NEW ROCHELLE, NY – A pair of career-highs in scoring from Rickey McGill and E.J. Crawford helped the Iona College men's basketball team upend Quinnipiac 84-74 this evening inside the Hynes Center during MAAC action.

Crawford and McGill each collected 20 points and eight rebounds for the Gaels (13-8, 6-4 MAAC) while McGill added seven assists and three steals in 36 minutes of action. Jon Severe went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe towards 17 points and four assists. Meanwhile, Sam Cassell Jr. also chipped in double-digits with 13 points in addition to six rebounds and a steal.

As a team, the Maroon & Gold outrebounded the Bobcats (8-12, 5-5 MAAC) 51-34, leading to a 17-9 advantage in second chance points. Iona also converted 24-of-28 free throws (85.7 percent) to help offset 41.0 percent (25-for-61) shooting from the field.

Quinnipiac was led by 20 points from freshman Mikey Dixon while Peter Kiss posted 16 points and six rebounds. As a unit, the Bobcats' bench outscored the Gaels' reserves 25-5.

Nine 3-pointers from Iona helped the Gaels lead for 18:20 of the opening 20 minutes in the first half. Following a trey from Severe with 5:32 left in the first, a pair of free throws from Crawford extended the margin to the largest of the game, a 13-point lead at 35-22 with nearly five minutes remaining.

A layup from Kiss followed by a jumper from Dixon helped Quinnipiac trim the deficit to seven points, 41-34, heading into the break. Iona ended the half shooting 50 percent (9-for-18) from beyond the arc as Crawford was just one point shy of his season-high with 14 points in just 15 minutes.

A 12-6 run from the Bobcats brought the Iona margin to one point less than five minutes into the second half before a Cassell 3-pointer and a Jordan Washington layup quickly pushed the advantage back to six points. However, Quinnipiac continued to chip away, eventually tying the contest at 57 with a pair of free throws from Dixon with 9:42 remaining in regulation.

Despite the run, Iona never surrendered the lead and a 14-4 spurt late in regulation helped extend the lead to 77-66 after a Taylor Bessick layup. A McGill layup and five free throws from the team helped Iona close out the 84-74 victory in the final two minutes. Additionally, a block from Bessick with 26 seconds left helped further end any run from Quinnipiac.

After dishing out seven assists in the first half, McGill found his own offensive touch in the second half with 15 points. Meanwhile, Bessick contributed all five of his points in the second half and hauled in six of his seven rebounds.

With the win, Iona has strung together three straight victories for the first time since the team won four straight contests from December 7 until December 21.

As part of tonight's contest, both coaching staffs helped raise awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation by participating in the platform known as “Coaches Cure CF.” To help bring awareness, both the Iona and Quinnipiac staffs wore sweat suits on the sidelines throughout the game. For more information, please visit coachescurecf.org. Additionally, the halftime interview with Iona Alum and CCCF VP and CFO John Judge ('71) can watched here.

Looking ahead, Iona returns to action with a trip to Albany to face Siena at the Times Union Center on Friday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm in the Capital Region. 

Additional Recaps:

● NYC Buckets - Ray Curren - Iona 84, Quinnipiac 74: Cluess Trusts His Depth
● NY Journal News - Josh Thomson - Stong second half from Rickey McGill gives Iona revenge
● Daly Dose of Hoops - Jaden Daly - Career night for McGill, Crawford help Iona avenge loss to Quinnipiac