NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- Iona forwards Gary Dexter and Gary Springer combined to score 38 of Iona's 66 points as the host Gaels defeated Canisius 66-59 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball action Friday night in New Rochelle, N.Y. The win was Iona's third straight and improved the team to 10-15 overall and 6-7 in MAAC action, while the Golden Griffins slipped to 4-19 overall and 2-11 in league play.
Canisius was led in scoring by sophomore guard Frank Turner (right), who posted all 12 of his points in the second half. Freshman Elton Frazier added 11 points for the Blue and Gold, while senior Pawel Malesa chipped in eight points off the bench.
"The effort was there tonight, but we are struggling to make shots right now," Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. "I thought we came out in the second half and played hard, but they hurt us a little with their inside game. Gray and Springer are big and strong, and when they got seperation in the paint, they were able to score."
Canisius opened the second half with a 14-4 run to turn a 32-23 halftime deficit into a 37-36 lead with 16:02 left on the clock. During that run, Turner scored seven points and freshman Rishawn Johnson converted a traditional three-point play as the Blue and Gold took its first lead of the game since the 8:18 mark of the first half when the team held an 18-16 advantage. That lead would be short lived however, as the Gaels went on a 10-0 of their own to take a 46-37 lead with 12:46 left to play, capped by a 3-pointer by guard Milan Prodanovic. Prodanovic finished the night with 11 points for Iona after he went 3-for-6 from behind the 3-point line, with all three of those makes coming in a span of 3:40 to help Iona push its hold to 54-44 with 9:06 left in regulation time.
The Griffs were able to cut Iona's cushion to four after Malesa hit a 3-point field goal from the left corner with 44 seconds left to make the score 63-59, but the Gaels sealed the win by hitting 3-of-6 charity tosses in the game's final 43 seconds.
Canisius held an 18-15 lead with 10:09 left to play in the first half after Bob Bevilacqua nailed a 3-pointer from the wing for three of his eight points. From there, Iona outscored Canisius 17-5 to close out the first half, with Jovan Robinson scoring all of the Griffs' points duirng the final 10:03 of the stanza with two made free throws and a 3-point field goal. The Gales 17-5 run was powered by Gray and Springer, who tallied 10 of those points for the Gaels, highlighted by Springer's six points in a span of 6:04. For the game, the Griffs shot 37.3 percent from the floor, 34.8 percent from 3-point land and 59.1 percent from the free-throw line in the loss. Iona shot 39.3 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range, and 58.6 percent from the line while holding a 41-34 advantage on the glass, led by Springer's game-high 14 rebounds.
Johnson and Robinson posted seven points apiece in the loss for the Griffs, while freshman forward Tomas Vazquez-Simmons was credited with a game-high five blocked shots. The road loss was Canisius' 16th straight, dating back to last season.
The Griffs will return to action Sunday, Feb. 10, when the team meets Manhattan. Tip-off in the Draddy Gymnasium is set for 2 p.m.
Game Notes: The game was delayed 25 minutes because the Iona-Fairfield women's game went to three overtimes... Iona snapped a two-game losing streak to Canisius with the win and evened the all-time series at 24-24... Vazquez-Simmons now has five-plus blocks in four games this season... Turner has been the team's leading scorer in 11 games this year... Canisius has allowed its last two opponents (Iona and Loyola) to score 30 points apiece in the paint.
