Box Score

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – Despite shooting 53 percent and placing a season-high four players in double figures, the Norfolk State men’s basketball team came up short in an 80-68 loss at Iona on Saturday afternoon at the Hynes Center.

Scott Machado scored a game-high 20 points and added six assists for the Gaels (3-0), who never trailed.

Rob Hampton (Queens, N.Y.) and Michael Deloach (Rocky Mount, N.C.) scored 15 points apiece to lead the Spartans (1-2), while Aleek Pauline (Jamaica, N.Y.) and Joseph Dorsett-Jeffreys (Bronx, N.Y.) both added 13.

Keon Williams’ layup with 11:44 left in the first half capped an 8-0 Iona run and gave the Gaels an 18-4 lead. But NSU slowly rallied, eventually cutting its deficit to 36-32 at the half after a layup by Hampton with 38 seconds left before the break.

But the Gaels shot 54.5 percent from the floor and outscored the Spartans 16-4 from the foul line after halftime to hold on for the victory. NSU could get no closer than five in the final 11 minutes of the contest.

Hampton was 6-of-8 from the floor and grabbed a team-high tying eight rebounds for NSU, which shot 53 percent and outrebounded the Gaels 37-30. Deloach added seven assists, five rebounds and two steals, and Pauline dished out six assists. The Spartans were hurt, however, by poor foul shooting (13-of-28, 46 percent) and 22 turnovers which led to 28 Iona points.

Kyle Smith scored 14 points, Mike McFadden 13 and Williams 10 for Iona, which only shot 62 percent from the free-throw line but outscored the Spartans by 10 points (23-13) from the charity stripe.

NSU returns to action next this Friday through Sunday at the Basketball Travelers Classic hosted by Illinois State.