NEW ROCHELLE, NY - A 24-5 run during the first half helped the Iona College men's basketball program claim a 83-67 non-conference victory this evening against Yale at the Hynes Center to notch a fourth straight win.
After the visiting Bulldogs (6-7) jumped out to a 19-12 lead nearly eight minutes into the contest, the Maroon & Gold (5-4) strung together a 24-5 run in less than seven minutes to claim a 36-24 lead following a
C.J. Seaforth 3-pointer with 5:41 remaining in the first half. The spurt first started with nine straight points from the Gaels to claim a 21-19 lead after a layup from
Zach Lewis. After Yale took back the lead on a 3-pointer from Azar Swain, Iona put forth an 11-0 run that included four points each from
Roland Griffin and
Jan Svandrlik.
Iona went into the halftime break with a 44-35 advantage led by 22 points from the non-starters as Lewis totaled seven points while Seaforth and Griffin posted six points each.
E.J. Crawford led the Gaels with nine points in the opening half, matching the effort from Blake Reynolds of the Bulldogs. The Maroon & Gold shot 55.2 percent (16-for-29) from the field in the period while Yale finished at 40.7 percent (11-for-27) after starting the game 4-of-5.
The Gaels pushed the lead to double-digits for good at 55-44 on a Crawford 3-pointer less than five minutes into the second half before expanding the margin to as large as 23 points with nearly three minutes remaining. A 10-0 run, including five points from
Deyshonee Much, helped put the victory in sight for the Gaels as the group shot 56.0 percent (14-for-25) in the final half on the way to an overall 55.6 percent (30-for-54) shooting performance. Included in the made field goals were 11 3-pointers, helping Iona move to 4-2 on the year when making 10 or more field goals from beyond the arc.
Crawford and Much combined for 43 of Iona's 83 points on the evening as the sophomore posted a career-high of 24 points while Much netted a season-high 19 points. Crawford also added six rebounds, two assists and one block in the effort. Lewis matched the rebounding output to share the team-high with Crawford.
Rickey McGill netted six assists, his seventh game of the season with at least six assists.
Iona is next in action this Sunday with a short trip to Madison Square Garden for a 4:30 pm contest against St. Johns, part of the 2017 MSG Holiday Festival. The contest is the first meeting between the two programs in 22 seasons, with the last game coming on December 27, 1995.
