New Rochelle, N.Y. (January 14, 2024)—Mount St. Mary's fell at Iona, 87-70, in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action on Sunday afternoon. The Gaels scored 52 points in the second half to pull away for the victory.
Dakota Leffew ked the Mount with 20 points and five assists while
George Tinsley added 11 points and five boards.
Joshua Reaves and
Terrell Ard, Jr., chipped in nine points each in the loss.
Patrick Haigh hit a three-pointer in the second half for his first collegiate points for the Mount as well.
Greg Gordon led Iona with 26 points and six boards while Wheza Panzo chipped in 14 points, hitting 4-of-5 from three-point range. Osborn Shema contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for Iona as well. Idan Tretout (13) and Jeremiah Quigley (10) also reached double figures in scoring.
Iona shot 52.3 percent from the field in the game, including 63.6 percent (21-of-33) in the second half. The Gales connected on 8-of-17 (.471) from three-point range. The Mount shot 44.6 percent overall and hit 8-of-22 (.364) from beyond the arc. Iona held a 38-30 rebounded edge and was +6 (11-to-5) in turnover margin.
The second half was a high-tempo affair with the teams combining for 54 points over the first eight minutes of the half. The Gaels pushed the lead to seven on a couple of occasions, but the Mountaineers responded to cut the deficit to 60-59 on a
Dallas Hobbs three-pointer. Iona answered with the next seven points, and eventually pulled ahead by 11, 74-63, with 7:03 left in regulation. From there, Iona was able to keep the Mount at bay the rest of the game.
The Mountaineers got off to the early lead, taking a 10-4 advantage in the opening seven minutes. Leffew had seven of those 10 points, including a three-pointer to cap the run. Iona responded with the next 10 points to take a 14-10 lead. The Gaels scored the final eight points of the run off four Mount turnovers.
The Mountaineers fought back, evening the game at 22-22 after a Leffew step-back three-pointer. A Tinsley jumper in the lane tied it at 26-26, but Iona was able to close out the half with a 35-30 lead.
The Mount shot 42.8 percent in the opening half, but was just 2-of-11 (.182) from beyond the three-point arc. Iona shot 40.6 percent, but scored 10 points off eight Mount turnovers in the opening stanza.
UP NEXT: The Mount returns to Knott Arena for a pair of games next weekend. The Mountaineers host Marist at 7 p.m. on Friday, January 19, and Niagara on Sunday, January 21, at 2:00 p.m. Click
HERE for ticket information.
