MAAC Basketball Championship Spotlights: Iona Gaels
MAAC Sports
EDISON, N.J. – With the 2015 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships quickly approaching, the league will begin to spotlight each of its 11 member institutions’ men’s and women’s programs leading up to championship week. Today’s school scheduled to be featured is Iona College.
Iona Men’s Basketball
Preseason Poll Pick vs. Current Standing (as of Feb. 17):
Iona was selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship according to a vote of the league’s 11 head coaches. The Gaels, who have appeared in the last two MAAC Championship title games, received six of the 11 first-place votes. Head coach Tim Cluess’ team is currently living up to the preseason expectations, as the Gaels find themselves in sole possession of first place with a 14-2 mark in league play, and a 21-6 overall record.
Player to Watch: A.J. English
Averaging 19.5 points per game through 26 contests, junior guard A.J. English ranks second on the Gaels in scoring behind Preseason Player of the Year, David Laury. The average also ranks third in the MAAC and 19th in the NCAA, while his 5.5 assists per game leads the league. A Preseason All-MAAC First Team selection, English has been instrumental in Iona’s success this season having notched 20 or more points in 13 games.
Top Play of 2014-15 (as of Feb. 17): Watch Here
Breakthrough Performance(s) (as of Feb. 17):
Freshman Schadrac Casimir went off for 40 points against Delaware State on Nov. 26 to set an Iona rookie record and lead the Gaels to a 126-76 victory in nonconference action. He shot 11-for-13 from the field, 8-of-9 on three point attempts, and 10-of-12 from the line. The eight three-point field goals at that time broke an Iona rookie record, which Casimir would later reset by knocking down nine treys against Marist (Feb. 8). Casimir is a seven-time MAAC Rookie of the Week, and was named the league’s Player of the Week on Dec. 15.
Iona Women’s Basketball
Preseason Poll Pick vs. Current Standing (as of Feb. 17):
Iona was picked to finish third according to the 2014-15 Coaches’ Preseason Poll, which was announced prior to the start of the season. Currently, the Gaels are tied for third in the league standings with an 11-5 mark in conference play, while standing at 14-11 overall. Using a five-game win streak to start off the month of January, the Gaels were able to push their league record to an impressive 8-2 to kick off the conference slate. Iona has split its last six contests (3-3), however, after meeting up with league leader, Quinnipiac, and Marist, who is second in the conference standings, during a 10-day stretch.
Player to Watch: Damika Martinez
A three-time MAAC scoring champion and two-time MAAC Player of the year, senior guard Damika Martinez is just three points away from becoming the all-time leading scorer in MAAC history. On Nov. 16, Martinez became Iona’s all-time leading scorer after pouring in 37 points against Sacred Heart in nonconference action. The senior also made history earlier in the season as she became the MAAC’s all-time leader in three-point field goals. Martinez currently leads the league in scoring with 24.0 points per game, which is good for third in the NCAA.
Top Play of 2014-15 (as of Feb. 16): Watch Here
Breakthrough Performance(s) (as of Feb. 16):
In the Gaels’ overtime loss at Monmouth on Dec. 7, junior forward Joy Adams grabbed 26 rebounds to tie the MAAC single-game record and set a new Iona standard. The only other time a MAAC student-athlete grabbed 26 boards was during the 1982 season when Katrina Fields of Fairfield University also accomplished the feat. The 26 rebounds are tied for the third best single-game total by a player this season in NCAA Division I.
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The next spotlight, set to be released on Wednesday, Feb. 18, will feature the Manhattan Jaspers men’s and women’s programs.
The 2015 season culminates at the 2015 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York, March 5-9. Tickets for the championships are available online at ticketmaster.com.
For the full men’s basketball schedule, visits maacsports.com and remember to follow the conversation on twitter using #MAACHoops and #MAACHoops15.