ALBANY, NY – For the seventh straight season, the Iona College men's basketball program has advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game. The Gaels bested the hometown Siena Saints in the Times Union Center, 73-57, behind tightfisted defense and a resurgent effort by junior Asante Gist. Iona opened the game and immediately set the tone with a quick seven-point spurt. Siena cut back into it with a pair of three pointers following an early called timeout, but the Maroon & Gold remained in control. They led the Saints 16-8 with eight minutes passed.

The Gaels built themselves a double-digit first half cushion with incredible defense. From the 13:38 mark till 6:23 was left in the period, Siena shot 1-for-12 from the floor. Saints senior Evan Fisher ended the run with a fast break layup, at which point Iona held a 24-12 edge.

The offensive flow of the Maroon & Gold hit speed bumps over the final portions of the first half. The Saints were gathering momentum and had cut the lead to 10 with just seconds to go before intermission. At which point, senior Rickey McGill stepped up and showed his immense postseason experience. The Spring Valley, NY native an All-MAAC First Team honoree got a Saint switch he desired and then buried a three-pointer off the bounce to end the opening frame. The Gaels had gone over 2:30 without a made field goal until McGill bucketed his first trifecta of the game.

Iona led Siena at halftime, 35-22. Iona's first half scoring was Gist. After not having a made field goal in the quarterfinal against Saint Peter's, Gist netted 12 points in the first on 5-of-10 shooting. The Maroon & Gold's defense shone most in the first half when they held the unanimous MAAC Rookie of the Year Jalen Pickett to zero points on three field goal attempts.

The Saints made a conscious effort to get Pickett going and he broke through to open the scoring in the second half. It was followed by a cold spell for both teams. From 18:09 till 12:38, both Iona and Siena combined to make zero field goals. The drought came to an end with Pickett converting an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 41-30.

The advantage was 11 for Iona with 8:15 left when redshirt freshman Andrija Ristanovic hit his first three-pointer and field goal of the championship. His triple was followed by another from McGill and with just under eight minutes to go, the Maroon & Gold had it largest lead at the time, 57-40.

The Saints fought to get it within 11 once more but Iona pulled away in the final four minutes. The coup de grâce came when Fisher was called for a flagrant foul and subsequently ejected with 2:48 remaining. Gist, who drew the initial foul, ended up sinking all four free throws to put Iona's lead to 67-50. The Maroon & Gold led by as many as 21 over the final moments before closing it out, 73-57.

Gist finished the game with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Junior E.J. Crawford had a stealthy 16 points in addition to eight rebounds. McGill finished with 18 points and six rebounds. Gist and McGill each had a team-high three assists.

Pickett scored all 15 of his points in the second half for the Saints. Fisher also had 15 on 6-of-18 shooting.

• With the win, the Gaels set a new MAAC record with its 11^th straight tournament victory. They previously shared the record of 10 consecutive wins with La Salle (1988-91) and Siena (2008-11).
• Iona improves its record against Siena in the MAAC Championship to 10-0. Eight of those wins have come at the Times Union Center.
• The Gaels matched their entire rebounding total of 19 from the quarterfinal against the Peacocks in the first half against the Saints. Iona won the rebounding battle in the game 37-30 and Agee led all players tying a career-high with 13 boards.
• Iona shot 49.1% from the floor and 45.0% from beyond the arc. It is the highest percentage from beyond the arc on the road since Jan. 13 at Canisius when the Gaels shot 53.8%.
• The Maroon & Gold's three steals is tied for the second lowest this season. It has happened on three occasions, twice against the Saints.
• McGill improves his personal record in MAAC postseason games to 11-0.
• Iona improves its overall record to 16-15 this season. It is the first time the Maroon & Gold are above .500 since the season-opener on Nov. 9 against Albany.

Iona plays for its unprecedented fourth straight MAAC Championship tomorrow evening at 9 p.m. The Gaels will face up against the winner of the other semifinal game featuring the No. 2 Canisius College Golden Griffins and No. 6 seed Monmouth Hawks.

The Maroon & Gold will attempt to be the first number one seed to win the MAAC Tournament since 2010 when Siena did so. McGill will also have the chance to become the only student-athlete in MAAC history to win four MAAC titles.

Tomorrow's final is scheduled to tip-off at 9 p.m. and is being broadcasted on ESPN2. Be sure to follow Iona College athletics on all social media platforms:
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