STORRS, CT – The Iona college men's basketball team trailed by one at halftime but fell to UConn in Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday night by a final score of 80-62. In his homecoming game, the Hartford, CT native, senior
E.J. Crawford led the Maroon & Gold with 17 points in a full 40-minute effort.
GAME SUMMARY
The Huskies opened the game on a six-point run before senior
Tajuan Agee scored Iona's first bucket of the game. UConn led 11-4 at the first media timeout but Crawford made back-to-back buckets at the 13:15 mark to bring the Gaels within two possessions. The Huskies then increased its lead to double-digits midway through the first half.
Iona answered the bell with a 9-0 run to get within two, 22-20, at the under eight media time out. The duo of Crawford and Agee were carrying the entire offense, scoring all of the Maroon & Gold's points until they took the lead, 23-22, with 7:44 left in the first half. Junior Asante Gift had a running lay-up with 6:50 remaining to add a third scorer to the box score.
UConn took a three-point lead at the under four media timeout and clung onto a one point, 36-35, lead at intermission. Crawford and Agee combined for 27 of Iona's first half points on 11-for-17 shooting. The Huskies shot 59.0% from the floor over the opening 20 minutes, but the Gaels remained competitive with 10 points of seven UConn turnovers.
The Huskies came out howling in the second half. An 11-0 run over the opening 2:23 forced Iona acting head coach
Tra Arnold to call timeout with his team trailing 47-35. UConn continued its pressure and built its lead up to as large as 22 with 11:56 on the clock. At that exact moment when the Gaels trailed by its widest margin of the game, they had just nine shots in the second half compared to 20 for the Huskies.
The Maroon & Gold didn't fold. Instead they went on a seven-point spurt to make the score 63-48 with 9:02 remaining. With 5:41 left, Iona had the Gampel Pavilion crowed sitting on their hands when it got within 10, 64-54. However, the Husky players didn't falter and instead they crushed the Gaels' momentum right away. An and-one finish right after the Gaels lowered the edge to 10 preceded an eight-point run and UConn managed a 72-54 with 3:51 left.
Iona and UConn ended the game trading baskets until the final horn sounded and the score was 80-62.
Tyler Polley was the catalyst for the Huskies pull-away in the second half. He scored 12 points of his total 14 points in the second half, including three three three-pointers within the opening four minutes as part of the decisive 11-0 run.
The Gaels shot 33.3% from the floor in the second half and 2-for-11 (18.2%) from beyond the arc. UConn shot 37.8% in the second half but 14 offensive rebounds led directly to 11 second chance points.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Crawford led the Gaels with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He made his only three-point field goal attempt. Crawford scored 15 of his points in the first half, which is the highest point total in a single half for an Iona player this season.
- Agee finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Defensively he had four steals and three blocks. UConn held him to two points on three shot attempts in the second half.
- Junior Isaiah Washington closed out with 11 points and Gist's final box score read eight points.
- UConn's Josh Carlton had a game-high 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting. He also collected 12 rebounds, five of which were offensive. Christian Vital had 16 points and nine rebounds. Alterique Gilbert put together a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. Polly had 14 total points, including the crucial 12 in the second half.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Gist scored his 1,000th career point plateau at the 6:28 mark of the second half with a jump shot in the paint.
- The Gaels had a season-low seven assists. They did so while tying a season-best with 24 made field goals. It's Iona's lowest assist total since January 27 last season when Fairfield defeated the Gaels, 80-68.
- Iona made a season-low four three-point field goals shooting 4-for-19 (21.1%). The Gaels previous season low was eight three-pointers which had been reached three times. It's Iona's lowest three-point field goal total since the aforementioned Fairfield game.
- 11 of Iona's 15 turnovers came in the second half. Connecticut had 10 fast break points and nine points directly off the giveaways.
- The Huskies won the rebounding battle, 44-31. They had 19 offensive rebounds and assisted on 18 of their 30 baskets.
- UConn improves its all-time record against Iona to 4-1. Iona's only win against the Huskies came on December 29, 1984. All games have been played at UConn's home venues. Wednesday was their first matchup since 2009
AROUND THE MAAC
- Canisius fell on the road to Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, 62-59. The Golden Griffins shot 1-for-16 (6.3%) from the three-point line.
UP NEXT
Iona's next game is in Brooklyn, NY on Tuesday, December 17 at 4:30 p.m. against Princeton University at the Barclays Center. It is the second game of the Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall Of Fame Invitational.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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