DAYTON, Ohio —When Scott Machado was asked how he felt after Iona had blown a 25-point lead against BYU and having his collegiate career end with the biggest collapse in NCAA tournament history, it wasn’t hard to describe.
“It [stinks],’’ Machado said bluntly after Tuesday night’s shocking 78-72 first-round loss. “It [stinks]. When we’re trying to win a game like this, we all have to make the little things happen. If we’re missing layups and wide”‘-open shots . . . We have to make those go down. We can’t have the second half that we had.’’
The Gaels’ second half was as putrid as their first half was perfect. BYU played into their hands and they were off and running, leading 49-24. But after fast-breaking their way to 55 points through the first 16 minutes, the nation’s highest-scoring offense was slowed to just 17 the rest of the way.
Iona, which finished its season at 25-8, got out in transition and shot a scalding 58.5 percent in the first half. But BYU coach Dave Rose went zone in the second, and the Gaels got off a dozen fewer shots mired in the halfcourt, held to a season-low 24.1 percent.
“We’ve had a couple of these losses this year like that, and it really stems from the fact when we don’t make shots, we’re not the same type of team. We’re a small team,’’ said coach Tim Cluess. “We weren’t good enough in the second half to withstand that comeback.’’
The Gaels had blown a 17-point cushion against Manhattan on Jan. 12 and an 18-point lead vs. Siena 11 days later. On Tuesday, the lead — and the stage — was bigger.
“I did feel like we did [get] over that and we haven’t had that happen in a while,’’ said Machado. “We forgot how that was, and we just let this one slip right by us.’’
Cluess said he had no excuses.
“It’s going to be one that we have to live with the rest of our lives, that we had an opportunity to win and advance,’’ he said. “Had we been able to make one or two [plays], even late in the game [we could’ve won] . . . It’s a tough one we let get away.’’
Machado did give praise to BYU star Noah Hartock, who had a game-high 23 points. He and the Cougars (26-8) take on Marquette today in the second round in Louisville.
“He was just shooting right over us,’’ Machado said. “His length was just hard to guard. When we’re not making shots, it’s hard to be able to press like we were in the first half. It’s hard for us to get stops at that end because we’re so small.’’
Looking ahead to next season, Iona loses its only real size in senior Mike Glover, who is listed at 6-foot-7 but clearly is smaller. The Gaels bring in Ice Asortse, a 6-7, 240-pound JUCO transfer, and lanky 6-7 forward DaJuan Williams. But if the Gaels hope to build on Cluess’ impressive 50-20 two-year start in New Rochelle, they need to get bigger or risk coming up small in the postseason.