NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men's basketball program returned to the New York groove on Sunday afternoon with a come-from-behind 79-76 win against the Niagara Purple Eagles. The contest at the Hynes Center featured nine ties and 21 lead changes, but big-time free throws from junior Tajuan Agee and a thunderous second-half stretch by junior E.J. Crawford carried the Gaels to their six Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win.

GAME SUMMARY

With 17:22 remaining in the second half, Marvin Prochet put Niagara up 46-35 with a three-pointer. Iona tried to make a short spurt, but one minutes later, Prochet hit another triple to keep the Purple Eagles up double-digits. Then, just like that, the Maroon & Gold went on a 15-0 run in under three-minutes to bring the Hynes Center to life.

Junior Asante Gist started the scorching stretch with a layup. Then Crawford ratcheted it up and scored 13 straight points. The Hartford, CT native carried the Gaels to a 54-49 lead with 12:08 remaining in the second half.
 
There were 12 lead changes over the final 12 minutes of the game. The Purple Eagles held a lead from 6:45 till 4:11, including going up by two possessions with just under six minutes to go. Senior Rickey McGill gave Iona back the lead, 70-69, with 3:39 remaining. McGill, who finished the day with a game-high three steals, stripped Marcus Hammond to allow for his go-ahead bucket.
 
The lead see-sawed twice more until the decisive moment with 14 seconds left. Crawford missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Agee mustered his was to an offensive rebound and put up a follow where he was fouled by Niagara's Dominic Robb. The Chicago, IL native knocked down both attempts, giving Iona a 77-76 edge.
 
The Purple Eagles called a 30 second timeout to set up a final play. Prochet took a runner from the left side with two ticks on the clock but the shot rolled off the rim. Gist pulled down the rebound and the iced the game with two from the charity stripe.
 
Crawford a game-high 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting. He made three trifectas for the second straight game. Agee sneakily had 10 points and a game-best 10 rebounds. Junior Perez netted 11 points and snagged seven boards. McGill played the full 40 minutes and had 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Gist scored 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half.
 
Prochet was the only Niagara starter to finish in double-figures. He had 17 points and all five of his made field goals were from beyond the arc. Dominik Fragala and Raheem Solomon each had 10 points and combined to shoot 6-for-11 from the field. Marcus Hammond had 18 points in 29 minutes.
 
The Purple Eagles shot 44.8% from the field and 53.6% from long range. Prochet and Hammond shot 9-or-14 beyond the arc; the rest of the team shot 6-for-14. The Gaels shot 46.7% overall and 32.0% from deep. Iona has not outshot its opponent beyond the arc since Jan. 20 at Monmouth.
 
The Gaels forced 17 turnovers. It is the most miscues by a Maroon & Gold opponent since Jan. 5 in a win against Fairfield. Iona had 28 points on Sunday's extra possessions. Niagara had just four points off the Gaels' 10 turnovers.
 
With the win the Maroon & Gold improved to 6-6 in MAAC play.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• McGill came into this game averaging 10.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in seven games against the Purple Eagles. The Spring Valley, NY native finished Sunday afternoon with 18 points, three rebounds, eight assists and three steals. McGill played the full 40 minutes.
• Gist was in Iona's starting lineup for the first time since Jan. 11 when the Maroon & Gold last played the Purple Eagles in Lewiston, NY. That game he played 33 minutes and had nine points and six rebounds. On Sunday Gist ended with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor.
• The Gaels went 15 minutes of gameplay without an assist; from 10:02 in the first half till 14:41 in the second half. The Gaels were stuck at six assists for that time. They ended the game with 14 assists on 28 made field goals. McGill led the team with eight helpers.
• The Purple Eagles had 42 points off the bench. The Gaels had zero points from their non-starters. Iona did not sub until there was 8:03 remaining in the first half when Iona led 25-24. Junior Niksa Nikolic came into the game at the point for Agee. The Maroon & Gold got a combined 25 minutes from Nikolic, freshman Payton Hudson and junior Jahnathan Maxwell. Nikolic had three blocks and two rebounds.
• Crawford has 13 20-plus scoring games this season, including five of Iona's last six. He is averaging 22 points per game since scoring a MAAC-low seven in the loss at Monmouth on Jan. 20.

UP NEXT

Iona's next game is on the road in Loudonville, NY against the Siena Saints on Wednesday, Feb. 13. Tip-off from the Times Union Center is at 7 p.m. The game is being broadcasted on ESPN+. Tickets are available at the box office or online.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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