Iona was in a precarious position.
All season long, Scott Machado has guided the Gaels seamlessly, but with 6:40 left in the second half of last night’s game against Fairfield, the senior point guard picked up his fourth foul with Iona clinging to a two-point lead at the Hynes Center.
Quiet all game, sophomore sharpshooter Sean Armand stepped up with three 3-pointers, scoring 15 of a team-high 17 points in a five-minute stretch, to lead Iona to a 77-72 win and the Gaels’ first MAAC regular-season championship since 2001.
“I told coach I wanted the ball,” Armand said. “Scott’s our leader, but I got to grow up. He’s not going to be here next year.”
Starting with back-to-back 3-pointers, Armand almost single-handedly turned a 58-56 deficit into a 71-65 lead just as Machado returned with under three minutes remaining. Armand continued a scintillating six-game stretch in which he has averaged 16.7 points and 3.8 3-pointers per game on 50 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
“I wish I could shoot like him honestly,” Machado said. “He’s an unbelievable shooter, one of the best in college basketball. Any given night, anyone’s able to step up. We have that type of firepower. Tonight was just a night that Sean stepped up.”
Iona (23-6, 14-3 MAAC) has won four straight games, and eight of nine, and will finish the regular season tomorrow at home against St. Peter’s. As the No. 1 seed, Iona’s first game in the MAAC tournament comes in the quarterfinals next Saturday in Springfield, Mass.
“It’s a great accomplishment for the team,” Iona coach Tim Cluess said. “These guys don’t realize it now, but when they come in as alumni someday and they look up and see that banner, it’s going to be something they’re going to have for the rest of their life. I’m happy, but they realize there’s more ahead.”
Fairfield (17-12, 12-5) led through most of the first half, but most of the second half was a middleweight boxing match, with the teams matching baskets, taking leads as often as they took shots.
Machado, who finished with 10 points and seven assists, opened the game 0-for-6 from the field, but turned the momentum with Iona down 42-34 early in the second half by hitting a 3-pointer and a three-point play that sparked a 10-0 run.
The Stags were led by forward Rakim Sanders, who had a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds.
