NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men's basketball program defeated Mount Saint Vincent in an exhibition on Saturday night, 112-79. Junior
Isaiah Washington and senior
Tajuan Agee both finished with double-doubles for the Gaels. The game was the Maroon & Gold's final tune up before starting the regular season in a week on the road against La Salle.
GAME SUMMARY
Iona controlled the flow of the game from the opening tip. After Mount Saint Vincent scored the opening basket, Washington knotted things at two apiece and the Maroon & Gold didn't look back. The Gaels gained a 10-point lead, 28-18, with 7:47 left in the first half. A four-point play by junior
Asante Gist pushed the Gaels advantage to 14, 37-23. Iona maintained its double-digit lead throughout the remainder of the first half, building it to as high as 17 on three separate occasions. At halftime, the Maroon & Gold led the Dolphins, 54-39.
Agee had a team-best 14 points in the first half on 5-of-9 shooting. Senior
E.J. Crawford scored 13 of his 23 points in the opening frame. As a team, the Maroon & Gold shot 42.5% from the floor and struggled from beyond the arc, 3-for-12. Iona did take advantage of the free throw line, making 17 of 18 free throws in the first half.
The three-point line welcomed all Maroon & Gold players in the second half. Increasing their field goal attempts and deep shooting percentage, Iona made 11-for-26 from long range over the final 20 minutes in route to a more fluid offensive effort. The Gaels shot 51.3% from the floor and had 20 fast break points in the second half.
Iona opened up a 20-point lead four minutes into the second half. The margin grew to 32 when Washington reached the 20-point plateau with a three-pointer to put the Gaels ahead, 81-49, with 11:31 remaining. The highlight play of the second half came with just under seven minutes left. Washington grabbed a defensive rebound then made a razzle-dazzle pass to senior
Ben Perez who drained a fast break three-pointer. Just seconds later, Washington stole the Dolphins entry pass and dropped a bounce pass below the basket to Agee who flushed it home with his second dunk of the game.
The Maroon & Gold's largest lead of the game was 40 with 3:10 left in the game. Over the final minutes, every healthy and active player for the Gaels saw action on the floor.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Washington closed the game with 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
- Agee ended with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.
- Crawford concluded with a sneaky 23 points shooting 50.0% from the floor.
- Gist had 14 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
- Perez came off the bench and made three three-pointers and finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
- Junior Isaiah Ross reached double-digits with 10 points
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Iona finished the game shooting 46.8% from the floor and 36.8% from beyond the arc. The Gaels made 24-of-27 from the free throw line for 88.9%.
- The Gaels had 44 points in the paint, 37 fast break points and 15 second chance points.
- Mount Saint Vincent was led by Kalos Evans off the bench who had 19 points in 21 minutes.
- The Dolphins shot 41.9% from the floor and 25.0% from the three-point line.
- Iona out-rebounded Mount Saint Vincent 60 to 33. Iona had 21 offensive bounds, five of which came from senior Mo Thiam.
UP NEXT
The Iona College men's basketball regular season begins on Saturday, November 9 at La Salle. The Gaels and Pioneers tip-off from Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia, PA at 4:00 p.m. The game is being broadcasted on NBC Sports Network and live on
NBCSports.com/Live. There are
live stats available and tickets can be purchased through
La Salle's ticket portal.
Tickets for all home men's basketball events at the Hynes Athletics Center are available at the
Iona ticket portal. The Gaels' home-opener is on Wednesday, Nov. 13 against Ohio University at 7 p.m.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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