Iona is Missing Its Pep

If you are one of my marines, aka, the few, the proud, the readers of my site, you know of my love of college pep bands.  There is nothing better than a good college pep band at a basketball game.  It sure beats canned music.  I remember going to LaSalle to see Hofstra face the Explorers in the 2005-06 season.   The LaSalle Pep Band played the entire night.  There was no canned music played over the PA system, just the pep band.  It was awesome.

Over the years, I have talked about my fondness for the VCU Peppas and the George Mason Pep Band, two of the best college bands there are in college basketball.  But one of my favorite bands in particular is the Iona Pep Band, which were a staple at Iona men's home games for years.

In many of my College Hardwood recaps of Iona games over the years, I have devoted many a paragraph to the Iona Pep Band (just do a search of "Iona Pep Band" on my site).  My favorite recap that involved the Iona Pep Band was the game from 2012 where Iona used a 31-0 run to defeat St Peter's 98-61.  The pep band was so killing it that day, I stated the following;

As Matthew and I made our way out of the Hynes Center for perhaps the last time this season, I wondered two things.  One, I thought about whether Iona could not only win the MAAC Championship but also make a run to the Sweet Sixteen this season.  Second, I wondered if the Iona Pep Band hires themselves out to play at parties.

That's how good the Iona Pep Band is (the picture is from that St Peter's game).  I would hire them to play at a party (alas they have to travel to Columbia, South Carolina now for the party).  I even recorded my own video of them above playing "Immigrant Song".   I just wish I had better audio on my iPhone.

What I love about the Iona Pep Band is that for such a small ten piece band, they have a rich sound.  The Iona Pep Band also has an old school, eclectic catalog.  They play anywhere from Led Zeppelin's  "Immigrant Song", to Earth Wind and Fire's "September" to Rick James' "Brickhouse" to the Black Eyed Peas "I Got a Feeling".

They are also fond of playing TV show  and movie themes, including "The Wild Wild West", "Peter Gunn", the James Bond theme song and my personal favorite, a very bouncy version of "I Dream of Jeannie".   Finally, they play the BEST DAMN VERSION of STEELY DAN'S PEG!  Period.




Often I lamented the fact on Twitter that there was no Iona Pep Band at Iona Women's Basketball games.  And for those loyal readers who know, I covered A LOT of Iona Women's Basketball games over the years, so I did a lot of lamenting.

I even got to be Twitter friends with Walter Barrett, the trombone playing leader of the Iona Pep band,   From my friendship with him, I learned the band was hired by Iona, funded by alumni, since the school didn't have a pep band.  Walter had been part of the band for fifteen years.   The band was put together by the previous band leader of people he knew.  They offered students to help out, but over time it just became the regulars.  They are quite likely the oldest college pep band around, but they are also one of the best.

And it was not just me who is a big fan of the Iona Pep Band.   Jaden Daly, Mr. Daly Dose of Hoops himself is a huge fan of the Iona Pep Band.   When I left New York and moved down to South Carolina, Jaden would text me the song selections of the band when he was at Iona home games.   God I missed "Peg"  Thankfully, I've  heard the Iona Pep Band's version so many times, it is permanently, fondly etched in my head.



But something is missing this season for Iona.  The Pep Band.   I found out that the pep band was told that they were being replaced by a student band.   Now I can understand that, except for one thing.

Four games,  No student band.   Just canned music.

Huh?



It's one thing to tell the pep band to be replaced by a student band.   It's another thing not to have that student band ready.    So the Iona home crowd fans have to listen to canned music.  Canned music can be OK, depending on the person picking the songs. Often the canned music though is made up of  only the current popular hits on the radio and in some cases, like Wagner, the PA system is too loud.  To me, nothing beats a live band playing a unique, fun set, especially with a great brass section, like the Iona Pep Band.




So I have a request to the Iona administration, from a long time friend of the Iona women's and men's basketball programs.  Until your student band is ready to go, please, please, PLEASE bring back the Iona Pep Band.

