NEW ROCHELLE, NY – In front of a packed out Hynes Athletics Center, the Iona College men's basketball program fell short against Ohio University in the 2019-20 home-opener, 81-72. Senior E.J. Crawford led the Maroon & Gold with 21 points but the Gaels as a whole could not get over the hump despite getting within one possession multiple times in the second half. Iona and Ohio both came out the gates slowly, combining to miss the first seven shots attempted in the game. The Gaels finally broke through and got the Hynes Center going when junior Dylan van Eyck got a steal and flushed home a dunk. The Maroon & Gold and Bobcats would go one to make their next eight combined shots from the floor.

With 13:51 remaining in the first half, Ohio made a three-pointer and held a 14-11 lead over Iona. The long range attack was the Bobcats most useful weapon in the first half. Ohio shot 7-of-12 in the first half from deep with five different players hitting at least one attempt. Overall in the opening 20 minutes, the Bobcats shot 58.3% from behind the arc had a 54.2% field goal percentage. Iona, in comparison, shot 42.4% from the floor, and 21.4% from deep.

The Maroon & Gold's most buzz-worthy play in the first half came with just under 12 minutes before intermission. Senior Tajuan Agee took a defensive rebound and hurled a full-court over-the-shoulder pass to junior Isaiah Ross who was streaking on the fast break. At that point the game was knotted at 16 each. The score remained within two possessions either way until a 12-0 run from the Bobcats late in the first half made it 33-24 in favor of the visitor. Neither team scored over the final two minutes and the scoreboard read in Ohio's favor at halftime, 36-31.

Three minutes into the start of the second half, Crawford made a running jumper in the paint to pull Iona within two, 38-36. However, over the next six minutes, the Bobcats continued to apply the pressure. With 11:01 left, they took their first double-digit lead of the game, 55-44. Iona's deficit grew to as large as 13.

Down by eight at the under eight media timeout, Iona clawed its way back driving to the basket. Running layups from junior Isaiah Washington and Crawford, as well as free throws from Agee and van Eyck, got the Maroon & Gold within one with 4:31 left. Ohio responded with a nasty five-point spurt and blurted its lead back to five, 73-65. From that point Iona was kept at bay, never reaching closer than five points over the final 2:46 of the game. The Gaels went over four minutes in the final portion of the game without a made field goal.

• Crawford led Iona with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Agee closed with 12 points and junior Asante Gist rounded out with 13.
• Five players tied for a team-best five rebounds; Agee, van Eyck and Washington.
• Agee, Gist and Ross each had three assists.
• Mo Thiam came off the bench and supplied nine points on 4-of-8 shooting.
• Ohio's Jason Preston led all scorers with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting. He also had 14 rebounds and five assists. Three other Bobcats scored in double-figures. Ben Vander Plas matched Preston with five assists.

• The Maroon & Gold shot 42.1% from the floor, 32.0% from beyond the arc and 88.9% from the free throw line.
• The Gaels did not attempt their first free throws of the game until 15:11 in the second half.
• Iona's 25 team rebounds would have been its second lowest total last season. In the opening round of the last year's MAAC Championship, the Gaels had just 19 team rebounds against Saint Peter's.
• Wednesday night's 18 turnovers is the most in a game since December 9, 2018 vs. Columbia in a 74-71 loss.
• The two teams combined for 37 turnovers in the game. Iona had 25 points off of Ohio's 17 turnovers, and the Bobcats scored 16 from the Gaels' giveaways.
• Iona had 13 steals in the game. Last season the Gaels reached that level just once on November 19 against Long Beach State when they had 14.
• Iona and Ohio have played each other for the past four seasons. The Gaels on the first two meetings before the Bobcats stole the last pair.
• The last time Iona lost its home-opener prior to Wednesday night was in 2016 when Niagara upended the Gaels.

• Monmouth was leading Kansas State by nine at halftime before falling to the Wildcats, 73-54. Ray Salnave had 20 points for the Hawks; he was the lone player in double-figures.
• Albany defeated Canisius in a Western, NY tilt 83-57. Majesty Brandon had 19 points off the bench on 8-for-18 shooting for the Golden Griffins.
• Bryant defeated the Saint Peter's Peacocks at the Yanitelli Center, 69-64. Quinn Taylor had 14 points for Saint Peter's in 26 minutes. He shot 6-for-10 from the floor.
• Stephen F. Austin defeated Niagara, 89-80, in Nacogdochers, TX. The Purple Eagles had five players in double-figures, led Noah Waterman's 15 points.
• Brown edged past Quinnipiac in Rhode Island, 70-68. The Bobcats forced a Bear turnover in the final 15 seconds and had a chance to win it at the end of regulation; Jacob Rigoni missed a three-pointer with three seconds left.

Iona returns to action at the MAAC-ASUN Challenge in Lake Buena Vista, FL at the HP Field House at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex. On Friday, November 22 the Gaels play against Stetson and then on Saturday, November 23 they'll tip against Kennesaw State. Both games are being broadcasted on ESPN3. 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)

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