POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Connecting on all seven free throws in the final minute, the Iona College men's basketball team secured a 95-88 victory at Marist this evening in MAAC action to conclude the road portion of the regular season schedule. 

Schadrac Casimir scored 16 points in the second half towards matching his season-high of 27 points, shooting 10-of-14 from the field including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Jordan Washington added 19 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. Casimir and Washington combined to help the Gaels (18-10, 11-6 MAAC) notch a 52-22 margin in bench scoring.

Three others also figured into double-figures for the Maroon & Gold, led by 15 points from Rickey McGill to go along with five assists and a steal. Sam Cassell Jr. totaled 14 points, four assists and four rebounds while E.J. Crawford finished with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Khallid Hart led the Red Foxes (6-22, 3-14 MAAC) with 26 points, 17 of which came in the opening 20 minutes. Ryan Funk connected on five 3-pointers and five free throws to tally 20 points while Brian Parker came off the bench for 14 points and 11 rebounds.

An eight-point margin was the largest lead of the first half by either team as Iona led 47-39 with 2:02 remaining in the period following a McGill 3-pointer. However, a 9-1 run from Marist brought the Gaels halftime lead to 48-46 that included a layup with six seconds left from Richie Mitchell.

The Red Foxes generated a dozen points from the free throw line in the opening half by shooting 12-of-13 (92.3 percent) as Hart went a perfect 5-for-5 towards his 17 points. Washington and Casimir scored a combined 22 points off the bench to help push the Gaels ahead at the break.

After Marist regained the lead less than three minutes into the second half on a Funk 3-pointer, Iona took back the advantage with 2:42 remaining on a layup from Casimir. Parker tied the game for Marist on the next possession with a free throw before Casimir gave the lead back to Iona for good with a layup and a free throw.

With 40 seconds remaining, Hart brought the deficit to two points with a long distance, top of the key 3-pointer. From there, Cassell, Casimir and Jon Severe went a combined 6-for-6 from the free throw line to secure the MAAC win and move to 11-6 in the conference.

The Gaels finished the contest shooting 23-for-30 from the charity stripe, led by a 6-of-8 performance from McGill and five makes from Washington. In total, the lead changed six times throughout the 40 minutes in addition to eight ties.

Iona begins a stretch of three straight home games to conclude the regular season with a 5:00 pm contest against Rider inside the Hynes Center on Sunday. 

Additional Recaps:

● 2/17/17 - NY Journal News - AP - Casimir scores 27 to help Iona win, climb into 2nd place in MAAC
● 2/17/17 - Hudson Valley News - Charlie Cornacchio - Marist Men All "Hart" But Not Enough to Overcome Iona