Deyshonee Much, Schadrac Casimir, and Jordan Washington, by most measures the three top returning players for defending MAAC champion Iona, sat on the bench next to Tim Cluess as Mikey Dixon – Quinnipiac’s freshman star in waiting – drilled a three-pointer to cut the Iona lead to a single point Monday night at the Hynes Center.

With 7:20 left, this is usually the juncture where the coach making a point to his players and team relents and resorts back to his “best” team on the floor for crunch time. But Cluess never even looked down the bench. His veteran trio never saw the floor the rest of the way, and Iona … pulled away for an 84-74 victory, continuing a remarkable streak of never being swept in the regular season by a MAAC opponent under Cluess (seven seasons).

Washington was the biggest omission, a potential MAAC Player of the Year candidate when playing well, but he struggled Monday (9 pts., 7 rebs., 6 turnovers) and compounded his tough night by picking up a fourth foul 20 feet from the basket with 9:45 left. As soon as he got to the sideline, Iona (13-8, 6-4) was hit with a bench technical, that may or may not have been due to something Washington said (it was not directly charged to him or it would have been his fifth foul).

Continue reading “Iona 84, Quinnipiac 74: Cluess Trusts His Depth” →