UNIONDALE, NY - A balanced attack of six players scoring in double-digits helped the Iona College men's basketball team upend rival Manhattan 78-65 in the third and final game of today's MAAC Tripleheader at NYCB Live, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. 

Junior Schadrac Casimir posted a game-high 20 points behind 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc to lead the Maroon & Gold (13-8, 7-2 MAAC). Rickey McGill notched 11 points and four assists in addition to Deyshonee Much and TK Edogi chipping in 10 points each from their starting spots. Edogi also added six rebounds and three blocks while Much recorded six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Zach Lewis and Roland Griffin came off the bench to combine for 22 points for Iona, outscoring the Manhattan (10-12, 5-5 MAAC) reserves by eight points. Lewis was also credited with four assists, four steals and four rebounds. As a whole, the Gaels shot 54.5 percent (30-for-55) from the field and forced 13 Jasper turnovers compared to just six surrendered.

Zane Waterman and Zavier Turner each tallied 18 points in the effort for Manhattan as Waterman also hauled in 12 rebounds with three assists. The Jaspers took advantage of a 39-27 rebounding margin to produce 19 second chance points.

After a slow start for both teams, the Gaels created a nine-point margin with 5:02 remaining following a Griffin jumper in the paint. The Illinois native put the Maroon & Gold ahead by eight right before the halftime buzzer with a layup, giving Iona a 35-27 edge at the break. McGill scored all 11 of his points in the opening half to lead all scorers.

Following a 51.7 shooting percentage (15-for-29) in the first period, Iona shot even better in the second half with a 57.7 percentage (15-for-26) for the half. Additionally, the defense held Manhattan to just 12-of-33 (36.4 percent) shooting in the last 20 minutes. The efficient shooting helped Iona create three separate 13-point advantages throughout the final period, including the final score. 

Manhattan cut the deficit to five points with 1:25 remaining, however, the Gaels scored the last eight points of the contest that included a perfect 4-for-4 showing from the free throw line in the last 31 seconds.

With the victory, the Gaels are now 13-1 when Casimir scores 20 or more points throughout his career. Additionally, tonight's team field goal percentage was the third best on the season behind earlier games against Rider (58.2%) and Yale (55.6%). Furthermore, this evening was the first time since December 29 at Niagara that Gaels had six players in double-figures. 

The Maroon & Gold return to action quickly with a trip to Bridgeport, CT on Monday to face Fairfield at the Webster Bank Arena for a 7 pm start.