On a senior day in which Mount St. Michael refused to let the visiting Iona Prep Gaels play the role of spoiler, critical playmaking from point guard Izzy Millan and a go-ahead interior bucket from Kelvin Collado in the waning moments lifted MSM to a 44-41 victory.
Iona Prep's Blaise New drilled a corner 3-pointer that gave the Gaels a 40-39 lead with 1:17 remaining in regulation. That's when MSM buckled down and showed the poise that had been lacking for most of the season.
Beyond a jump hook and then a banker at point-blank from Collado, Mount St. Michael got a free throw from Jayport Smith to give them a two-point lead, 42-40, with 42 seconds remaining.
After emerging as the clutch victors in a wild 44-42 victory over cross-town and CHSAA rival Stepinac last week, Iona Prep committed a pair of rare and costly back to back turnovers during two of their final three possessions.
The Mount was led by an inspirational performance from Millan, the gritty 5-foot-10 senior guard who put the team on his back during crucial sequences.
After New tore into the teeth of Mount's defense for a layup that gave the Gaels' a 36-27 lead with 5:44 remaining in a dizzying fourth quarter, Millan spearheaded a resilient comeback.
Millan scored on a banker, then a driving scoop layup with 3:52 remaining, as MSM sliced the deficit to 36-33.
After an irregular first half performance, Iona Prep got into its rhythm. AJ Rodriguez hit a short range pull up jumper to give Iona Prep a 27-23 lead with 1:23 remaining in the third quarter.
Rodriguez later buried a straight-away 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining, as the Gaels seized a 30-24 lead.
That's when the Mount fittingly rode the senior leadership of Millan in the season finale in which its senior core was honored during a ceremony prior to tip off. Millan banged a pull-up three-pointer to beat the third quarter buzzer, as Mount St. Michael seized a momentum roll, they would never relinquish.
There was a veritable lid on the rim as both teams slogged through a forgettable first half.
A handful of blown layups and errant shots plagued both teams as they sputtered offensively. There was even a pair of shot clock violations.
New pumped some life into the Gaels offense with a deep 3-pointer as 3:29 remained in the second quarter. Iona Prep held a 19-16 lead as they headed into the half.
Iona got rolling in the first quarter, as a steal by New created a transition leak-out resulting with Alexander Bryant skying in for a powerful putback dunk which culminated a 7-0 first quarter run they started the game on.
Mount St. Michael responded by reeling off an 8-0 run with 1:34 remaining in the quarter. The Gaels were able to quell the run as New soared to the rim for an acrobatic scoop-in layup, drew a foul and knocked down the free throw for a traditional 3-point play. Jaylen Pray's dunk and a Rodriguez putback of his own miss gave Iona Prep a 14-12 lead with 5:19 to play in the first quarter.
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