Iona Advances To Title Game, Defeats Canisius 75-72
MAAC Sports
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior guard Sean Armand scored 21 points to help top-seeded Iona defeat 4th-seeded Canisius 75-72 today in the semifinals of the 2014 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at the Mass Mutual Center.
The victory propels Iona into Monday’s championship game, where it will No. 2 seed Manhattan, which defeated Quinnipiac 87-68 in the second semifinal. It is the second straight year that Iona and Manhattan will meet in the MAAC Championship's title game.
Iona (22-11) led through most of the game and held a 70-60 advantage when David Laury hit a pair of free throws with 4:21 remaining.
Canisius (21-10) then scored 10 unanswered points over the next 2:15, including nine from senior guard Billy Baron, to tie the score at 70-70 with 2:06 left.
Laury hit a layup with 0:56 left, and Armand sank the front end of a two shot foul with 0:28 left to give Iona a 73-70 lead. Canisius answered with a Chris Manhertz dunk off a nifty pass from Baron to cut the Iona lead to 73-72 with nine seconds left.
After a Canisius timeout, Iona inbounded to Tre Bowman, who was fouled by Zach Lewis. Bowman sank both free throws, which were separated by a Canisius timeout. On the Golden Griffs’ final possession, a three-point field goal by Baron fell just short.
Bowman and Isaiah Williams each added 16 points for the Gaels , and A.J. English scored 12. The 6-9 Laury scored four points, 10 below his season average, but was effective inside with 12 rebounds and a blocked shot. Laury also contributed four assists.
Baron, the MAAC's Pepsi Player of the Year, scored a game-high 23 points for the Griffs, while Manhertz added 15 points and 13 rebounds. Lewis scored 13 points and Chris Perez added 12 for Canisius.
The Gaels broke out to a 16-8 lead in the first half, 3:48 into the game. Iona hit four of its first five three-point field goal attempts to help establish the early lead.
Canisius battled back to outscore the Gaels 20-12 over the next 7:44 to tie the score at 28-28 with 8:28 left in the first half. The Golden Griffins took the lead twice later in the first half, and held a 39-38 advantage with 3:02 left after Dominque Raney’s three-pointer.
Iona then outscored Canisius 10-2 over the next 2:32 to take a 48-41 lead at the half.