NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College men's basketball team could not erase a 19-point halftime deficit in its 66-60 loss to Manhattan in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at the Hynes Center. The Gaels scored the second half's first 11 points, but could not get any closer than three points in the defeat.

Trailing 40-21 at the break, head coach Kevin Willard inserted four freshmen and a sophomore to begin the second half. Freshmen Keon Williams, Kyle Smyth and Ben Mockford combined for 24 of Iona's 39 points in the final frame. The trio along with classmate Chris Pelcher and sophomore Scott Machado methodically cut Manhattan's lead to under 10 points and held their opponent scoreless over the first 6:20 of the half. The Jaspers answered with seven straight points of their own. Back-to-back three pointers by Smyth and sophomore Jermel Jenkins began a see-saw battle that saw Manhattan's lead stay around the double-digit mark. A late Gael run was capped by Smyth's season-high fourth three-pointer of the game and cut the deficit to 62-59 with less than 23 seconds remaining. After two Manhattan free throws, Iona turned the ball over and tw more freebies sealed the contest.

Smyth's 12 points led the Gaels. He added four rebounds, two assists and two key blocked shots in the contest. Machado scored nine of his 11 points in the second half. He had five rebounds and three assists. Mockford matched his season-high with nine points, on 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Junior Rashon Dwight had a team-best seven rebounds.

The Jaspers were led by junior Rico Pickett's 24 points. The MAAC's leading scorer shot 8-for-17 from the field. Senior Darryl Crawford had 14, while rookie Mohamed Koita had 10 before leaving the game with an injury early in the second half.

The Gaels are back in action on Sunday afternoon in a MAAC-TV contest against Loyola at the Hynes Center. The two teams tip off at 2:00 pm in a game that can be seen live on MSG+ in the NY Metropolitan Area or MASN in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area.