NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK---"Are they on the team? I didn't know if they were on the team or wearing uniforms as cheerleaders. I've never seen them on the court doing anything, so to me, they're not basketball players."
---Iona Gaels' head coach Tim Cluess

Firing verbal shots at the "Monmouth Bench," Iona head coach Tim Cluess re-ignited the New Jersey/New York rivalry in an unconventional way. And ironically, the Monmouth Hawks and their bench got the best of the Gaels Friday night in their first meeting of the season despite 45 points from Iona superstar A.J. English.

Fast paced from the start, Monmouth flew out to a six-point lead on two of "fab freshman" Micah Seaborn's fifteen and a converted "and one" from Je'lon Hornbeak (12-6 MON). 

Of course though, with two high powered offenses in action, no multi-possessional lead was safe as the Gaels' Isaiah Williams scored five unanswered prior to A.J. English nailing a triple to knot the game at 16. 

From the 16 all tie with 11:26 left in the first half, the two teams would find themselves with neither having an advantage for a sixth time in 12 minutes at 23-23. However, finally one team possessed a double-figures advantage, for Justin Robinson spurred a 10-0 run that ended with five minutes remaining in the half. Yet, after King Rice's group had what was then their largest lead of the game, Iona mounted an impressive comeback on the shoulders of eight points from each English and "jazzy junior" Jordan Washington. In fact, with what would be a 22-11 end of half spurt, the Gaels took a one-point advantage on the opposition while stealing full momentum before halftime (45-44 IONA). 

The maroon in the stands was ecstatic as their team looked to be on their way to 7-0 in MAAC play. And for the first 90 seconds of the second half, the previous seemed to be the case considering Iona had extended their lead to five and was looking for more. Nevertheless, the Hawks' Robinson had other plans.

It started with a trey from the Most Outstanding Player of the Advocare Invitational, and it ended with two free throws from him. What was it? A 33-10 domination, which featured four twine ticklers from beyond the arc by sharpshooter Collin Stewart, that supplied Monmouth with an 18-point lead (81-63 MON).

Well that escalated quickly.

Indeed it did, and it didn't stop there. A little over two minutes later, the Hawks had a 20-point lead that would be present with 7:55 remaining in regulation. The showdown seemed firmly in Monmouth's grasp. Yet, it was anything but.

Trailing 92-72, coach Cluess' squad very well could have conceded and moved on to their next contest. But, instead they trimmed their deficit in half in a matter of 2 minutes and 15 seconds (92-82 MON)!

Even though Robinson would net eight quick points to thicken the edge to 15 with 93 seconds remaining, A.J. English single-handedly drew the Gaels within five thanks to a combination of made layups and triples and missed free throws from the Hawks. In fact, down only two possessions with 30 seconds left, English drove the lane looking for a deuce. Stripped! Deon Jones, who netted 18 points on the night, had poked the ball loose and it landed in the hands of Robinson, who netted both ensuing free throws at the charity stripe. The Monmouth Hawks had sent Iona to the loss column for the first time in 26 home games.

Best Point Guard in Country

"I'm the best PG in the country..Unless you say Kris Dunn, I won't accept any other response.. and I'm just being confident not cocky.."
---Monmouth's Justin Robinson (@CallmesScoop)

Making headlines for a tweet earlier in the week, Monmouth "jazzy junior" Justin Robinson was confident he would have a fantastic game against powerhouse Iona. Yet, after ten minutes of being held scoreless, reasonable doubt started to surface of whether he would ever get his offensive motor started. 

Do not doubt him! 

Hitting his first shot with 8:37 left in the first half, the 5'7" guard finished the twenty minutes with ten points in route to a career-high 29. Doing it from everywhere, Robinson was 12-for-12 from the free throw line, 3-of-5 from long range, and dynamic with his dribble drive. Additionally, he was a beast in the passing lanes as he grabbed a team-high 3 steals. While the 2014-2015 All-MAAC first teamer hasn't made individual headlines since his time in "City Beautiful," Friday definitely will spark something for him as he had the same amount of points against Iona as he did in his last two. 13-4 (5-1) Monmouth will return home to host fellow conference contender Siena on Monday.

Fluent in English

As the Gaels' A.J. English is the type of player who would rather win than boost his personal accolades, the future NBA player did all he could individually against the Hawks by recording 40 plus points for a second time and coming one away from tying his career high. The "star senior," just as Justin Robinson, was a pest in the passing lanes, for he swiped seven steals on the evening. Just as impressive, English shot over 60% from the field, 16-of-26. 9-7 (6-1) Iona will look to bounce back from their first MAAC defeat Sunday when they travel to Rider. 

Postgame Fireworks

Although the final horn had sounded, by no means was the action over between Monmouth and Iona as the two had a scuffle during post game handshakes. The biggest "haymaker" landed was a slap by Gaels junior Jordan Washington as he landed it squarely across the face of Hawks' big man Chris Brady. Starting with the hit, the two teams exchanged pushes and shoves before coaches and security became involved. Unfortunately though, someone did get "hurt" as in his post game interview King Rice notified the media Brady's nose is very swollen. 

MAAC commissioner Rich Ensor has already stated the altercation will be reviewed and punishments will be handed out. The two will get back together to conclude the season series on February 19 in West Long Beach, New Jersey. 

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About the author
Peyton Wesner
Editor, that has loved and watched sports. He enjoys traveling the country to watch division one college basketball and professional baseball, basketball, and football. In addition, Peyton is a huge enthusiast of Missouri Valley Conference basketball and International League (Triple-A) baseball as he focuses about these topics and many more on his sports blog Courtside with PW at http://courtsidewpw.blogspot.com/?m=1. You can contact him through his email, [email protected], or his twitter, @courtsidewpw.