Manhattan 78 – Iona 74
Few gave Manhattan much of a chance to win the MAAC once star C.J. Anderson was suspended for the season and senior Kenny Minor missed 10 games with a broken hand.
Fewer gave the Jaspers any chance to rally down eight with five minutes left in their title-deciding regular-season finale against favored Iona.
Few except the players who pulled off the upset. It made last night that much more delicious, made their 78-74 come-from-behind win that much sweeter, a victory that brought the sellout crowd charging onto the Draddy Gym floor.
“That was our greatest accomplishment since I’ve been here. It was a classic underdog story and they never quit,” said coach Bobby Gonzalez, who saw his Jaspers (18-9, 14-4 MAAC) earn the crown and the double-bye into Sunday’s 6 p.m. MAAC semis. All three teams to receive it have won the tourney.
“It’s what New York basketball is all about. It was a great atmosphere, the toughest ticket in New York for a day. It was great for Manhattan, great for the league. It was a fairy tale ending for us and great for New York basketball,” said Gonzalez.
In a 55-foul slugfest that was more hard work than a work of art, Iona’s Gary Springer had to be restrained from going after center Arturo Dubois one minute in. In the end, it was the Jaspers who closed the game on an 18-6 run, switching from man to zone, box-and-one to triangle-and-two on every possession for the win.
“When we first lost C.J., we were like deer in headlights. But we came back and said we’re going to suck it up, stay together and keep our heads,” said point guard Jason Wingate, who helped the Jaspers go 7-4 after losing Anderson and made the biggest plays of last night against Iona star Steve Burtt.
Behind Burtt (game-high 24 points) and fellow seniors Ricky Soliver, Marvin McCullough and Kiril Wachsmann, Iona (20-7, 13-5) led 68-60 with 5:37 left. But the Jaspers hit 5-of-6 shots and 7-of-8 free throws, and forced five turnovers.
Wingate’s right-wing 3- pointer started the run, and when Burtt picked up his fourth foul with 2:31 to play, Mike Konovelchick’s foul shot knotted it at 70. Wingate blew by the hesitant Burtt for a layup, and then closed down Burtt’s drive, prompting him to throw the ball away for a backcourt violation.
When Burtt tried to drive on Iona’s next trip down, Wingate got his feet planted and drew a huge charge with 1:50 left.
Jeff Xavier (23 points) hit a free throw 24 seconds later to push the run to 14-2 and the lead to 74-70. Iona never recovered, betrayed by 11 missed foul shots and 19 turnovers.
“Sometimes I can be a little out of control, make mistakes down the stretch. That’s something I’ve got to work on,” said Burtt.
“We had a lead with a senior team. We’re supposed to know how to put the game away, and we wind up throwing it off the back of our heads,” lamented Iona coach Jeff Ruland.
