Grown Up And In Control Of The MAAC

After all the criticism, Tim Cluess and Iona are back in sole possession of MAAC lead at 11-2 in conference play.  (Photo courtesy of New York Daily News)


For anyone who doubted Iona College; after their meltdown four weeks ago against Manhattan, after their inexplicable road loss against Siena, even after the loss to Hofstra in December that all but eliminated any shot of the Gaels receiving an at-large bid in this year's NCAA Tournament, their performance Saturday night serves notice that the road to the MAAC championship runs first through New Rochelle before ending in Springfield.


Following an electrifying 105-86 victory over Canisius Thursday night in which Momo Jones threatened a school record with his 43 points, the Gaels backed it up at Draddy Gym with an 85-73 road win against Manhattan.  For a team who was emotionally deflated after blowing an 18-point lead in the final eight minutes against the Jaspers on their home court, it was more than just a pick-me-up as the Gaels enter a stretch run that includes contests with MAAC contenders Loyola and Fairfield, as well as a BracketBuster showdown with Nevada.


"We can't take a night off because everybody's shooting," said Iona coach Tim Cluess.  "Teams are going to play well against us."


Manhattan certainly played well, cutting yet another 18-point lead to just nine in the final minutes before the Gaels regained control and capped off what could be their biggest win of the season with a Scott Machado dunk in front of a Manhattan student section that had directed unflattering chants toward the visitors from Westchester County from the moment Iona took the court for their pregame shootaround.  "We love the attention," said Machado; who finished with 18 points and nine assists, "but at the same time, we've got to live up to it."


Now at 19-5 on the year and 11-2 in MAAC play, the attention Machado speaks of will be magnified even more; almost to the extent it was at before the season even started, when most insiders were pegging the Gaels as a team on the precipice of a long run in March before nonconference losses to Marshall and Hofstra changed the perception of some of the pundits.  Thirteen games through an impressive MAAC slate later, the Gaels are slowly regaining their respect while in the process becoming a better and more fundamentally sound team.  "We've grown up in that we've finished off the last several games better," said Cluess after the Manhattan game that senior forward Mike Glover credited the sellout crowd in Riverdale for "motivating us to play harder."


Glover leads the team in scoring and rebounding with averages of 18.5 points and nine rebounds per game, but the man who makes the motor run is Machado.  A product of St. Benedict's Prep in New Jersey, Machado actually played his freshman year for Cluess at St. Mary's High School on Long Island before transferring to the national powerhouse coached at the time by current Wagner head man Dan Hurley.  A potential first team All-American this season, Machado is arguably the best point guard in the nation.  Averaging a double-double with 13.6 points and ten assists per game, Machado is the collegiate Steve Nash; a gifted scorer, but also an equally proficient passer.  "He's as good as anyone," Manhattan coach Steve Masiello said of Machado.  "He's the best point guard in the country, bar none. He makes the four guys around him better."


The attention Machado and the Gaels have to live up to even more so now than ever before will be focused on Iona once again this Friday night in Baltimore, when they travel to the Reitz Arena to face Loyola for the second time this season.  The first time these two schools met was on January 15th at the Hynes Center in New Rochelle, where Iona shook off a lackluster first half in their first game since the Manhattan loss to come alive during the final stanza on the way to a 74-63 victory over Jimmy Patsos and the Greyhounds.