Sam Wasson

Box Score

Iona College ION 2-5

Va. Commonwealth VCU 6-2

Iona College ION

2-5

Final

Dec. 01, 2018

Va. Commonwealth VCU

6-2

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Iona College ION	27	32	59
Va. Commonwealth VCU	46	42	88

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 12/1/2018 10:00:00 PM | Jonathan Stanko

Gaels Fall On Road At VCU

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vs. Columbia

12/9/2018 | 11:00 AM

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Dec. 09 (Sun) / 11:00 AM

vs. Columbia

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RICHMOND, VA – The Iona College men's basketball program lost its third straight game on Saturday night. VCU defeated the Gaels at E.J. Wade Arena, 88-59. Junior E.J. Crawford and senior Rickey McGill each had 16 points. They combined to shoot 13-16 from the free throw line.

GAME SUMMARY

VCU began the game on an 11-0 run. The Rams hit five of their first seven shots while the Gaels missed their first six attempts. Iona's first bucket came from beyond the arc courtesy of junior Tajuan Agee at 15:45.

With the scoreboard in VCU's favor 12-3, both teams went scoreless for an extended stretch. The Gaels forced four turnovers while keeping the Rams stifled for four minutes, but the spring came to a close with Mike'l Sims hitting a second-chance three-pointer at 12:14.

VCU went on its second extended run midway through the first half. A 12-0 run over two minutes put Iona on a 30-11 hole with 7:37 left. The Rams made four of five shots in the run and head coach Tim Cluess was forced to call his second timeout of the game.

Crawford ended Iona's three-minute scoring drought following the timeout. The Gael layup was answered by two triples from Macrus Evans and De'riante Jenkins. Trailing by 15-plus for the final eight minutes of the half, Iona got its first bucket from someone besides Agee or Crawford with 3:08 before halftime.

Iona ended the opening half hitting four of its last six shots. The increased offense efficiency was two late Rams three-pointers. The Gaels trailed at halftime 46-27. VCU had 16 points off 14 first half Maroon & Gold turnovers. Sims had three trifectas in the first half for the Rams. Jenkins and Evans each had two.

The second half began with the Gaels committing four personal fouls in the first three minutes. VCU got out 56-32 lead at the first media timeout with 15:31 remaining. Using various short spurts midway through the second, the Rams' edge grew to as high as 34 over the course of the second half.

Iona ended the game on a 7-2 run with all points scored by their senior All-MAAC Preseason First Team honoree. McGill was the only Gael to make more than one field goal in the second half. He led Iona with nine points in the frame.

The Gaels shot 39.1% in the second half and 37.3% in the game. They shot a season-worst 21.1% from long range on a season-low 19 attempts.

VCU shot 42.4% from the floor and 36.7% from beyond the arc. It had four players in double-figures, lead by 19 points from Evans. He and Simms combined to shoot 6-for-10 from beyond the arc.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

Tonight's contest against VCU is the first in the all-time series history since Dec. 22, 2005. Iona took down Rams at the Hynes Athletics Center that day, 77-72.
Iona had its second lowest scoring first half of the season. The only lower first half point total came in the season-opening win against Albany. The only half where the Gaels shot the ball at a lower percentage was the second half against Ohio.
The Gaels have been whistled for 20+ fouls in four games this season. It crossed that threshold nine times in total last season.
McGill ended with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. He ended with a season-best eight made free throws on 11 attempts. McGill is the only Gael who has double-figures in every game this season.
McGill crossed the 1,000 career-point plateau in the loss to the Rams. He has 1,007 points thus far in his Maroon & Gold career. McGill is the 42nd student-athlete to reach the mark in program history.
Both junior Asante Gist and Agee fouled out of the game. Gist was held scoreless for the first time in a Maroon & Gold uniform. Agee had nine points and five rebounds in 29 minutes.
Iona had a season-high 23 turnovers on which the Rams scored 27 points. The Rams also had 22 second chance points on 17 offensive rebounds.
The Gaels had a season-low seven assists as a team. McGill had three, Gist dished out two, and RS sophomore Isaiah Still and junior Niksa Nikolic each had one.

UP NEXT

Iona's next game is on Sunday, Dec. 9. The Gaels kick off the MSG Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden against Columbia. Tip-off from Madison Square Garden is scheduled for 11 AM. The game is being broadcasted on FS1.