After two straight 25-win seasons, Iona basketball took to the floor of the Hynes Athletic Center in an early season game against Denver.

Following the unveiling of two new banners from last year’s record-breaking effort, the Gaels went to work against the Pioneers. The two sides met last season in Colorado, where Iona pulled out an 80-78 victory in overtime.The Gaels took over the game early. Iona had a 20-6 run over the first ten minutes of the game, which was led by nine points from junior Sean Armand.

Iona only continued their strong effort in the final ten minutes of the first period. The appearance of sophomore transfer Tavon Sledge brought extra energy onto the floor, forcing several Pioneers to make critical turnovers.

Sledge’s impact mirrored a stronger defensive effort from Iona, something that was missing from last year’s team. The Gaels forced 11 Denver turnovers, which included four steals and two blocks apiece from Armand and Sledge.

That defensive play was the strongest point that came out of the Gaels 40-17 lead at the break.

That strong first half was spearheaded by Armand, who led the way for all scorers with 13 points, which included two three-pointers and his first collegiate dunk. Senior Lamont “Momo” Jones also contributed ten points.

Chris Udofia led all Denver scorers with nine points. That strong effort put together in the first half disappeared for Iona in the second half. Denver changed both their defensive and offensive strategies, which caused enough calamity to slow down the Gaels.

The Pioneers were able to cut through what was a 25-point lead for Iona at the start of the half down to a nine-point lead with 9:45 to go.

Iona was hurt by foul problems, which saw Armand go to the bench early in the half. This allowed Denver to exert an offensive game plan, which heavily relied on three-pointers. The Pioneers made six three-pointers in the second half after making none in the first portion of the game.

The final ten minutes of the game saw Iona’s offense come back to life. Jones scored seven points in that stretch, while senior Taaj Ridley scored five points of his own.

Denver ultimately got within six points, but the 13 points totaled by Iona in the final ten minutes of the contest proved to be enough to give the Gaels the 65-58 win. This win was the first season-opening win for Iona since the 2009-10 season when they defeated Boston University 82-73.

Jones led all Iona scorers with 20 points, while Armand had 19. Udofia had 20 points in the losing effort for the Pioneers.

When recapping the win, Armand said, “we showed that we are capable of playing strong defense.”

Armand continued to play the team-first effort when discussing the offensive effort, saying “when we play together, we are solid. When we play individually, we are bad.”

Following the win, the Gaels will participate in the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Iona will open up against Quinnipiac on Nov. 16 and will get the opportunity to play several top basketball schools in the tournament. Iona will open up MAAC play on Wednesday Nov. 28 against Niagara in New Rochelle.