SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The champs will get the chance to defend their crown.
Top-seeded Iona advanced to its third MAAC Championship game in four years after surviving an entertaining back-and-forth battle with No. 4 Canisius on Sunday in the MAAC Tournament semifinal at the MassMutual Center, holding on for a 75-72 win.
The Gaels (22-9) awaited the winner of Sunday night’s No. 2 Manhattan/No. 3 Quinnipiac in Monday’s title game, looking for their third straight NCAA Tournament trip. Iona, winners of 14 of its past 15 games, is trying to become the first back-to-back champion and No. 1 seed to win the title since Siena (2010).
“This is what we’ve worked for the whole year,” said senior Sean Armand, who scored a team-high 21 points. “That was the goal from the beginning.”
That goal seemed guaranteed after building a 12-point second-half lead, but the overexcited Gaels bench was quieted by Canisius’ Billy Baron, who scored 16 of his 23 points in the final 13 minutes.
Baron’s free throws with 1:28 left capped a 10-0 Canisius run, tying the game at 70, and creating elements of BYU déjà vu — when Iona blew a 24-point lead in the NCAA Tournament in 2012 — but Iona forward David Laury came through with the most important of his 12 rebounds on the next possession, converting an offensive putback for his only field goal — with 59 seconds left – to regain the lead.
After two Tre Bowman free throws extended the lead to three with 5.2 seconds remaining, Baron’s game-tying 3-point attempt fell short at the buzzer.
“We just locked back in and we just refocused,” said Laury. “I don’t think we ever get too caught up in the moment. We just try to focus on the goal. … My shot wasn’t falling, I was in foul trouble, so I was just trying to make game-winning plays.”
Before the big lead was blown, Iona opened as it almost always does, wowing the crowd with its fast-paced attack and hitting 8-of-10 shots to open the game.
Canisius (21-12) willingly accepted the invitation and stretched the sprint into a marathon, with the teams passing the baton back and forth. A 3-pointers begat more 3-pointers, fast breaks outnumbered fouls and leads became optical illusions, vanishing as quickly as they appeared.
There was no fatigue and no reason to stop. Neither team could stop the other.
While Zach Lewis scored 11 of Canisius’ first 20 points, Armand knocked down his first five shots, scoring 17 of his 20 points in the first half, which he ended with a turnaround jumper at the buzzer, giving Iona a 48-41 lead, after hitting over 61 percent from the field.
The senior has been in enough big games not to be overwhelmed anymore, but even he realizes how different this championship game will be.
“You just know it’s your last shot out there,” said Armand. “It can be your last time playing with your teammates.”
The dais filled with optimism and elation soon turned to disappointment, as Baron — the MAAC Player of the Year — realized his collegiate career might be over.
“I’m just trying to figure out how to deal with this one,” said Baron. “I’d take one MAAC trophy for a million of those player of the year things.”