Living 750 miles away now, I won't be able to hear them play live, but I would love for Jaden Daly to let me know via Twitter that Walt and the gang are playing my favorite songs.

So again, Iona Administration, bring back the Pep Band.  Do it for the Iona fans. Let them hear "Peg" again!

"I know they're gonna love it."

Iona Rebounds With Dominating Win Over St Peter's in MAAC Women's Basketball

Tony Bozzella's Gaels started the MAAC women's basketball season with a 3-0 start. All three wins were by double digits, including two wins on their Buffalo road trip over Canisius and Niagara, two teams picked in the top four in the preseason MAAC poll. The Gaels then dominated Manhattan at home, winning by thirty, 76-46.

But within the span of five days, the Gaels lost two in a row. First, Iona lost to Marist for the twenty seventh time in a row, a fourteen point defeat at the McCann Center. Then at home last Friday, the Gaels battled the Stags of Fairfield. Iona got within one point with four minutes left in the game, but couldn't get any closer as Fairfield won 60-54.

This is typical of a young team that has only one senior now that Haley D'Angelo has been granted another year of eligibility. Young teams are streaky, especially ones that start two juniors, one sophomore and two freshman with their sixth man being another sophomore. They look terrific for one stretch of time, then struggle for another stretch.

Their opponent last Sunday at the Hynes Center, St Peter's, had lost their first fifteen games, including five in conference. But three of their five MAAC losses were by single digits. Iona may have been expected to win. But having lost two in a row, the question was how would the Gaels respond in a game that some team might take lightly.


For the first two minutes of the game, Iona seemed in a fog. St Peter's was the more aggressive team and jumped out to an early 7-5 lead on a jumper by Jesika Holmes.

But the light switch turned on for the Gaels. They went on a 14-0 run which featured five straight points by an aggressive Sabrina Jeridore. Iona was up 19-7 after a Jiya Dorces-Eya layup.

The Peacocks were able to cut the deficit to ten, 22-12 with eleven minutes left in the half. But again the Gaels responded with another huge run. Iona outscored St Peter's 17-2 over the next four and a half minutes. Aleesha Powell, playing with confidence and in control, scored five straight points during that spurt. D'Angelo's layup capped the run and the Gaels were up 39-14 with six and half minutes remaining in the first half.

Iona entered the locker room up 48-25 at halftime. They had forced twelve St Peter's turnovers while only committing five themselves. The Gaels showed really good ball movement and were aggressive on the offensive glass. They had as many assists, eleven as they had offensive rebounds.

Powell and Damika Martinez already were in double figures scoring, each with eleven points. My color analyst, aka my son Matthew, who has attended many Iona women's games over the past three seasons noted "That's the most points I ever saw Iona (the women's team) score in a half." I had to concur.

Now with the game seemingly in hand, there's a tendency for teams to back off in the second half and not be as focused. Sure enough, St Peter's came out as the aggressor in the start of the second half. The Peacocks cut the lead to under twenty for the first time since eight minutes left in the first half. An Aziza May three pointer made the score 50-31.

Coach Bozzella could have called timeout here to get his team re-focused. Instead, he let his team refocus on their own. The Gaels responded with a 9-2 spurt as Joy Adams hit a three point play and then Martinez scored four straight points. Iona was up 59-33 with sixteen and a half minutes left in the game.

St Peter's though had one last run in them. The Peacocks outscored the Gaels 12-4. Kristal Edwards' jumper made the score 63-45.

But Iona also had one more run in them. Once again, the Gaels outscored the Peacocks 17-2, this time over an eight minute span. Adams and Powell combined for twelve of those points. Diana Hubbard capped the run with a three pointer, one of three on the day for her, to put Iona up 80-47 with less than five minutes remaining in the game.

