The Iona College men’s basketball team (5-5) fell to St John’s 69-59 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. It was the first time both teams faced each other since 1995.

Iona struggled to find offensive rhythm against an athletic and big St. John’s (9-2). The Red Storm tallied nine steals and 10 blocks, six of them coming from junior Tariq Owens.

St. John’s interior defense forced the Gaels to settle for outside shots. Iona was 10-32 from the three-point line. Senior guard Deyshonee Much led the Gaels with 15 points and four three pointers. Junior transfer Roland Griffin chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Iona kept the game close throughout the second half as the game was tied at 25 going into halftime.

The Gaels got into foul trouble early in the second half, including two flagrant fouls by Much and Griffin, which happened in the midst of St. John’s going on a 19-4 run. St. John’s led by as many as 20 in the second half.

“[The flagrant fouls] changed the whole flow of the game,” Iona head coach Tim Cluess said. “It put us in a bad spot and unfortunately, we fought to try and come back from that. They came out playing well in the second half and we were kind of not flowing well.”

Iona stormed back and cut St. John’s lead down to 58-51 with 4:30 left in the game. However, St. John’s ultimately outlasted Iona down the stretch and cruised to a victory.

St. John’s head coach Chris Mullin reflected on his relationship with Cluess and his family.

“I’ve known Timmy since ’81 when I first came to St. John’s,” Mullin said. “The Cluess family is a legendry name at St. John’s.”

Coach Cluess was teammates with Mullin in his final season with the Red Storm.

“There’s a lot of respect there,” Mullin said. “The impact that his family had on St. John’s is everlasting.”

Coach Cluess got emotional talking about his time at St. John’s and playing in the Garden.

“I remember playing in [The MSG Holiday Festival] as a player, I remember watching it as a kid,” Cluess said. “It means so much to the New York Metropolitan area and the history of basketball in this arena. Getting a chance to play them was phenomenal.”

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