Fairfield Tries for 4th Straight Win at Iona; Gaels Have Won 20 Straight at Hynes Athletic Center

The Fairfield University (3-3) men’s basketball team is seeking its fourth consecutive victory when it travels down I-95 to New Rochelle to face MAAC rival Iona‎ College (1-2) tomorrow night (Tuesday, December 1).

It’s the first conference game for both squads. Tip-off is at 7:00 pm at Hynes Athletics Center, where the Gaels have won 20 straight games on their home court for head coach Tim Cluess. WVOF Radio (88.5 FM) will broadcast with Bob Heussler delivering the play-by-play and former Stags great Joe DeSantis providing expert commentary.

The Stags have won three in a row under head coach Sydney Johnson to reach the .500 mark after the 0-3 start. Senior forward Marcus Gilbert (21.3 ppg) has had the hot hand with back-to-back 30-point games, including a career-high 33 in Friday night’s overtime victory over Columbia at Alumni Hall, a nip-and-tuck, 82-81, decision.

It was Gilbert’s second straight career-high performance, after pouring in 32 points in the blowout over the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore on (Tuesday) November 24.

Gilbert has been the complete package for the Stags while scoring from every angle – tomahawk jams, three-point field goals and clutch free throws all a part of the arsenal.

Complimenting Gilbert’s scoring barrages, the sophomore starting guard tandem of Tyler Nelson (12.3 ppg) and Jerome Segura (6.6 ppg) have a year under their belts, are playing with poise.

Three rookies – Jerry Johnson Jr. (9.8 ppg), Matija Milin (8.2 ppg) and Curtis Cobb (5.2 ppg) – are third, fourth and sixth on Fairfield’s scoring leader board. A fourth freshman, Jonathan Kasibabu, has paced the Stags’ on the boards with 6 rebounds a game, and chips in with 5 ppg. The Republic of Congo import by way of Pennsylvania has helped to pick up the slack in the absence of injured senior Amadou Sidibe.

Iona College earned its 20th straight win at the Hynes in a 92-77 victory over Delaware in non-conference action Friday night. Following back-to-back losses on the road at Valparaiso and Oregon State, the Gaels cured their shooting woes, connecting on 16 three-point field goals and more than 50% of their overall shot attempts.

Senior A.J. English broke out for a 25-point, 10-assist double-double to lead the Maroon & Gold.

Delaware led by as many as seven points early in the contest, hitting its first six field goal attempts and a pair of free throws. Iona’s hot shooting kept them in the game early as sophomore Schadrac Casimir, senior Isaiah Williams and sophomore Deyshonee Much hit three pointers in a four possession span.

The Gaels took the lead for good with the first of three straight English trifectas that made the score 19-16 with12:39 remaining. His third make capped a 9-3 run over a 1:23 span as Iona led 25-18 at 11:16. The Blue Hens closed within one point with six straight points but that was as close as the visitors would get. Iona opened up a double-digit advantage with 5:15 to play after a Casimir three pointer completed a 12-3 run. Iona’s largest lead of the half came with 74 seconds left when two English free throws gave the home team a 14-point advantage. A Delaware field goal on their final possession of the frame made it a 47-35 contest at the half.