Iona had as large as a thirty four point lead before winning by thirty two, 93-61. Bozzella extensively used his bench the entire game, with twelve players getting eleven or more minutes. The Gaels shot nearly fifty five percent in the second half and forty nine percent for the game. They had twice as many assists, twenty, as turnovers, ten.

Martinez led all scorers with nineteen points. Powell had a very strong game with fifteen points and five assists. Adams added fourteen points and nine rebounds. Jeridore had seven points, seven rebounds and four blocks. All eleven Iona players scored at least two points on the game. The Iona bench outscored the Iona starters 47-46.

Edwards led St Peter's with fifteen points. May added fourteen and Holmes chipped in with twelve points. The Peacocks were held to 37.5 percent from the field.

The Gaels have a very important battle for third place at home coming up against Niagara this evening, with a chance to sweep the season series from the Purple Eagles. They needed momentum going into the game and they got it on Sunday.

Perhaps it's the start of another successful stretch for this young team.

Back in the New York Groove (Recap of Colgate vs. Iona Women's Basketball Game)

For the sixth time in four months, I flew from Charlotte International airport back to New York and the fifth time from Gate D4, the "official" gate of Jet Blue to JFK.  As has been the case, the five previous times I came in from Charlotte, my wife was there to greet me at the baggage claim.   It was the first time she was there without the kids since she had a Christmas party she had to attend at her job.  Her parents were watching our two sons at our house.

When we got home, my older son, aka my color analyst Matthew, was wide awake, but my younger son, Jonathan, was fast asleep.  Matthew was happy to see me, but he seemed more interested in his macaroni and cheese and one of the Ice Age movies as I had to practically beg for a hug.  Ah seven year olds.

Yesterday morning, I was the first one up.  As with this article, I was in the entertainment room reviewing what trains I had to take for my trip into the city yesterday.  Jonathan, who would make an excellent spy, was in usual stealth mode and snuck up and said "DADDY!"  I got the biggest hug and he sat with me on the chair as I finished reviewing the subway map of New York City.

Jonathan and I each had a bowl of cereal and watched "Tom and Jerry" together on Boomerang.  Boomerang put us in the Christmas spirit by playing the classic "The Night Before Christmas" episode.   Shortly thereafter, Matthew came down, came up to me and said "I want to spend a lot of time with you today" and curled up into me.  I was so choked up, I couldn't reply immediately.  I just hugged him for a minute and finally said "I will".  Matthew is used to me only being home a few days and didn't realize that I would be in New York for eleven days due to my holiday break at South Carolina.

After both kids went to school, my wife dropped me off at the Bellmore Train Station to take a train into the city.   I was heading to New York Law School for a work related matter and to visit two old friends there I used to work with at Hofstra, Oral Hope and Pete Trimarchi.  I was there for ninety minutes looking over a very impressive building with great views of Tribeca and the city.  Finally I had to say my goodbyes to Oral and Pete and head towards Canal street for the second part of my day.

I took the number six train from Canal street north to Grand Central Station.   I was meeting my friend Tieff at the famous Grand Central clock above the Metro North Information Booth to take a train up to New Rochelle.   If that sounds familiar to my marines, aka the few, the proud, the readers of my site, that's where Iona College is located.  Yes, I was heading there to see Coach Tony Bozzella's Gaels take on Colgate.

I have been to Grand Central before, most recently last year to hang out with a good friend, the beautiful Cecilia Guerra, for drinks at one of the great bars located in the lower concourse and then we met up with another good friend, Andrew Wilson for a dinner at a Mexican restaurant nearby Grand Central.  This time, I was standing in the middle of the station, trying to avoid passersby and tourists taking pictures of their loved ones in front of the famous clock.  As it always is with Tieff, he was running late and got there a few minutes before the 1:10 New Haven train was leaving.  But, I came prepared having already bought two one way tickets for New Rochelle.

