Iona and Rick Pitino reach MAAC Tournament final with win over Niagara: 3 takeaways

ATLANTIC CITY - How often do you see a team shoot 57.1% in a first half, only to be knotted up at the break?

Despite Iona's solid shooting half, its trademark defense needed nearly 30 minutes to settle in.

Until then, the fifth-seeded Niagara Purple Eagles had the Gaels on upset alert, hanging tight and cracking all corners of the top-ranked defense in the MAAC.

Iona finally clamped down, and thanks to a big 12-2 run over a four-minute stretch, the Gaels were able to pull away for a 71-59 victory in Friday's MAAC Tournament semifinal.

"Props to Niagara, they were ready, they were incredibly coached," Iona coach Rick Pitino said of the Purple Eagles. "They took advantage of our weaknesses, but our toughness and pursuit of excellence in the second half — real proud of the guys."

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The Purple Eagles never made it easy though. After surrendering that big run, the Gaels had a four-minute scoring drought that allowed Niagara to close the gap, but it was unable to overtake the Gaels.

Nelly Junior Joseph broke the drought with a layup in the post, only to have a block by Berrick JeanLouis on the other end, before MAAC player of the year Walter Clayton Jr. hit a three-point dagger with 43 seconds left.

The game was knotted up at 35 apiece at halftime, thanks to a Walter Clayton Jr. three as the clock was winding down.

Niagara raced out to break the tie and snatch the lead, before the Gaels finally settled in. Junior Joseph and Clayton hit back-to-back shots with less than 12 minutes to go, which gave Iona the lead for good.

Clayton led the Gaels with 22 points, six rebounds, three assists, a block and two steals. Junior Joseph added 16 points, six boards and a block. Daniss Jenkins had 14 points and four boards.

For Niagara, Aaron Gray paced the Purple Eagles with 18 points. Noah Thomasson had 15 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Iona will play the winner of Marist/Saint Peter's in Saturday's championship game. Here are three takeaways from the Gaels win:

Junior Joseph finds groove at pivotal time

While he had a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double in Iona's quarterfinal win, he wasn't able to get his shots to drop until the game was well out of reach, struggling against Mount St. Mary's for a majority of the match.

On Friday, it seemed like another rare quiet game for the standout big man, until he broke through in the second half. After netting just two points in the first half against the Purple Eagles, Junior Joseph asserted himself after the break and scored 11 of the Gaels' first 15 points to help them sprint ahead.

Niagara didn't have any solutions for his 16-point outing, and the rest of the floor started to open up for his teammates as well.

"I very rarely, in tournament time, get on players," Pitino said. "I just try to stay positive tournament time, not like the regular season, but I had to get on Nelly and say, 'Son, you gotta wake up. You don't have a rebound? You got to get after it or we're going home.' He responded in a big way. He had our back, and he played a terrific second half. The players did a great job looking for him."

Sadiku Ibine Ayo's gives Iona spark off the bench

Iona's starting five, highlighted by its backcourt and Junior Joseph down low, has carried the Gaels far.

As the Gaels have dealt with various injuries and setbacks to different players at one time or another, some have stepped up in light of big opportunities to assist their team.

"Our first game, coach didn't put me in, but after the game, Berrick told me to stay ready, we're going to need you," Ibine Ayo said. "We went to practice yesterday, I worked hard, I know the team is going to need me, so anytime I get minutes I have to come out and play hard for everybody."

On Friday, it was freshman Sadiku Ibine Ayo, who gave Iona a needed spark off the bench. He accounted for all eight bench points for the Gaels and hit a couple of timely shots and free throws.

"Without him tonight, we don't win," Pitino said. "He was great as a freshman."

Iona not taking anything lightly

Before Friday's semifinal game, the rest of the MAAC Tournament bracket shaped up after an upset-filled quarterfinal.

Iona was the only team to avoid an upset, while all other top four seeds were eliminated. The path to the NCAA Tournament also became a lot more manageable for the Gaels. Outside of facing No. 8 Mount St. Mary's to start, the other remaining teams were the lowest-possible seeds.

The other side of the bracket featured No. 10 seed Saint Peter's and No. 11 seed Marist. The Gaels aren't too concerned, nor are they looking ahead.

"We don't worry about nothing that we can't control," Jenkins said. "All we worry about is us. We want to take it possession by possession, and whoever's in that next game, that's who we prepare for."

Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Iona basketball, Rick Pitino win and advance to MAAC championship