Late Night Snacks: Lamont Jones, Sean Armand lead Iona past Fairfield

Game of the Night 

Iona 84, Fairfield 75

In a game the Stags needed to maintain contact with the upper portion of the MAAC standings early foul trouble and 15 first-half points from Sean Armand got them in trouble. Despite the efforts of guard Derek Needham (26 points) Fairfield fell short in New Rochelle, with Lamont Jones heating up in the second half to shut the door. Jones, after a halftime sneaker change, scored 22 of his 27 points in the final 20 minutes to push the Gaels to 6-1 in conference play. Fairfield falls to 2-5 in MAAC play, and they’re in a tie for seventh place with Siena.

Other Outcomes 

1. Vermont 81, Stony Brook 73 

In a rematch of last season’s America East tournament final the Catamounts defended their home floor, winning thanks in large part to Candon Rusin and Clancy Rugg. Rusin, who began his college career at Marist, led all scorers with 22 points and Rugg posted a double-double (19 points, 15 rebounds). Vermont led by as many as 18 in the second half before the Seawolves went on a run to close to within four, with Brian Voelkel’s offensive foul/technical foul combo resulting in his fifth foul and opening the door for a comeback. Dave Coley and Jameel Warney led four Stony Brook players in double figures with 15 apiece, and the freshman Warney also grabbed ten rebounds.

2. Jacksonville 77, North Florida 68 

The Ospreys had a chance to pull even with Jacksonville in the Atlantic Sun standings in front of the largest crowd in school history, but the Dolphins were the ones who left with the victory. Keith McDougald scored 17 points and Javon Dawson added 17 off the bench for Jacksonville, who is now 5-2 in conference play. UNF’s Parker Smith led all scorers with 19 points and Will Wilson fell just short of a double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds.

Starred

1. G Sean Armand and G Lamont Jones (Iona) 

In the Gaels’ 84-75 win over Fairfield the two guards essentially took turns being the primary scorer. Armand scored 15 of his 23 points in the first half, and Jones scored 22 of his 27 in the second half.

2. F Clancy Rugg (Vermont) and G Candon Rusin (Vermont)

Brain Voelkel fouling out opened the door for Stony Brook to mount a comeback, but Rugg and Rusin were the biggest reason why there were unable to do so. The hometown kid (Rugg) finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds and Rusin scored a game-high 22 in the Catamounts’ 81-73 victory.

3. G Derek Needham (Fairfield) 

Needham fought off early foul trouble (three fouls in the first half), finishing with 26 points and six rebounds for the Stags.

Struggled 

1. Denny Burguillos and Cameron Solomon (Georgia State)

The Panthers didn’t play tonight but these two were ruled academically ineligible for the remainder of the season. That, and the fact that there were just three games on the schedule, results in a spot on this list.

2. Stony Brook three-point shooting

The Seawolves struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 6-of-22 in their 81-73 loss at Vermont. The Catamounts weren’t much better (4-of-15) but they made up for it by outscoring Stony Brook 25-17 from the foul line.

3. F David Laury (Iona) 

Laury’s only here for the shooting, as he shot just 2-of-12 from the field (nine points). But if not for his 14 rebounds and five blocked shots with Taaj Ridley (suspension) out of the lineup, Iona would have found it far more difficult to hold off Fairfield.

Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.