By ADAM ZAGORIA
It’s the first Monday in March so that must mean Iona is playing for the MAAC Tournament championship.
Coach Tim Cluess and the Iona Gaels will seek their third straight MAAC Tournament title on Monday night when they face Fairfield at Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. (7 p.m., ESPN). The teams split their regular-season meetings, each winning on its home court.
The Gaels are seeking their third straight NCAA Tournament automatic bid out of the MAAC, and fourth in six years. Iona (19-13) will play in its sixth consecutive MAAC championship game, and seventh in eight years under Cluess, who is 181-91 (.665) at the school.
Fairfield hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1997.
“I think the more you play in a situation, the more comfortable you get with it,” said Cluess, per Jaden Daly. “Our guys have not only been in the tournament, but they’ve had some runs in the tournament. I think they play it like it’s a regular game, and they’re not thinking about the bigger picture, they’re thinking about the next possession. I think that definitely helped us tonight. We worried about one possession at a time.”
In the semifinals, Iona trailed St. Peter’s by 10 points at the half, and by 14 points in the second half, but rallied for a 65-62 victory.
Schadrac Casimir led the effort with 24 points that included four 3-pointers while Zach Lewis added 12 points and three steals. E.J. Crawford added 10 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes of action.
Led by coach Sydney Johnson, Fairfield has won seven straight games, including a 74-64 semifinal win over Quinnipiac.
Ferron Flavors Jr. went for 21 points and 11 rebounds, Tyler Nelson had 19 points and 4 rebounds and Jesus Cruz had 11 points and 6 rebounds.
“Speaking as a captain, this opportunity is something I worked for individually and we worked for as a team,” Nelson said. “Since I’ve been here, our goal is to play for a MAAC championship and be here on Monday night. And for it to finally to be here in my senior year with Jerome and Jared, I am really looking forward to this opportunity and to this game. We are all really excited and we are going to be ready to play.”
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