ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The Iona College men's basketball team dropped its first road contest of the season to New Mexico on Tuesday evening in 'The Pit' at Dreamstyle Arena, 90-83. The Gaels had five players in double figures, led by junior Asante Gist's game-high 19 points.

The Gaels and Lobos combined for 51 fouls and 74 free throw attempts. Junior E.J. Crawford made a career-high 10 free throws as part of his 16 points.

GAME SUMMARY

Iona and New Mexico dueled back-and-forth in a fast paced game that featured nine lead changes and five ties. Junior Isaiah Still made the first bucket of the game from beyond the arc and got the frantically paced game underway. Vance Jackson hit two early three-pointers that gave New Mexico an early 8-6 lead. A third straight triple Lobo triple from Keith McGee pushed it to 11-6.

The Gaels bounced back with six straight points from Gist and a three-pointer from junior Ben Perez to give the Maroon & Gold a 14-11 lead at 14:16. Iona maintained the lead until McGee made a pair of free throws at 8:07 to tie the game at 24.

Jackson hit his third three-pointer of the first half at 7:25 to grab the lead and the Lobos stretched the deficit for Iona to a first-half high of seven at 31-24. Crawford ended a three-minutes scoreless drought and propelled Iona to a strong spurt right before halftime.

Junior Niksa Nikolic tied the game at 35 with 2:47 remaining. Soon after, Jackson and McGee put New Mexico back on top, but it was short-lived with senior Rickey McGill and Crawford scoring the final four points of the half to have the scoreboard read 39-39 at intermission.

Iona shot 41.4% in the first half. It hit 38.5% from beyond the arc. Gist scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half. New Mexico shot at a 52.2% clip in the first half but were deficient from the free throw line, hitting just 9-for-18.

The Lobos started the second half on a 6-0 run with buckets from Jackson, Vladimir Pinchuck and Corey Manigault. Crawford silenced the crowd with some free throws and it was Giste hitting his third triple of the game to put Iona back within two at 17:12.

Perez, who finished the game with 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting, hit his third three-pointer at 14:26 to tie the game at 54. The Lobos retook the lead for just a minute until Crawford scored again in transition to put the Gaels in front 58-57.

Iona's lead in the second half grew as large as five with McGill hitting a free throw at 11:29, making the score 64-59. The scoreboard stayed in the Maroon & Gold's favor until 7:05 with a momentum swinging fast break drunk from Manigault changing the tone over the final stretch.

The Gaels where within on possession for the next four minutes, getting key layups in traffic from McGill and Crawford. The dagger from the Lobos came with 1:52 remaining when Dane Kuiper made a corner three for New Mexico as the shot clock struck zero. His first basket of the game gave New Mexico an 86-80 lead. Kuiper would make a layup with 30 seconds left to give the Lobos a nine-point lead, their largest advantage, with 30 seconds left.

New Mexico finished the game shooting 50.9% from the floor and 40.0% from beyond the arc. The Lobos improved their free throw shooting in the second half, hitting 15-20. Iona ended the contest shooting 40.0% from the floor and 34.6% from long range.

NOTEABLE NUGGETS

• Iona's 29 fouls are its highest total since Nov. 21, 2008 against Wisconsin. New Mexico attempted 38 free throws. It's the highest total for a Maroon & Gold opponent since Nov. 15, 2016 against Florida State.
• The Gaels forced 20 turnovers and had 12 steals for the second straight game. Still had a career-high and game-high five steals. He also led the Maroon & Gold with eight rebounds and 15 shots attempts.
• New Mexico and Iona combined for 60 fast break points. The Gaels eked out the Lobos, 31-29.
• Rookie Jahnathan Maxwell scored his first career points. He finished the game playing 14 minutes, scoring six points and mustering three steals.
• Perez scored a career-high 12 points and made a career-best four three-point field goals.
• McGill finished the game with a game-best eight assists and 11 points. He scored nine points in the second half.
• Freshman Payton Hudson made his first collegiate appearance for Iona.
• Iona is now 8-4 against current Mountain West Conference members. The all-time season series between the Gaels and Lobos is tied, 1-1.

UP NEXT

Iona returns to action on Monday, Nov. 19 against Long Beach State in the MGM Resorts Main Event. The game is being played the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, NV.

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