We made our train to New Rochelle.  Our friend Mal was picking us up at the Chase Manhattan building right near the New Rochelle terminal.  But as we got off the train, we had a surprise.  The great Jaden Daly, author of the Daly Dose of Hoops site, where I have been a contributor a couple of times this season, had been on the previous train to New Rochelle.  We had been in touch via Twitter and Jaden decided to wait for us at the station.  We talked hoops as we normally do as we walked to meet Mal, who drove us to Iona College.

We got to the Hynes Center just in time for the national anthem and walked into the gym during introductions.  Coach Bozzella smiled as we said hi and made our way up to seats behind the Iona bench.  The Gaels hadn't played in two weeks due to finals but they had a nice crowd, larger than anticipated, there to greet them back to the land of non conference Division I conference basketball.

Last season, Iona played at Colgate.  The Raiders ran out to a 46-18 halftime lead.  The Gaels could never recover and lost 75-50.  Several of the players from that Colgate team returned for yesterday's game, including sophomore Mariah Jones, who scored fifteen points in the win over Iona.

In the first ten minutes, you could tell Iona hadn't played in two weeks.  They struggled holding onto the ball, committing ten turnovers.  Fortunately, the Gaels were playing good defense and the Gaels led 8-7 nearly halfway through the first half.

Bozzella went to a smaller lineup and something clicked with this young Iona team (only one senior on the team, starting guard Haley D'Angelo).  The Gaels rolled off a 20-3 run over the next seven minutes.  Freshman forward Joy Adams scored eight of those twenty points and Iona had a 28-10 lead.

During this run, Adams drove for an impressive layup. It was right after this that Jaden and I noticed Coach Bozzella actually smile during a game for one of the rare times we could remember.  Freshman Aaliyah Robinson finished the first half by burying a three pointer and the Gaels went into the locker room up 36-17 at the half. Iona shot exactly fifty percent from the field in the first half.

After being a guest of the always terrific radio play by play man of the Iona Gaels, Nick Guerriero, on the halftime show, I was looking forward to see how this Gaels team would play in the second half.  Young teams often find it difficult to play consistently over forty minutes.    The Gaels wouldn't disappoint me in the second half.

Iona went out on a 15-6 spurt over the next six minutes to go up 51-23 with fourteen minutes left in the game. Freshman point guard Aleesha Powell scored seven of those points whole Damika Martinez added six points during that spurt.  Powell was particularly impressive in the second half, scoring ten points in the final twenty minutes of the game.  She was also very much under control and shot three of five from beyond the arc and six of ten from the field for the game.

Bozzella rested his starters for much of the second half.  Eleven players played seven or minutes on the day.  But the reserves didn't let up on the Raiders as the Gaels lead never dipped below twenty three points the rest of the way.  After losing to the Raiders by twenty five points a year ago, the Gaels returned the favor, leading from start to finish as they won by twenty six points, 73-47.

Martinez led all scorers with seventeen points, while Powell added fifteen points and Adams added another double double with ten points and twelve rebounds.  D'Angelo had a strong game at point guard with six assists and only one turnover.   In the final thirty minutes of the game, Iona had twenty assists and only seven turnovers.

The Gaels also did a terrific job on defense. They held the Raiders to twenty seven percent shooting from the field and had fifteen steals, scoring sixteen points off turnovers.  Finally, Colgate's Jones, who had scored fifteen points vs. Iona in the Raiders' win last season, was held scoreless on the day, with only five shot attempts for the game.

Afterwards, Mal, Tieff and I went up to see Coach Bozzella (Jaden left to cover the St John's game last night), Associate Head Coach Christi Abbate and Assistant Coach Lauren DeFalco.  It was good to be around so many old friends again.  We talked about our families, our Christmas plans, college basketball of course, golf and the next women's game against Stony Brook on December 30.

This was the first of many New York college basketball games that I will be attending over the next several days while I am back up here.  After every Iona women's game, the PA system plays "Back in the New York Groove" .

While it lasts, it truly is good to be back in a New York college basketball groove.