HAMDEN, CT – The Iona College men's basketball program traveled North to Connecticut on Friday night and came away with a resounding 73-52 win against the Quinnipiac Bobcats. All five starters scored in double-figures to help the Maroon & Gold secure its fourth Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win of the season.
GAME SUMMARY
The blustery conditions outside the People's United Center snuck inside at the start of the game for both Iona and Quinnipiac. Both the Gaels and Bobcats combined to miss their first nine shots. The combined to shoot 3-for-17 from the floor in the opening five minutes with 13 of the first 17 shots coming from behind the arc.
Despite picking up his second foul early in the half at the 12:56 mark,
Dylan van Eyck had a pair of Iona's biggest baskets in the first half. In his first start since December 17 against Princeton, van Eyck put home two dunks, including an alley-oop backdoor dunk assisted by
Isaiah Washington that put the Maroon & Gold ahead 22-14 with just over four minutes to go before halftime.
Iona had control for the majority of the first half leading over 16 minutes of the first period's action. Quinnipiac held a brief lead at 11-10, but
Isaiah Ross hit his first of three baskets in the first half to put the Gaels back on their next possession.
The Gaels ended the first half making six of their last eight shots from the floor. Iona led at the break 32-20 due in large part to suffocating defense. The Bobcats shot just 34.6% from the floor and 1-for-14 (7.1%) from deep over the first 20 minutes.
Quinnipiac's star point guard Rich Kelly was held scoreless on three field goal attempts. All of the Bobcats offense went through Matt Balanc who netted 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
E.J. Crawford was Iona's catalyst in the first half with 10 points and five rebounds. Both Crawford and
Tajuan Agee had two assists as the Maroon & Gold assisted on seven of their 13 made field goals.
The Maroon & Gold withstood a quick spurt by the Bobcats at the start of the second half. Associate head coach
Tra Arnold called timeout with his team leading, 34-31. The Gaels didn't have a made field goal in the second half until van Eyck hit a three coming out of the timeout with 16:16 on the clock to make the cushion two possessions again.
The Bobcats had to deal with foul trouble Kevin Marfo picking up his third foul with 14:31 to go. Starter Brendan McGuire was in foul trouble most of the game as well. Iona led 52-43 with 10:18 to go despite Kelly hitting a hot stretch for the Bobcats with eight quick points of his own in less than five minutes.
Agee had a transition dunk with 5:25 left that forced a Quinnipiac timeout and gave Iona's it's largest lead at that point, 61-46. The Bobcats went scoreless for nearly five minutes until Tyrese Williams hit a three-pointer with 4:18 remaining that brought his team back within 12. But Iona's defense didn't relent as Quinnipiac made just one of their last 11 field goals entering the final media break. The Bobcats shot 2-for-18 over the last 8:46.
Van Eyck had two dunks in the final 92 seconds and Crawford put the icing on the victory cake with a pair of free throws.
The Gaels shot 43.3% from the floor and 35.7% from beyond the arc. They out-rebounded the Bobcats 40-33 and assisted on 15 of their 26 made field goals. Quinnipiac shot 32.2% overall and 23.5% from deep. The Bobcats committed 12 turnovers which led directly to 12 Gael points.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Crawford led the Maroon & Gold with 18 points on 7-for-16 shooting. He made a pair from beyond the arc. Crawford also pitched in seven rebounds and a career-high six assists.
- Agee earned his second straight double-double with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
- Van Eyck scored a career-high 15 points in a career-high 35:09 minutes. He had four dunks in the game to go along with six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
- Washington scored 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Ross made four three-pointers and ended with 16 points.
- Quinnipiac was led by Balanc off the bench who ended with 14 points, all coming in the first half. Jacob Rigoni had 12 points in 25 minutes. Marfo led his team with eight rebounds.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- The 20-points Iona allowed in the first half was the lowest its allowed in any half this season.
- Iona did not have any points scored by its bench. Niksa Nikolic had the most minutes off the bench with 6:45, during which he had five rebounds and two drawn fouls.
- Iona kept Marfo, the nation's leading rebounder averaging 13.7 entering Friday's game, to just eight rebounds. It's the first game this season Marfo didn't have double-digit rebounds.
- Friday night was the second game this season the Gaels held an opponent to a season-low 52 points. The last game they did so was on November 23 against Kennesaw State, which was also the last time the Maroon & Gold won a game by 20+ points.
- Iona won the rebounding battle against Quinnipiac, 40-33. It's the first time the Gaels won the rebounding battle since its last win prior to Friday, at home against Canisius on January 24.
AROUND THE MAAC
- Rider escaped with a win at home against Canisius, 61-60.
- Manhattan won its second straight game at home, beating Niagara 77-59.
- Siena took care of business at home in Albany with a 16-point win over Fairfield, 65-49.
- Marist came away with a 72-61 victory at home against Saint Peter's.
UP NEXT
The weekend concludes with Iona battling Fairfield at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT on Sunday, February 9 at 2:00 p.m. The game is being broadcasted on
ESPN+. Tickets are available at the
Fairfield Stags box office. Fans can also follow the game via
live stats.
The Gaels are looking to sweep the season series against the Stags. Iona defeated Fairfield at the Hynes Athletics Center on Friday, January 17 by a final score of 64-57.
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)
