DENVER—The day after hitting the deciding basket in the final moments of an intrasquad scrimmage, Randy Dezouvre calmly sank a game-winning shot when it counted.
Dezouvre hit an 18-foot jumper with 1.6 seconds remaining in overtime and Iona, down by as many as 13 points in the second half, rallied past Denver 80-78 on Wednesday night.
“He hit a game winner yesterday in a scrimmage in practice on the same play, so we figured, ‘Let’s go with it and see what happens,'” Iona coach Tim Cluess said. “Sometimes you get lucky, but he’s got ice in his veins.”
Chris Udofia tied it at 78 with 18.8 seconds left in the extra period, making a pair of free throws. But Iona hurried the ball down the court. Scott Machado drove the lane and kicked the ball back out to Dezouvre near the top of the key, where he swished the winning shot.
“It was just a little rub play. He got in the lane and I just popped out,” Dezouvre said. “I screamed to Scott, ‘I’m open. I’m open.’ Then he saw me and gave me the pass. I just had to hit the shot. There was no nervousness at all. I just shot it and we won. Oh man, it’s a great feeling.”
Chase Hallam’s long jumper at the buzzer hit the rim and bounced out.
“When I let it go, I thought it had a chance, but it hit the front rim and didn’t go in,” Hallam said. “Those shots are luck. Nothing more to ’em.”
Lamont Jones led Iona (7-1) with 21 points. Machado had 19 points and Mike Glover added 13 as the Gaels won their ninth in a row on the road dating to last season.
“It’s a great accomplishment by our guys,” Cluess said. “It shows how hard they work and they don’t quit.”
Freshman Brett Olson had 20 points to lead Denver (6-2), which lost for the first time in five home games.
Udofia had 18 points and Hallam added 11.
Iona scored the final seven points in regulation, the last coming on a pair of free throws by Glover with 1:13 left, to force the game into overtime.
“It hurts but it’s a learning experience against a good team like that,” Hallam said. “When we get up 13 points, we have to extend that lead. We can’t let them back into the game, like we did in those final minutes.”
Up by 11 at halftime, Denver stretched its lead to 61-48 with 11:42 remaining after Brian Stafford finished successive possessions with a 3-pointer and a driving layup.
Iona pulled to within 66-60 with 8:21 remaining as Jones converted a three-point play and Dezouvre drove for a layup.
The Gaels managed to cut it to 70-67 before Hallam hit a baseline jumper and Udofia slammed home a dunk to rebuild Denver’s lead to 74-67 with 3:51 left to play.
It wasn’t enough, though.
