LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Iona College men's basketball team picked up its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win of the season and snapped its five-game losing streak with a 69-66 victory at Rider in Alumni Gymnasium on Friday night. The Gaels had three players score double-figures, led by
E.J. Crawford's game-high 22 points.
GAME SUMMARY
Isaiah Ross, in his second start of the season, got the game started with a three-pointer. However, the Maroon & Gold didn't score another basket until nearly five minutes later. Rider, in the early portion of the game, had immense success riding the train of Tyere Marshall, who scored eight points and had four rebounds by the second media timeout.
Rider led 19-10 with 11:26 to go before halftime, but the Gaels ratcheted up and played their best defense of the season for the next 10 minutes. The Broncs didn't have a made field goal from 12:22 till 2:10. With back-to-back driving layups by
Isaiah Washington, the Maroon & Gold trailed by just two, 25-23 with 68 seconds to go before halftime.
Marshall made two free throw attempts in the final minute, but
Asante Gist was answering the call for Iona. He made a basket and two free throws in the final 40 seconds, making the score 27-27 at the break.
Come the second half, Washington came off the bench early an immediately provided a spark. He made an and-one bucket that was sandwiched by two Gist trifectas to put the Maroon & Gold up 36-30 four minutes into the frame. Gist ended up with eight points in the first five minutes of the second half.
Andrija Ristanovic hit a three-pointer, off a great find from
Tajuan Agee, with 14:36 left to give Iona a 43-35. The Gaels maintained over a five-point lead till 9:30 was on the clock. Rider's Wily Nunez Jr. hit his second of three-pointers in the second half to make it 50-47. The Broncs continued to chip away, slowly creeping closer. They got within one twice before taking a brief 58-57 lead with 4:09 left on the clock.
The score was tied, 61-61 with 3:02 on the clock. Iona and Rider traded missed shots until Washington took the spotlight. With 1:57 left, Washington buried a three-pointer from the corner to put the Maroon & Gold up three. He then followed it up with a driving layup with 50 seconds left make it 66-61, Iona.
Up four with less than 20 seconds left, Dimencio Vaughn hit a three-point shot to make it 67-66. The late bucket was irrelevant as the Gaels put a bow on their first MAAC win with Agee tossing an outlet pass to Crawford who dunked it home as to buzzer sounded.
Iona shot 58.6% in the second half and 51.9% for the game. It hit 36.4% from beyond the arc and 70.0% from the free throw line. Crawford finished with a game-high 22 points. Washington and Gist both scored 17 points and combined to shoot 13-for-23.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Crawford's game-high 22 points is his fourth game with plus-20 points this season. He shot 9-for-15 against the Broncs.
- Washington's 17 points is a new season-high and his third double-digit scoring game this season. It's the first time he's made more than one from beyond the arc.
- Gist's 17 points came on 6-for-12 shooting and 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. It's his fourth double-digit scoring game this season, and first since he scored 23 against Princeton (Dec. 17) at the Barclays Center.
- Agee led the Maroon & Gold with 12 rebounds, 6 assists and three steals. He tied a season-high in rebounds and set a new career-high in assists. Agee attempted only four field goals; his lowest since his second ever game as a Gael last season at New Mexico.
- Marshall finishing the game with a team-high 20 points for Rider. He made 8-for-10 from the floor. Christin Ings had 14 points and four assists. Vaughn had a game-high four assists.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Gotta make your free throws. Rider shot 10-for-24 (41.7%) from the charity stripe. Iona made seven of its 10 attempts. It was a season-low in free throw attempts for the Maroon & Gold.
- Friday night was the first time Iona did not record a block defensively in a game this season. It was also the first time the Gaels won a game this season when it had less assists than its opponent.
- The Gaels are shooting 28-for-70 (40.0%) from long range over its first three MAAC games this season.
- Iona won the rebounding battle, 35-29. The Gaels entered the game ranked ninth in the MAAC in rebounding margin.
- There were six lead changes and four ties in the game. Iona led by as many as nine and the Broncs had 10 point lead at one point in the first half.
AROUND THE MAAC
- Monmouth defeated Canisius by a final score of 84-65. The Hawks shot 50.00% from the floor and 47.1% from beyond the arc. Ray Salnave had 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting.
- Manhattan vs. Fairfield
- Quinnipiac improved to 3-0 in the MAAC with a 67-56 win against Niagara in Hamden, CT. Marcus Hammond had 36 points on 22 shots for the Purple Eagles in the loss. Kevin Marfo and Matt Balanc combined for 26 points and 22 rebounds off the bench for the Bobcats.
- Fairfield earned a 68-60 win over the Manhattan Jaspers. Landon Taliaferro led all scores with 24 points in 37 minutes. He had six baskets, four from beyond the arc, and as a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
UP NEXT
On Sunday, January 12, the Maroon & Gold host the Niagara Purple eagles at 1:00 p.m. at the Hynes Athletics Center. The Gaels and Purple Eagles will tip-off on
ESPN+ and you can also follow via
live stats. Tickets can be purchased at the
Iona box office.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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ICGaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
Iona Men's Basketball: Twitter, Facebook. Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
