ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – The Iona College men's basketball program fell prey to Princeton's late streaky shooting in a hard fought 85-81 loss in the opening game of the 2018 Hoophall Boardwalk Classic. The Tigers made nine of their final 11 shots to cap the deal in a game that saw both teams led by as many as 13.
 

GAME SUMMARY

The Gaels fell into a quick hole in the first three minutes of the game. Princeton jumped out to an 11-0 lead before E.J. Crawford hit Iona's first bucket. The Maroon & Gold struggled to gain footing with Tiger guard Jaelin Llewellyn wreaking early havoc. He had nine points in the first 10 minutes, including multiple buckets that kept Princeton up double-digits for the majority of the opening half.
 
Iona shot 4-for-16 from the floor and 1-for-10 from long range in the opening 10 minutes of the game. With the offense still looking for a spark, the defense carried the Gaels back in the game. Iona held Princeton to just two points for a nearly five-minute stretch during which Crawford hit his second trifecta to get Iona within six with 8:36 remaining in the first.
 
Princeton rebounded from its short offensive outage with a seven-point spurt that put Iona back down 25-12. Junior Isaiah Still dropped his first basket of the game to end the run at 6:10. For the remainder of the first half, the Gaels battled back with hot shooting ignited by the bench.
 
Junior Ben Perez, seeing his first action since Nov. 24 against Providence, scored a big basket to pull the Gaels within four, 25-21, with just under four minutes to go in the first. After a couple of response buckets from Princeton, the Still and Crawford duo embarked on a 10-0 run that'd give Iona a 31-30 lead at the break.
 
Crawford hit 4-of-5 from deep in the first half while the rest of the Gaels combined to shoot 1-for-12. The Hartford, CT native tied his career-high in three-point field goals in the first and he'd go on to set a new personal best with a single trifecta in the second half. Crawford and Still combined for 23 points on 50% shooting in the first half.
 
Princeton retook the lead for a short stint at the start of the second half. Iona battled back with its most fluid portion of the game. Perez hit a three-pointer to give the Gaels a 41-40 lead. Iona then went on a 15-0 run, fueled by eight points off the bench from RS Freshman Andrija Ristanovic in just five quick minutes.
 
Iona had its largest lead of the game at 12:16, 53-40. Richmond Aririguzoh ended the Maroon & Gold onslaught with an old-fashioned three-point play. From that point on, the Tigers chipped away and got back to within two possessions with 7:09 left.
 
Princeton's offensive hit its full crescendo over the final seven minutes of the game. Princeton hit nine of its final 11 shots, including a streak of six straight makes which was punctuated by Jose Morales's game-tying layup with 4:28 left.
 
Princeton's strong shooting wasn't just limited to the floor. The Tigers made seven-of-eight from the free throw line over the final 2:15 to ice the game. Devin Cannady, who had two pressured trips to the charity stripe, had seven points in the final 91 seconds.
 
The Maroon & Gold shot a season-best, 62.1 % from the floor and 66.7% from beyond the arc in the second half. Princeton was able to eke past the Gaels with a 52.9% long range attack; it hit five three-pointers over the final 7:09.
 
Crawford led the Gaels with 21 points on seven-for-14 shooting. Junior Tajuan Agee had 15 points and Still finished with 12. Off the bench, Perez and Ristanovic combined for 24 points.
 
Llewellyn and Cannady each had game-high 22 points. 15 of Cannady's shots came from beyond the arc. Llewellyn shot 10-for-15 from the floor and also added in a game-best eight assists.
 

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Crawford tied a season-best with 21 points. It is his second 20+ point scoring outing of the season. He is averaging 18 points per game over Iona's last three games.
• Ristanovic finished with a career-best 11 points. He tied a career-best with three trifectas.
• Perez led the Gaels with a career-best seven rebounds and also scored a personal-best 13 points. His previous career-high was 12 points against New Mexico (Nov. 13).
• Senior Rickey McGill had 12 points, six assists and six rebounds. He has played the full 40 minutes twice this season. McGill has played over 35 minutes in all but one game this season; the only game McGill didn't was against Ohio (Nov. 27) when he played 34.
• Drew Friberg came off the bench for the Tigers in the second half and made three three-point field goals in nine minutes of action.
• Princeton had 20 points off 13 Iona turnovers. The Gaels did have more assists than turnovers for the first time since Nov. 21 against Hartford.

 

UP NEXT

Iona's next game is against Yale in New Haven, CT at Payne Whitney Gymnasium on Saturday, Dec. 22. The game is being broadcasted on ESPN+ and is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. It'll be the final game of the nine game road stretch as the Maroon & Gold return to New Rochelle on Sunday, Dec. 30 for a home game against Holy Cross.
 

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