HACKENSACK, NJ - The Iona College men's basketball team used a late first half run to pull away in a 90-73 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson in non-conference action at Stratis Arena. Five Gaels scored 10 or more points led by 18 points from senior Jordan Washington and a breakout, 16-point effort from red shirt sophomore Schadrac Casimir.

Trailing 29-26 with 6:40 remaining in the first half, Iona hit nine of its final 10 shot attempts while converting five three-point field goals in a 28-6 run that put it ahead 54-35 at halftime. Sophomore Rickey McGill accounted for eight points in the run and Casimir hit back-to-back three pointers including a rare four-point play conversion with 2:42 to play.  After scoring 14 straight to end the first frame, Iona added six more to the second to account for 20 striaght points over a 4:33 span. 

Washington shot 6-for-10 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line and nine rebounds in 17 minutes of play. Casimir posted 16 points, five rebounds and five assists for his first double-digit performance since returning from a season-ending injury in 2015-16 that limited him to just four games. McGill and grad student Sam Cassell Jr. each had 14 points. McGill added eight assists, five rebounds and two steals while Cassell had four assists and was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. With Iona's final bucket late in the second half, freshman E.J. Crawford reached 11 points for his fifth straight double-digit effort.

FDU big man Mike Holloway had 17 points and six boards and point guard Stephan Jiggets had 14 points and six assists. Iona limited leading scorer Darian Anderson to just seven points on 2-for-13 shooting.

After shooting 2-for-8 to start the contest, Iona shot 61.8% in the first half and 51.6% for the game. The Gaels were 10-of-24 from distance and recorded 21 assists to just 12 turnovers. Defensively, the Maroon & Gold held the Knights to 35.7% shooting and a 44-35 advantage on the boards.

The Gaels return home Saturday (Dec. 10) to begin a two-game home stand and Ohio University at the Hynes Center at 2:00 pm.