ALBANY — Having home court is a significant advantage, but having A.J. English is a greater one.
Playing a road game masquerading as a neutral site affair, top-seeded Iona escaped with a 74-71 triumph over eighth-seeded Siena in the MAAC Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at the Times Union Center, with English’s 32 points and six 3-pointers securing a spot in Sunday’s semifinal against No. 4 Monmouth.
Iona coach Tim Cluess, who has been critical of the conference’s decision to move the tournament to the Saints’ home floor, took one last swipe at the move, which nearly ended his team’s NCAA Tournament dreams after dominating the league during the regular season.
“I’m very proud of my team for winning their 12th road game of the year,” Cluess said. “You win on the road, it’s a great thing.”
For much of the game, Siena’s substantial support was quieted to just a few cameos and unable to fill the role it desired — and Iona feared — with the Saints trailing by as many as 13, but the crowd couldn’t be contained in the final minutes.
Sparked by a dunk by Lavon Long (17 points, 8-of-10 from the field) and 3-point play, Siena went on a 9-0 run late in the second half, eventually cutting the deficit to two, 69-67, after a Ryan Oliver 3-pointer with 1:02 remaining.
On the next possession, with the shot clock falling and the Saints needing to force one miss to earn an opportunity to take their first lead, English used the little room he had to give Iona room to breathe, calmly drilling a 3-pointer with 32.7 seconds left to take a five-point lead.
“The [team] gave me the look to go ahead and I’m just thankful the shot went in and we won,” English said.
English hit 9 of 14 shots from the field (6-of-10 on 3-pointers) and all eight free throws, matching the second-highest scoring game of his career, while marking the fourth 30-point game of his season.
Siena coach Jimmy Patsos could do nothing but tip his cap to the junior guard, reminded of some of the best players he coached while an assistant at Maryland (1991-2004).
“I hope everyone enjoyed him because he’s going to be in the NBA next year,” Patsos said. “The Spurs, Knicks, Pacers and Celtics were here today and that guy’s an NBA player. And I do know NBA players because I’ve coached 10 of them. He’s a really good player.”
Looking to become the first No. 1 seed to win the MAAC Tournament since 2010, Iona (25-7, 17-3 MAAC) won for the 12th time in its past 13 games, never trailing as it hit its first four 3-pointers and Siena missed its first eight attempts from outside.
English, emphatically pounding his chest after multiple made shots, used far less effort in scoring 20 first-half points, giving the Gaels a 45-37 halftime lead.
Equally dangerous on the perimeter, Isaiah Williams — in his third game back from a foot injury which sidelined him more than a month — hit four 3-pointers, totaling 16 points and 11 rebounds, while MAAC Player of the Year David Laury added 14 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
“To have the three amigos back playing together at that level, we can beat anybody if they play like that,” Cluess said.
NCAA Tournament teams included.
Monmouth 60, Canisius 54
Led by Justin Robinson’s 16 points, No. 4 Monmouth held on to top No. 5 Canisius in the second MAAC quarterfinal, setting up Sunday’s semifinal against Iona (4:30 p.m.). The Gaels and Hawks (18-14, 13-7) split the season series, two games decided by a total of four points.