LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – After trailing by as many as 26 points this afternoon, the Iona College men's basketball program fell just short at Rider 110-101 in the regular season finale in New Jersey.

The Broncs (22-8, 15-3 MAAC) led by double-figures for the final 10 minutes of the first half and went into halftime leading 57-40 as Kealen Washington-Ives hit back-to-back 3-pointers before the break.

Rider shot 67.5 percent (27-of-40) in the opening half as Washington-Ives led the way with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting while Dimencio Vaughn tallied 14 points on 7-of-9 field goals and Tyere Marshall went 5-for-5 towards 10 points and eight rebounds. The hosts controlled a 42-16 advantage in points in the paint after one period.

In the second half, the margin grew to 26 points at 94-68 with 8:50 remaining. However, the Maroon & Gold (17-13, 11-7 MAAC) led by 31 second half points from Rickey McGill charged back to come within single digits for the first time since 10:41 left in the first at 108-100. The clock was not favor of the Gaels though as the margin was brought down to single digits with just 22 seconds left as time expired with Rider ahead 110-101.

McGill ended his evening shooting 12-of-16 from the floor and 11-for-13 from the charity stripe towards 40 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in 37 minutes of action. Former teammate A.J. English '16 was the last Gael to score 40 or more points when he registered 45 points against Monmouth on January 15, 2016.

E.J. Crawford scored 18 points on the afternoon to go with three assists while Deyshonee Much came off the bench to score 15 points.

Rider placed five players in double-figures led by 26 points from Vaughn. Marshall added a double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds.

Next on the schedule is the MAAC Championship tournament next weekend from the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. Iona has drawn the fourth seed in the field and will be playing in the 9:30 pm contest on Saturday, March 3. The opponent is yet to be determined.

Stay tuned to ICGaels.com and follow Iona (@ICGaels) and the men's basketball program (@IonaGaelsMBB) for all updates regarding next weekend's MAAC Championship.