Gaels First Round Extravaganza

March 10th kicked off the 2020 Hercules Tires MAAC Championship Tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The 7thseeded Iona Gaels hosted the 10thseed Canisius Golden Griffs for the opening round. It was a thriller and nail-bitter to watch for both sides as Canisius played gritty defense and Iona scored off turnovers and getting to the line. The entire game was a back and forth affair with the turnout of the Gaels claiming victory with final score of 70-60.

EJ Crawford and Isaiah Washington combined for 49 points on sloid efficiency from the field as well. In addition, both players were on pure perfection from the charity stripe; Washington hit 9 of 9 and Crawford 10 of 10. The Gaels has a team shot 25 of 27 from the line, which was one the key reasons in capturing their victory. Crawford’s polished mid-range game came through for him, while Washington was able to take defenders off the dribble to able to draw fouls and convert and-one opportunities. Furthermore, the team scored 15 points off turnovers and grabbed 30 defensive rebounds. Gaels were able to outscore Canisius 34-28 in the second half.

For Canisius, Corey Brown was team’s leading scorer with 16 points to go along with nine rebounds, including four offense rebounds. However, he only converted 2 out of his nine free throw attempts. Malik Johnson was able to shred the Iona defense picking 13 points and six assists. Unfortunately, the Golden Griffs struggled from the field only knocking down 22 of 62 shots and hit 11 of 22 from the free throw line. Despite the team playing great defense by pick-pocketing the Gaels with seven steals, it wasn’t enough to secure the win.

The Gaels will face the second seed St. Peter’s Peacocks on Thursday as they continue to chase for their fifth straight MAAC Title.