University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Iona
Davis, Gordon Lead Hoops Past Iona 87-82
December 30, 2014 | Men's Basketball
UMass-Iona Box Score 
AMHERST, Mass. - Trey Davis scored 25 points, went 10-for-11 from the floor with seven assists and led five Minutemen in double-figures when UMass men's basketball recorded a 87-82 victory over Iona College at the Mullins Center on Tuesday evening. Massachusetts trailed by as much as five points late in the second half but outscored the Gaels, 14-4 during the last five minutes of the contest for the win.
Derrick Gordon was 7-of-15 on field goals and 5-for-6 from the free throw line for 19 points. Maxie Esho chipped in 11 points - all in the second half - while Jabarie Hinds and Cady Lalanne provided scored10 apiece. Lalanne led UMass (7-6 overall) in rebounds with eight and Gordon followed with seven.
David Laury led four Gaels in double-figures with 24 points. A.J. English added 16 points while Schadrac Casimir scored 12 and Isaiah Williams provided 11 points. Laury pulled down 11 rebounds and English dished out 12 assists as each tallied a double-double.
Down 78-73 with five minutes, 22 seconds to play in the game after an Ibn Muhammad 3-pointer, UMass mounted a furious eight-point run in only 1:26 to push ahead 81-78. A layup by English and Casimir free throw tied the game, 81-81, but Gordon answered for the Minutemen with a jumper that put UMass in front for good with 76 seconds to play.
Williams made the front end of two free throws to cut the Massachusetts lead to 82-81 at the 36-second mark, but Gordon responded again with two at the foul line to extend the UMass lead to 85-82 with 18 seconds left. Needing a three to even the game up, Muhammad had his pocket picked by Clark, who slammed in an emphatic dunk with eight seconds to play that put the game out of reach for the visitors.
Ahead at the break, 46-40, the Minutemen extended their lead to as much as 11 points midway through the second half before Iona (8-5) rallied.
Clark used one of his three makes from the field to push the advantage to 69-58 with 11:08 to play, but the Gaels went on an 11-point run to eliminate their deficit. Williams capped the streak with an and-one play at the 8:03 mark that made it 69-69. Gordon ended the Minuteman drought with a jumper 15 seconds later, but Iona responded with a 9-2 run which created the 78-73 UMass deficit with 5:22 left in the game.
Massachusetts finished 33-for-64 on field goals (51.6 percent) and 14-for-20 at the charity stripe (70.0 percent). Iona was 31-of-71 overall (43.7 percent) and 11-for-17 on free throws (64.7 percent). The squads tied in rebounding with 38 for each side.
The Minutemen begin Atlantic 10 Conference competition in the Mullins Center against St. Bonaventure at 4 p.m. on Jan. 3, 2015.
