NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men's basketball program defended the Hynes Center on Friday night with a hard fought 77-71 win over Rider. The Gaels handed the Broncs their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference loss of the season behind a superb effort from senior guard Rickey McGill.

In front of a raucous Hynes Center crowd, the Maroon & Gold began the game hitting five of its first six shots. It was an 11-2 lead for Iona at first media timeout and McGill brought the Gael Nation mob into a frenzy with a dunk at the 12:42 mark that his team a double-digit, 21-9 edge. McGill had seven points in the opening eight minutes of the game.

The Broncs got back into the game with back-to-back three-pointers to make it a 21-15 score with 11 minutes in the first half. The game remained within 10 until junior Tajuan Agee hit his second triple of the first half with 6:47 remaining. Iona led 33-21 at that point carried on into intermission with a 41-29 edge.

Agee had 14 points and seven rebounds in the first half. McGill had a fantastic all-around opening period with nine points, six rebounds and five assists. Rider's leader in the first half was Dimencio Vaughn with 10 points off the bench.

The Gaels shot 47.2% from the floor in the first and managed a double-digit lead despite shooting just 26.7% from beyond the arc. Junior E.J. Crawford had nine points in the first half despite going 0-of-5 from beyond the arc. Rider shot 34.4% in the first and was limited to 25.0% from long range. The Maroon & Gold had a 27-14 rebounding edge entering the break.

The Broncs trailed by as many as 16 in the first half but within minutes into the second half, it became a one possession game. Rider got a couple big buckets from Scott Frederick and went on a 10-0 run to get within two, 45-43, with just over 15 minutes left.

At this point foul trouble mounted for both programs. Midway through the second half Rider's Steve Jordan had three fouls while the Gaels had freshman Andrija Ristanovic and Agee both battling the whistle. With 11:02 left, Agee picked up his fourth foul and the Broncs took their first lead of the game, 52-51.

Crawford adjusted his offensive game in the second half and made two massive layups in successions to keep the Rider wave of momentum from crashing down the Gaels. Iona led 56-55 with 7:43 left and so began the see-saw battle.
The turning point came 3:20 remaining. With two seconds on the shot clock, McGill tried forcing an inbound entry pass to Agee but had it deflected. The Gaels got a fortuitous bounce and it landed right in the hands of McGill who entered in play following the inbound. He was able to float it in as the shot clock sounded to give the Gaels a crucial 64-61 lead.

In the minute following, Iona vaulted forward 70-61 with an 8-0 run. Rider got to within one possession in the final minute, and Jordan had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 16 seconds left. He missed one of the two free throw attempts, allowing Iona to gain possession and close out the win.

McGill lead the Gaels with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. He shot 6-for-11 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Agee netted 16 points and had eight rebounds in just 24 minutes. Juniors Asante Gist and Crawford each had a game-high 20 points.

Jordan Allen led the Broncs with 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Jordan finished with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. Vaughn had just one point in the second half, ending with 11.

• Iona was able to defeat Rider despite shooting a season-worst 19.0% from beyond the arc. The Gaels shot just 4-of-21 from deep with makes from Agee, McGill and Gist.
• Rider was undone from the free throw line. The Broncs shot 12-of-21 from the charity stripe.
• Gist has scored 20+ points in three straight games. He had 21 against Marist (Jan. 18) and 21 at Monmouth (Jan. 20). Crawford bounced back from a rough game against the Hawks with his nine 20+ scoring outing of the season.
• Junior Niksa Nikolic had a career-best six blocks. He is the first Gael to have six blocks since Aaron Rountree against Niagara in On Feb. 7, 2016.
• Ristanovic tied a career-best with eight rebounds. He made his first start since Jan. 5 against Fairfield.
• Head Coach Tim Cluess played just a seven-man rotation. Gist played 33 minutes off the bench and junior Jahnathan Maxwell saw the floor for 13 minutes.

The Maroon & Gold's next game is on the road against Fairfield on Sunday, Jan. 27. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Alumni Hall. The game is being broadcasted on ESPN+. 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.

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