Location: Hynes Athletic Center – New Rochelle, N.Y.

Starters: G - #1 Malcolm McMillan; G - #5 Kassius Robertson; G - #23 Jamal Reynolds; F - #22 Phil Valenti; C - #14 Kevin Bleeker

Game Recap
Iona senior A.J. English scored 22 of his game-high 25 points in the game's second half and the host Gaels shot 60.7 percent in the game's final 20 minutes en route to an 86-78 win over Canisius Sunday afternoon in the Hynes Athletic Center in New Rochelle, N.Y. With the win, Iona finishes the regular-season with a 19-10 overall record and a 16-4 mark in MAAC play, while the Golden Griffins enter next week's MAAC Championship tournament with a 13-18 overall mark and an 8-12 record in conference action.

Canisius will be the No. 7 seed in next week's tournament, where the team is scheduled to play No. 10 seed Niagara on Thursday, March 3. Tipoff of that first round game is scheduled for 7 p.m., in the Times Union Center. The winner of that game will advance to meet No. 2 seeded Iona on Friday, March 4, with tipoff set for 9:30 p.m., on ESPN3.

For Canisius, sophomore Kassius Robertson scored a team-high 24 points on the power of six made 3-point field goals. The six makes from behind the line for Robertson are a new career high. Junior forward Phil Valenti added 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, while senior Malcolm McMillan was good for 11 points, three boards and three assists as well. Canisius shot 40.3 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3-point range after knocking down 15 treys, but Iona shot 52.6 percent from the field and 85 percent from the free-throw line, while outrebounding the Blue and Gold by a 36-32 clip.

How It Happened:
• Canisius came out of the gates red-hot, and led Iona by as many as 11 points at 31-20 with 5:03 left in the first half. In the game's first 15 minutes, the Griffs made seven 3-pointers, capped by a trey from freshman Chris Atkinson that gave the Blue and Gold their largest lead of the contest.
• Iona chipped into Canisius' cushion and got within four points at 37-33 with 34 seconds before halftime, but a 3-pointer from Robertson with nine ticks left on the clock in the game's opening half pushed the Griffs up seven at 40-33. Iona was able to break out and score a quick hoop before the first half horn sounded to send the teams into the locker room with Canisius leading 40-35.
• In the second half, a lay-up from senior Jamal Reynolds put the Griffs up 52-48 with 14:06 left in the game, but five-straight points from English in the span of 55 seconds gave Iona its first lead of the game at 53-52. Canisius retook the lead moments later at 54-53 on a bucket by Valenti off a pass from Atkinson.
• Atkinson's corner trey with 11:38 left to play gave the Griffs a five-point cushion at 60-55, but then Iona took over, using a 20-3 run over the game's next 5:59 to make the score 75-63 in favor of the home team. In that scoring outburst, Iona guard Deyshonne Much and English combined to score 18 of Iona's 20 points, capped by a pair of free-throws by English with 5:10 left on the clock.
• Iona led 80-70 with 1:40 left to play, but five-straight points from Canisius, including a traditional three-point by Reynolds, got the Blue and Gold within five at 80-75 with 36 ticks left on the clock. English helped Iona seal the victory, as he drained four-straight free-throw chances in the game's closing 30 seconds for Iona's 11th home victory of the season.

Beyond the Box Score:
• Canisius' 15 makes from 3-point land are the second-most for the team in a game this season. Back on Dec. 4, Canisius tied a Koessler Athletic Center record with 16 treys in a win over Monmouth.
• The Griffs were credited with 16 assists on 27-made field goals in the loss. Six of the 10 Canisius players to see time on the floor on Sunday had multiple assists in the game, including McMillan, who had two or more assists in all 31 regular season contests.
• Both teams had 11 points off turnovers, and Canisius held a 16-10 advantage in second-chance points, but Iona out scored the Blue and Gold by a 19-2 clip in fastbreak points.
• Iona went to the free-throw line 20 times, making 17 of those tosses, while Canisius went 9-for-9 from the stripe. It marks the second time in three games where the Griffs have been perfect from the free-throw line. Canisius was 12-for-12 from the stripe in the home win over Marist back on Feb. 20.

Quotes from Canisius coach Jim Baron
"I told our guys in the locker room that we fought the good fight and we really played hard today. We just missed too many lay-ups and we tried to force too many jump shots down the stretch instead of going to the basket. We believe we are as good as anyone in this league. Today's effort shows that, in my opinion."

"As a staff, we stress the little things. You need to do the little tings to win road games, especially against a veteran team like Iona. You need to be solid with the ball when they start to press, and at times we were not. We didn't get much off the bench today, other than Chris Atkinson's efforts. I've said it before, we need a full team effort every time we play. When you're number is called, you'd better be ready to step in and play hard."

"We did a great job sharing the basketball. We had 16 assists on 27 made baskets. That's good ball movement for sure. We made a bunch of extra passes that got guys good open looks from three and we knocked them down today."

"A.J. English is a really tough player to guard because he is big and physical, and he controls so much for them. When he got that second foul in the first half, he had to go to the bench, but they were able to keep fighting. Give them credit, that's a really good team that has 19 wins. When he got rolling in the second half, and the game became a bit of a track meet, that's when they are at their best."

Additional Game Notes:
• This was the 68th all-time meeting between the two schools, with Iona leading the series 38-30.
• The Griffs fell to 7-22 all-time in Iona's Hynes Athletic Center.
• Robinson's six 3-point field goals are the most for a Canisius player in a game since former Griff Zach Lewis had eight 3-pointers in a win over Monmouth Jan. 2, 2015.
• Robertson ended the regular-season with 79 3-pointers, leaving him one triple shy of becoming just the fourth player in program history to make 80-plus threes in a single-season.
• Valenti's 15 points in the loss gives him double-figures in the scoring column in five-straight games and 20 contests this season.