Iona fights back, grounds Peacocks to clinch MAAC tourney berth

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Iona walked away from its first meeting with Saint Peter’s a month ago learning about the Peacocks’ physicality the hard way.

When getting a second chance to assert themselves Friday, the Gaels simply beat Saint Peter’s at its own game.

Outscoring the Peacocks by a 38-20 margin in the paint, Iona steeled itself after losing a double-digit lead, regrouped after a game-winning shot at the end of regulation fell off the mark, and then left no doubt who the better team was after needing overtime to emerge with a 72-64 victory.

The win secures the final spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament for the Gaels, who were buoyed by 18 points each from CJ Anthony and Kosy Akametu, as well as a 14-point, 15-rebound double-double from Lamin Sabally, the seventh of the year for the senior.

“It’s been urgency for us since day one, you know what I mean?” Anthony said of what it took to defeat Saint Peter’s. “We went through a couple lumps, a couple bruises going through this season, but every time we come in here, it’s just urgency.”

“We all know how the season’s been going,” Akametu added. “But we just found a way to stay together. We trust each other on the court and we preach intensity every single day, so when we’re on that court, we know that we’re together. Whatever we gotta do to win, that’s what we gotta do.”

Iona (16-12, 8-9 MAAC) allowed Saint Peter’s to jump out of the gates quickly as the Peacocks opened an 8-2 head start in the initial minutes. The Gaels soon flexed their defensive muscle along with establishing their presence on the interior to fuel a 14-2 run that flipped momentum right back to the hosts.

“We took a different identity with the aggressiveness and our paint production,” head coach Dan Geriot said. “Lamin’s always a big part of that, but I loved Kosy’s downhill mindset. Even in this lull when we’ve lost a little bit here, (Akametu’s) been playing so well for us and really responded to a challenge. I love that about him, and I think that was a big piece of it.”

The Iona lead eventually reached 27-17 before Saint Peter’s (15-10, 12-5 MAAC) used a four-guard lineup to close the opening stanza on a 14-2 run. Behind the heady playmaking of Bryce Eaton and shooting of Brent Bland, head coach Bashir Mason utilized a combination of E.J. Morgan, Toks Bakare and Jahki Gupton alongside Eaton and Bland that was created largely due to a short rotation, but worked nonetheless.

“We’re dropping like flies right now at the worst time, so it wasn’t ideal,” Mason said on a night where both Lucas Scroggins and TJ Robinson were unavailable. “That’s not something we actually practiced. Just kind of the way Iona plays allowed us to just put four guys out there, and I was confident that we could guard them. We just weren’t able to really run the offense that we’re used to.”

Saint Peter’s would stretch its cushion to six points early in the second half, but a 15-2 Iona spurt tipped the scales back the way of the Gaels, where they would stay for a majority of the half before the Peacocks slowly whittled away, taking a two-point lead before Akametu tied the game at the free throw line, a possession followed by Anthony and Bland trading trifectas. From there, each side answered the other down the stretch, with Anthony’s three for the win falling off the mark at the horn and necessitating an extra five minutes.

“I think our coaches taught us to be very composed,” Anthony said of his mindset following the miss. “We’ve been in this situation too many times this season. We’ve got a lot of older guys on our team, so we just stayed poised and composed and calm. That’s what helped us get that win.”

Anthony and Akametu atoned for the squandered regulation win, scoring the first six points in overtime to put Iona ahead for good. A three-point play by Alliou Fall and driving layup by Denver Anglin serving as the de facto backbreakers that allowed the Gaels to book their postseason plans after Niagara lost to Mount St. Mary’s earlier in the night, eliminating the Purple Eagles from MAAC tournament contention.

“We’ve lost a lot of different ways this year, and all those experiences have kind of calloused us up,” Geriot assessed. “They’ve kind of made us fall back on what we believe in our foundations and our approach. We’re at that time of the year where we want uptick to happen, so we’re talking about it a lot and trying to make it so we’re in that environment and really confident in our aggressiveness and our style. I think we’re feeling that and understanding what’s in front of us, and I think we’ll keep building off it.”

Iona’s postseason appearance is secure, but as the Gaels head into a road showdown with conference leader Merrimack Sunday, there is no complacency within the locker room. Rather, there is an urge to be even more emboldened and committed to the standard of excellence in the program.

“I don’t think none of the guys are happy to be here,” Anthony said. “None of the guys are just coasting on this team. I feel like we all understand where we’re at. We understand what we gotta do to be a great team, we understand what we gotta do to honor the Iona legacy.”