NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men's basketball program picked up its first home win of the season on Friday night against the Fairfield Stags, 64-57. Offensively, four Gaels scored in double figures. On defense the Maroon & Gold held Landon Taliaferro, one of the most dangerous scorers in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, to just five points on 1-for-7 shooting.
GAME SUMMARY
In his first start since December 17 versus Princeton,
Isaiah Washington played with pace and confidence to lead Iona to its first regular season win in the revamped Hynes Athletics Center. He had just three points on three rebounds in the first half, but Washington had his fingerprints all over the final moments of the win.
With 12:57 remaining, Washington buried a three pointer that gave Iona a seven-point lead, 44-37. At that point, it was the largest lead of the game for the Maroon & Gold. The Stags continued to hang around within three possessions for the remainder of the game, but the Gaels had a counter for every Fairfield attack.
The scoreboard read 51-48 in Iona's favor with 6:28 left on the block. Iona had a shot clock violation and Fairfield had a chance to tie the game, but the Maroon & Gold defense stepped up.
Asante Gist picked up a defensive rebound and fed an outlet pass to
Tajuan Agee who then slammed home a jam to make it two possession separation.
Fairfield got back within three on four occasions over the final 5:07 of the game. Iona's crowd was collectively holding its breath the deepest when Stags guard Taj Benning hit a three-pointer with 2:04 on the clock. It was most draining because it came right after Gist hit a triple that had put the Maroon & Gold up six. Fairfield got the ball back after an Iona turnover, trailing 58-55, but didn't get a shot off. Washington joined in on a double team, picked Wassef Methnani's pocket, and took it coast to coast to put the Gaels ahead 60-55 with 76 seconds left.
In the final minute of the game, Agee had a key offensive put back and Gist made two free throws with 27 seconds left for the final icing on the victory cake.
Fairfield had a lead for the majority of the first half but fell behind with Iona went on a 10-3 run over the final 4:15 of the first half. The Stags made just one of their final 11 shots over the last 6:08 of the opening period. That included a stretch where Iona held Fairfield scoreless for 4:30 and forced six straight missed shots.
Iona shot 45.0% from the floor and 30.0% from beyond the arc. Fairfield shot 39.0% from the field and 27.0% from long distance. The Stags out-rebounded the Gaels, 34-31, and had 12 offensive rebounds. Each team had 12 second chance points. Iona had 12 points off 13 Fairfield turnovers.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Agee and 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting. He had three rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
- Gist, coming off the bench for the first time since February 8, 2019 against Quinnipiac, had 13 points and two assists.
- Washington collected 12 points and five rebounds. He shot 5-for-13 from the floor.
- E.J. Crawford had 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.
- Dylan van Eyck was effective in 22 minutes off the bench. He had four points on 2-of-2 shooting along with five rebounds and one massive block. It's the most minutes van Eyck has played since November 23 versus Kennesaw State.
- Benning had a team-high 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting for Fairfield. Chris Maidoh had 10 points. The Stags leading rebounder was Vincent Eze with nine. Aidas Kavaliauskas had a game-high five assists.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Iona had 22 points off the bench; Gist with 13, Mo Thiam with five and van Eyck with four.
- No Iona player had made than two assists in the game. The Maroon & Gold's eight team assists is its fewest in a win since March 8, 2019 in MAAC Championship quarterfinal against Saint Peter's.
- The Gaels Taliaferro to since digit points for the second straight game. He has scored less than 10 points in three of his last four games.
- Enjoy the weekend. The Maroon & Gold improve to 3-1 on Fridays this season. They are 4-3 in night games and 0-5 in day games.
AROUND THE MAAC
- Canisius won against Siena at the Koessler Athletic Center, 73-63. Malik Johnson had 24 points in 38 minutes. He was one of four players in double figures for the Golden Griffins.
- Niagara won at the buzzer with Marcus Hammond making an extended jump shot off an assist from Justin Roberts. The final score was Purple Eagles 70, Rider 68. Hammond finished the game with 15 points.
UP NEXT
The Gaels take to the rode on Sunday, January 19 when they travel to Poughkeepsie, NY to play the Marist Red Foxes at McCann Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on
ESPN3. Gael Nation fans can get tickets at the
Marist box office or follow the game via
live stats.
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)
