Gaels Lose 25 Point Lead, Fall to BYU

The Gales looked dominant in the first half against Brigham Young in Dayton as Scott Machado led the team to a 25 point lead at one point early in the game. Unfortunately for Iona, the second half was a different story, and BYU won 78-72.

After half time, the Bulldogs switched defenses and came out in a pressure zone that forced the Gaels to play outside. Iona only shot 24 percent from beyond the arc in the game and the Iona big men were overmatched by BYU’s Brandon Davies and Noah Hartsock.

The Gaels only managed 17 points in the second half to BYU’s 38.

Hartsock led BYU with 17 of his 23 points coming in the second half and Davies gave the Bulldogs 18 points and 15 rebounds.

Machado led the Gaels with 15 points and 10 assists, nine of which came in the first half, and Mike Glover had 12 points and nine rebounds. Jermel Jenkins finished with 13 points for Iona.

Iona’s season ends at 25-8 overall and 15-3 in conference and BYU will play Marquette on Thursday at 2:45 p.m. in Louisville, Kentucky.