The Iona College basketball team has started off to a strong start this season after winning three of their first four games of the season.

After being tipped to win the MAAC this season, the Gaels traveled to Puerto Rico to participate in the Puerto Rico Tip off and take on some of the best teams in the country.

The Gaels’ first game was against a Purdue side that reached the NCAA tournament last year.  Despite having strong games from senior Scott Machado, senior Michael Glover and junior Momo Jones, the Gaels lost 91-90 thanks to a three-pointer by Purdue’s senior Robbie Hummel with less than a minute remaining.

The loss barely affected the Gaels in their next game against a Western Michigan University side that is expected to win the MAAC this season.

Machado once again had a strong game, with 17 points and a tournament-record 15 assists.  Junior Kyle Smyth recorded 24 points on seven three-pointers, and junior Ra’Shad James had 14 points in his 15 minutes on the floor as the Gaels rolled to a 94-88 win.

With the win, the Gaels played in the fifth-place game against Maryland.  Once again, the Gaels put together a fantastic offensive effort.

After a slow first half, the Gaels exploded in the second half with 52 points.  Machado recorded 15 points and 15 assists to leave Puerto Rico with a tournament record 41 assists.  Going into the tournament, the record was 22 and was held by USC’s Daniel Hackett in 2008.

Jones had 22 points and Glover recorded a 19-10 effort to give the Gaels a 89-63 win.  This 26-point win is Iona’s biggest win against a BCS opponent in the school’s history.

The Gaels then traveled back to New Rochelle to take on Saint Joseph’s (PA) on Nov. 23. 

After falling behind 45-43 in the first half, Iona responded with a strong second half where they held a 63-58 lead.

With 11 minutes to go, Iona fell behind and was able to tie the game with only eight seconds left on a junior Taaj Ridley layup to force overtime.

The first overtime saw Iona lead for all of 16 seconds.  After a Jones three-pointer to give Iona a five-point lead with four minutes to go, St Joseph’s was able to tie the game with two seconds to force another overtime.

Machado, however, was not going to let the Gaels lose this game and dominated the second overtime.  Machado scored nine of the Gaels 11 points in that overtime to give him a career-high 33 points in a 104-99 victory.

Glover was able to score 34 points and 15 rebounds in the win, while Smyth had 15 points.  After the game, coach Tim Cluess said, “Mike Glover was the Mike Glover of old and it was good to see.”

Cluess also praised Machado and Smyth. “Scott [Machado] was phenomenal and Kyle Smyth was great,” Cluess said.

Through four games, the Gaels are first in the NCAA in points-per-game with an average of 94.3.  Machado is first in the NCAA in assists per game with 12.8, while the team is ranked third in the nation with 21.8 apg.

Through four games, Machado and Glover are the only set of teammates to both average a double double in all of college basketball.

The Gaels will play Canisius on  Dec. 2 to start an eight game road swing.  Iona will play their first home game of the New Year on Jan. 3 at Madison Square Garden against Siena before playing Niagara on Jan. 6 in New Rochelle.