Iona's Dexter Gray scored a career-high 21 points and pulled down six rebounds to help lead the visiting Gaels to a 57-52 win over Canisius College in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action Monday night in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win improves Iona to 11-17 overall and 7-9 in the MAAC, while the Golden Griffins dropped their fifth straight and slipped to 4-22 overall and 2-14 in league play.
For Canisius, freshman Greg Logins (pictured) scored a career-high 18 points and added seven boards to lead the Blue and Gold, while teammate Frank Turner posted 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 40 minutes of action.
Canisius trailed 55-52 with 46 seconds left to play after Turner hit a pair of free throws for two of his 15 points. Following a Canisius timeout, Iona tried to run the clock down and ended up missing a 3-point attempt of its own with 13 seconds to play. The Griffs took their final timeout with three seconds left on the clock, but were unable to get a shot off after the officials ruled Pawel Malesa was out-of-bounds when he received the ensuing inbounds pass. The Griffs fouled Gray before Iona could inbound the ball, and the senior forward hit two shots from the charity stripe to seal the victory.
“I thought we played well enough to win tonight,” Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. “We had opportunities to tie the game with some wide-open looks, but we didn't knock them down. Our guys got good looks at the basket, and I expect them to make those shots. Those guys know that's their role and they expect to make those too. We just haven't learned to step up and knock down big shots in the clutch.”
Canisius took a 49-48 lead with 3:59 left after Logins pulled down an offensive rebound and hit a jump-hook in the lane. Iona was able to take the lead back moments later after Gray hit a pair of free throws to make the score 50-49. Canisius guard Jovan Robinson knotted the game at 50-50 with 3:16 left in the game after he hit one-of-two free throws, but Iona regained the lead at 52-50 following a jumper by Gray with 2:19 to play.
Canisius shot 35.2 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from behind the arc and 54.5 percent from the free-throw line in the game, while holding Iona to 35.8 percent from the field, the 11th time this season the Blue and Gold held its opponent under 40 percent from the floor. Iona ended the game with a 39-35 advantage on the glass, highlighted by Gary Springer's game-high 10 rebounds.
The Griffs will close out the home portion of the 2007-08 schedule Saturday, Feb. 23, when the team plays host to Albany in the Koessler Athletic Center. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m., and prior to the game, Canisius will honor its lone senior, Pawel Malesa, who will be making his final home appearance in Blue and Gold.
Game Notes: Iona sweeps the regular-season series with the win and takes a 25-24 lead in the all-time series between the two schools... Logins hit a career-high seven field goals and four 3-pointers en route to his 18 points... In his last six games, Logins is averaging 11.2 points per game... Canisius attempted 28 3-point field goals, the 21st time this year the team has shot 20-plus times from behind the arc... Turner's seven assists gives him 282 for his career, leaving him three assist shy of 13th all-time in school history... Junior guard Bob Bevilacqua played in a career-high 38 minutes... Tomas Vazquez-Simmons was credited with three blocked shots to make him the second Canisius player in school history to collect 70 blocks in a season.
