NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men's basketball program won its third straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference home game on Friday night against the Marist Red Foxes, 90-77. The Gaels had six players score in double-figures for the first time since Jan. 27, 2018 against the Manhattan Jaspers. Junior Asante Gist led the Maroon & Gold with 21 points off the bench behind four three-point field goals and 6-of-9 overall shooting.

GAME SUMMARY

Marist began the game shooting lights out in the Hynes Center, but the Iona defense clamped down in the second half and the Gaels cruised to their fourth MAAC win of the season. Notably, the Red Foxes hit seven of their first nine three-point field goal attempts and 58.8% from the beyond the arc in the first half. Come the second, Iona held Marist to 26.7% long range shooting.
 
Iona fell behind early following Marist's game-opening trifecta 28 seconds in, but the Red Foxes wouldn't hit another field goal until 14:05. The Gaels made five of its first seven shots from the floor and lead 16-13 at the under 12 media timeout. Gist was an offensive sparkplug off the bench hitting his first three shots and recording eight minutes in just under five minutes of play.
 
The Red Foxes hit three straight from beyond the arc in a 1:05 stretch to creep ahead of the Gaels, 28-25. Senior Ryan Funk, who scored his 1,000^th career point for Marist, led the long range attack for the Red Foxes with five three-point field goals in the first half.
 
Iona called its use-it-or-lose-it timeout with 1:36 remaining before halftime and the score tied at 37. Marist's leading scorer Brian Parker scored his first field goal and gave Marist a 39-37 lead as the first half was winding down. That was until Gist hit his third three-pointer of the first half as the first half clock struck zeroes. He put Iona up at halftime, 40-39.
 
The Maroon & Gold's defense efficiency increased immediately at the start of the second half. Marist missed its first five of its first six shots and the Gaels vaulted to a 49-41 lead. The Red Foxes went four minutes without a bucket until Funk hit his sixth trifecta to end the cold spell.
 
With 14:36 remaining, Gist hit his fourth triple and gave Iona its first double-digit lead of the game, 59-48. Following a Marist timeout, it was a short while later after a brief Red Fox spurt that junior Jahnathan Maxwell hit a corner three to bring it back up to 11. With 5:47 left, Marist called its final timeout with the scoreboard reading 73-65. Iona's lead got down to six with 3:38 left, but McGill hit a dagger three-pointer with 2:54 left that sunk any chance of a Marist comeback.
 
Gist finished the game with a team-best 21 points. McGill ended with 16 points and a game-best seven assists. Junior E.J. Crawford had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists. He tied for a team-high in rebounds with junior Tajuan Agee. Maxwell, Agee and junior Ben Perez all scored in double-figures. They combined for 35 points on 10-for-23 shooting.
 
Iona shot 48.2% from the floor and 38.7% from beyond the arc. The Gaels took advantage of the charity stripe, hitting 24-of-26. Marist shot 43.1% from the field and 43.8% from beyond the arc. Funk finished the game with 21 points for the Red Foxes. Parker ended with 13 points and a team-best three assists.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Prior to the game, McGill & Crawford were both honored for becoming members of the 1,000 career-point club. McGill crossed the threshold on Dec. 1 at VCU and Crawford joined his teammate last Sunday, Jan. 13 at Canisius. They are the 40^th and 41^st student-athletes in program history to etch their names in the record book in the scoring category.
• McGill & Crawford combined for 12 of Iona's 14 assists. Juniors Ben Perez and Gist tallied the two additional. It is the fewest assists as a team the Maroon & Gold had in a win this season. The previous low was 16 assists which came in the first two wins of the season against Albany (Nov. 9) and Hartford (Nov. 21).
• Redshirt Andrija Ristanovic returned to action after missing the past two games due to injury. He came off the bench and played three minutes and had one rebound. The entire Iona bench saw action in the game, including rookie Payton Hudson and junior Malik Rhem.
• The Maroon & Gold have won 18 of the last 19 games against Marist since being eliminated from the MAAC Championship in 2009. The long loss came in double overtime at the Hynes Center on Feb. 7, 2013 when the Red Foxes hit a three-quarters court buzzer beater to tie the game at the end of regulation. Head Coach Tim Cluess has a 16-1 record against Marist in his tenure.

UP NEXT

The Maroon & Gold travels to West Long Branch, NJ to complete the regular seasons series against Monmouth on Sunday, Jan. 20. Tip-off from the OceanFirst Bank Center is set for 1 p.m. The game is being broadcasted on ESPN3.

IONA GOLF MAAC CHAMPIONSHIP RECOGNITION & ANNUAL GOLD RUSH GAME

The Iona College men's golf program will be honored for winning their fifth ever Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference at halftime of the men's basketball game on Friday, Jan. 24 against Rider University. The game is also the annual Maroon Maniac Gold Rush game. The first 400 students who arrive to the Hynes Center will get the exclusive 2019 Gold Rush t-shirt. The opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
This game against the Broncs has also been flexed to ESPNU.
 
Iona Golf supporters are invited to attend the game and Goal Club Reception following the game. For additional information, reach out to Sean Burke, Golf Coach at sburke@iona.edu or (914) 633-2071.
 
For more information on the events, please contact Assistant Athletic Director of Ticketing Peter Talman at (914) 633-2491 or ptalman@iona.edu.

IONA ATHLETICS YOUNG ALUMNI GOAL CLUB GATHERING

Iona College Athletics will host a young alumni reception as part of the regularly scheduled Goal Club Reception prior to the Sunday, Feb. 10 men's basketball game against Niagara. The event will be held at Sage Cafe, located across from the Iona Campus on North Avenue.
 
Reception doors will open at 11:30 a.m. Attendees that have graduated since 2013 will receive a complimentary ticket to the basketball game which tips off at 1 p.m.
 
Any questions can be directed to Bryan Davis, Assistant Athletic Director for Development, at 914-633-2598, or email at bdavis@iona.edu.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Be sure to follow Iona College athletics on all social media platforms:
ICGaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
Iona Men's Basketball: Twitter, Facebook. Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)

Tweet #ICMBB
Tweet #MAACHoops
Tweet #GaelNation