NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men's basketball team fell to Niagara University and its stellar three-point shooting on Sunday afternoon, 70-69. The Purple Eagles shot 57.7% from beyond the arc in the game.
Tajuan Agee led the way for Iona with 20 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocks.
GAME SUMMARY
Three-pointers was the story of Sunday's game, and Niagara wrote the final chapter. The Purple Eagles made the last six three-pointers of the game and hit 10 of 13 from beyond the arc in the second half. Raheem Solomon hit a trifecta with 4:08 left to put Iona down, 67-65. The Gaels had three chances to tie the game before
Isaiah Washington knotted things up with a pair of free throws with 2:08 left.
Ninety seconds later, following a team timeout, Niagara retook the lead 69-67 with a second-chance bucket by Nicholas Kratholm. A single free throw from Justin Roberts with 24 seconds left made it 70-67, but Iona got it back to within one with Washington tapping in a put back with 12 seconds left. The Gaels called full timeout following the basket and attempted a trap to get the ball back, but Purple Eagles were able to run out the clock to end the game.
Iona had begun the second half with a 30-26 lead.
Isaiah Ross began the game hitting a pair of three-pointers in the early portions of the game and with just over 10 minutes to go before the break, the Maroon & Gold had a 17-9 lead. Iona had already withstood a three-minute stretch without a single basket at this point.
The offensive unevenness continued till the end of the frame for the Maroon & Gold. They missed nine of their last 10 shots of the half but clung to a four point lead at halftime, 30-26. Iona's leaders at the break were
E.J. Crawford with 13 points, Agee with eight rebounds and
Asante Gist with five assists. Niagara's Roberts had 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
The Purple Eagles began the second half hitting their first three shots and didn't relent. Niagara shot 48.3% overall over the final 20 minutes and they scored 30 of their 44 points from beyond the arc. Marcus Hammond, who was kept in check in the first half, scored 16 points in the second half. Solomon had 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
The Maroon & Gold had a run with back-to-back-to-back three pointers to give them a 49-42 lead with 11:47 to go. That seven points lead was the Gaels largest in the second half. It saw it dwindle and Iona never had the lead over the final 4:08 of the game.
Niagara shot 39.3% from the floor and 57.7% from beyond the arc. The Purple Eagles shot 70% from the free throw line. Iona shot 39.7% overall and 34.5% from deep. The Gaels were 9-for-14 (64.3%) from the charity stripe.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Agee had 20 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocks for Iona. He shot 7-for-18 from the floor.
- Crawford had a team-high 22 points on 9-for-16 shooting. He made three three-pointers in addition to pulling down a season-best eight rebounds.
- Ross finished the game with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Washington had 12 points on the bench.
- Gist had a team-leading five assists in 18 minutes.
- Hammond had 20 points to lead the Purple Eagles on 7-for-17 shooting. He also had a team-best four assists.
- Solomon was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc and finished with 10 rebounds and 17 points.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Agee set a new career-high in rebounds (17) and blocks (7). The last time an Iona player had at least seven blocks was Isaiah Williams at Manhattan on February 28, 2014. The last time an Iona played had 17 or more rebounds was David Laury at Rhode Island on March 17, 2015. Agee also drew nine Niagara fouls.
- Crawford has scored double figures in every game this season and has netted 20+ points five times. He has scored over 20 in three of Iona's four MAAC games. Crawford also tied his season-best with nine field goals.
- Niagara is 3-1 in its last four games at the Hynes Athletics Center. It's the second straight time the Purple eagles have defeated the Maroon & Gold by one point at home; they won 85-84 on February 16, 2018.
- The Maroon & Gold won the rebounding battle against Niagara, 45-35. It's the Gaels highest rebounding total since they totaled 50 in the season-opener at La Salle (Nov. 9)
- Iona has lost its two home MAAC games by a combined two points.
AROUND THE MAAC
- Canisius earned its first MAAC win of the season at Saint Peter's, 72-68. Malik Johnson led the Golden Griffins with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
- Manhattan survived a scare against Siena at Draddy Gymnasium, 81-69. Tyler Reynolds had 16 points and Samir Stewart had 15 points.
- After being tied at halftime, Rider surged to a 69-52 win on the road at Marist. Dimencio Vaughn had 16 points and 12 rebounds 29 minutes.
- Quinnipiac remained undefeated in league play with an 84-70 win against Monmouth. The Bobcats outscored the hawks 41-25 in the first half. Rich Kelly and Tyrese Williams each scored over 20 points.
UP NEXT
The Maroon & Gold plays its second straight home game at the Hynes Athletics Center on Friday, January 17 against Fairfield University at 7:00 p.m. The game is being broadcasted on
ESPN3 with
live stats. Tickets for the Gaels vs. Stags are still available at the Iona athletics
box office.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow Iona College athletics on all social media platforms:
ICGaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
Iona Men's Basketball: Twitter, Facebook. Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
