NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men's basketball team erased a 10 points halftime deficit to win its fourth straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game on Sunday afternoon. The Gaels defeated the Marist Red Foxes, 78-70, behind a pair of 20-points scoring performances and clutch bench production for
Andrija Ristanovic.
GAME SUMMARY
Marist and their freshman guard Tyler Saint -Furcy jumped out ahead early, 12-3. The Red Foxes made five of their first seven shots and the Saint-Frucy had a couple emphatic buckets to start the scoring. The Maroon & Gold were forced to call an early 30 second timeout, but the Marist wave wasn't crashing yet. Iona was behind 21-12 at the under 12 media timeout, the a pair of back-breaking second chance three-point shots from the Red Foxes snuffed any Iona spark.
The Gaels were dealing with foul trouble for the majority of the first half, seeing starters
Isaiah Washington,
Dylan van Eyck and
Tajuan Agee all forced to play limited minutes. As a result, Ristanovic saw early minutes for a second straight game. The Belgrade, Serbia native hit Iona's first three-pointer of the game with 7:16 remaining in the first to make it 23-19.
Iona's defensive pressure was keeping them in the game over the final moments of the first half but troubles on the offensive end didn't allow them to capitalize. The Gaels had a four-minute stretch in the latter portions of the opening half were there committed four turnovers.
Marist led at the break, 33-23. It held Iona shooting to just 29% from the floor and 22% from deep. The Red Foxes on the other hand shot 44% overall and hit 6-of-10 from deep. Saint-Furcy led all scorers with 11 points at the break.
Acting head coach
Tra Arnold put his starters back on the floor to begin the second half and things began to turn around. Despite Agee and Washington each picking up a quick third foul, the Gaels crawled all the way back to take a 36-35 lead with 15:34 on the clock courtesy of a driving layup from
E.J. Crawford.
Iona went on a 13-0 run from 17:41 to 12:52 and it led by nine with 11:46 to go. However Marist did not fold, despite not having a made field goal for over seven minutes. Within a flash, the Red Foxes went on a 7-0 run and got the game back to within two with 10:27 left. Saint-Furcy tied the game at 53 with a dunk on a fast break and the two teams entered the under eight media timeout tied.
The tension in the Hynes Center was palpable as Iona and Marist stayed within two possessions of each other until the under four media timeout. Then the Maroon & Gold put their foot on the pedal.
Ristanovic made his third three-pointer of the game with 2:10 left. He then pulled down a defensive rebound which led directly to Washington's dagger step back trifecta with 1:09 left which made the score 71-63. Add on for good measure, Ristanovic dunked home Iona's final field goal with 16 seconds left and blocked Marist's final shot.
The Maroon & Gold used an 11-1 run over a 2:52 stretch in the final four minutes to ensure a fourth straight MAAC win.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Washington led all scorers with 21 points. He had 3-of-5 from deep and 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Washington also had six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
- Crawford was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line and closed the game with 20 points playing the full forty minutes.
- Ristanovic scored a career-high 13 points on perfect 5-for-5 shooting. He played 22 minutes, a season-high and the most he played 27 in the 2019 NCAA Tournament against North Carolina. That March Madness game was also the last time he scored double-figures.
- Agee scored 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting. He had a team-high seven rebounds and tied Washington for a team-best five assists.
- Saint-Furcy finished the game with 20 points for Marist. He had 7-of-9 from the floor and was a perfect 3-for-3 from deep. Michael Cubbage had four assists and Braden Bell had six rebounds.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Marist had 21 fast break points compared to just seven for Iona. Each team scored 24 points in the paint.
- Crawford has scored 20+ points in four of his last six games and in three straight games.
- There were a combined 50 fouls called in the game. Iona made a season-high 30 free throws on 35 attempts. Over the past two games, Iona has attempted 63 free throws shooting at 85.7%.
- The last time the Gaels made 30 free throws was on February 10, 2005 against Niagara.
- With Sunday's win, Iona improves to 7-7 in MAAC play and splits the season-series with the Red Foxes.
AROUND THE MAAC
- Niagara defeated Monmouth, 77-72. Melik Martin had 14 points off the bench for the Hawks while Marcus Hammond poured in 26 points for the Purple Eagles.
- Saint Peter's lead from wire-to-wire against Fairfield, 61-44. Aaron Estrada had 20 points in 29 minutes, hitting 8-for-14 from the floor.
- Siena's Manny Camper had 16 points to help the Saints win over Manhattan, 65-62. Jalen Pickett had 10 points and eight assists.
- Quinnipiac and Rider tipped off at 4:00 p.m.
UP NEXT
The Maroon & Gold play Siena on Wednesday, February 19 in Albany, NY at the Times Union Center against the Siena Saints. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with the game being broadcasted on
ESPN3. There are
live stats to follow and tickets are available at the
Siena 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)
