Mark Mohrman

Box Score

Iona College ION 2-7, 0-2 MAAC

Monmouth MON 7-6, 1-1 MAAC

Iona College ION

2-7, 0-2 MAAC

Final

Jan. 05, 2020

Monmouth MON

7-6, 1-1 MAAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Iona College ION	28	33	61
Monmouth MON	33	40	73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/5/2020 5:50:00 PM | Jonathan Stanko

Iona MBB Drops Second MAAC Game At Monmouth

Isaiah Ross led three Gaels in double figures with 17 points

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WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – The Iona College men's basketball team fell to the Monmouth Hawks on Sunday afternoon in a rematch of the 2019 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game, 73-61. Isaiah Ross scored a season-best 17 points for the Maroon & Gold. E.J. Crawford and Tajuan Agee both finished with double figures.

GAME SUMMARY

The opening five minutes of the game was a foreshadowing for the entire game for the Gaels. Iona had five turnovers in the first four minutes, and it finished with 21 turnovers in the game. Monmouth had 22 points directly off the Gaels' miscues and 25 fast break points.

Continuously pushing the tempo, the Hawks led 17-10 with 13:24 to go in the first half. At this point the Maroon & Gold had seven turnovers and trailed despite shooting 4-for-5 from the floor. The Gaels remained within striking distance in the first half because they held Monmouth without a field goal for over five minutes. The Hawks missed six straight shots until Melik Martin made a fast break layup with 8:10 on the clock to make it 19-15.

Crawford scored his first basket of the game with 7:07 remaining before halftime to help the Gaels break a spell where they shot just 1-for-7. As the clock dwindled below five minutes to go before break, the Hawks built their lead to 10 points, forcing the Maroon & Gold's second 30-second timeout of the period. Coming out of the final media break, the Gaels made a brief spurt with three-pointers from Mo Thiam and Ross.

Iona trailed at halftime 33-28. Ross had eight points at the break and both Asante Gist and Ben Perez had five each. Crawford and Agee both struggled in the first half scoring seven combined points on 2-for-10 shooting. The Hawks had 10 steals against the Gaels and they had a 14 to 4 turnover margin. Deion Hammond led Monmouth at halftime with 10 points.

The second half saw both teams struggle to get in a true offensive flow. There were 30 combined fouls whistled. Iona was called for six fouls before the first media timeout. Both teams were in the bonus with over 14 minutes to go.

With 12:30 left on the clock, the Hawks took what was then their biggest lead, 46-34. The Gaels went over five minutes without a made field goal, and a quick 7-0 run made it 56-41 with 8:31. The Maroon & Gold continued to fight and got to within 10 with 5:36 left. At that point, Asante Gist fouled out of the game and Monmouth began to put the game away at the line. Ray Salvane made 10 of 12 free throws in the second half, with 10 of those attempts coming in the final five minutes.

Iona finished the game shooting 38.3% from the floor and 40.0% from beyond the arc. The Gaels shot an effective 17-for-20 from the charity stripe. Monmouth shot 44.0% overall, 27.8% from deep and 72.7% from the free throw line.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Ross led the Gaels with 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting. He made four three-point field goals. Defensively, he had two steals.
Crawford finished with 15 points and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. He also had a team-high six rebounds.
Agee had 12 points and five rebounds. He had a team-best four assists.
Salvane and Hammond led Monmouth with 12 points each. Salvane drew nine Iona fouls and had six assists.
The Hawks leading rebounder was Nikkei Rutty with six off the bench.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

The Hawks had 25 fast break points compared to seven for the Gaels. Iona was doubled up with points in the paint, 28-14.
Iona's 21 turnovers and 27 fouls committed are both season-highs. Monmouth's 16 steals is an opponent-high this season.
The Gaels have not had more assists than turnovers since the two games in Florida at the MAAC-ASUN Challenge against Stetson and Kennesaw State.
Each team had exactly 30 rebounds, nine offensive and 21 defensive.
The Maroon & Gold are now 11-7 all-time against Monmouth. They are 4-4 in West Long Branch, 4-3 in New Rochelle, and 3-0 at neutral sites.
Colton Cashaw set a new career-high in minutes wit 14:44 time off the bench.

AROUND THE MAAC

Saint Peter's improved to 2-0 in MAAC play with a 66-40 win over Marist. The Peacocks held Marist to 28.9% shooting and forced 21 turnovers.
Manhattan won on the road against Niagara, 67-62. Tykei Greene had 21 points to led the Jaspers. Pauly Paulicap had 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
Fairfield won its first MAAC game of the season in a defensive battle against Canisius, 46-42. Landon Taliaferro and Vincent Eze had a combined 21 points and nine rebounds.
Rider defended its home court against Siena, 85-77. The Broncs were led by Dimencio Vaughn and Stevie Jordan who combined for 50 points on 13-for-24 shooting.

UP NEXT

Iona plays Rider on Friday, January 10 at 7 p.m. in Lawrenceville, NJ at Alumni Gymnasium. The game is being broadcasted on ESPNU. Fans can purchase tickets from the Rider box office and follow along with live stats.