Manhattan Beats Iona For MAAC Title, NCAA Tournament Berth
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- George Beamon scored 16 points Monday night and Manhattan held off rival Iona 71-68 for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title and a berth into the NCAA tournament.
Beamon was one of four players to score in double figures for Manhattan (25-7), which earned its first NCAA bid in a decade.
A.J. English had 15 points for Iona (22-10), which had five players with at least 10 points.
Manhattan led by as many as 10 points in the second half.
But Iona chipped away, and was within two after English drove for an uncontested dunk with 18 seconds to play.
Iona fouled Donovan Kates, who made one of two free throws for his only point of the game. But a 3-point attempt by David Laury hit the side of the rim at the buzzer.
This will be Manhattan's first bid to the big dance in a decade, CBS 2's Otis Livingston reported. Tim Cluless' Iona squad had been hoping for their third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
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