not view this as a bad year because we didn’t do something, I view this looking into the future.”
So for the Gaels, it comes down to faith, the confidence that they can compete with a trip to the MAAC title game on the line, and the discipline off the court that Anderson kept praising.
“Those guys played a lot of minutes tonight, so get some fluids and get ready for tomorrow,” Anderson said.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.