LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ - The Iona College men's basketball team held off Rider, 67-61, in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at Alumni Gymnasium. Iona's graduate trio of Tyson Jolly, Dylan van Eyck and Elijah Joiner led the way for the Maroon & Gold with double-digit point efforts in the win. Iona improved to 24-5 overall and 16-2 in MAAC play in its penultimate league road contest.

THE RUNDOWN

A pair of free throws by junior Osborn Shema gave Iona its largest lead of the game at 51-34 with 13:17 left in the second half. Trailing by 17, the Broncs chipped away and made it a one possession game less than eight minutes later. The 16-2 run over the span cut the deficit to 53-50 with 5:24 remaining. After Iona called timeout to regroup it appeared the visitors would get back on track following a three-pointer by sophomore Ryan Myers that was followed by a steal in the backcourt and a lob from Jolly to Van Eyck which put the Gaels back up by eight. Rider cut it to three points again with 3:22 remaining when Dwight Murray drained a three to make it 58-55.
 
After more than a minute without scoring, Jolly gave Iona a six-point cushion with a three-pointer from the wing. He added a second one just over a minute after that which proved to be the dagger. Following a review that gave Iona the ball with one second remaining on the shot clock, Jolly squirted free and van Eyck found him wide open on the opposite wing for a three-pointer that beat the shot clock and gave the Gaels a 64-55 advantage with just under a minute remaining.  The Maroon & Gold made just enough free throws in the final minute to hold off the home team.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Jolly posted 16 points and had two steals.  He shot 6-for-12 from the field and 3-of-5 from distance.
• van Eyck recorded his second double-double in an Iona uniform and first of the season with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.  He also added two assists and two blocked shots.
• Joiner had 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
• Sophomore Nelly Junior Joseph stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, eight rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals.
• Junior Quinn Slazinski netted seven points while Shema posted six in the win.

THE OPPONENT

• Rider junior Allen Powell had 19 points to lead all scorers.  He shot 7-for-17 from the field and 3-for-9 from long distance while adding three assists and two rebounds.
• Graduate Dimencio Vaughn had 13 points, six rebounds and three steals.
• Murray had 12 points with seven boards and three assists.
• Senior Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson had a team best nine rebounds in the loss.

TEAM STATS

• The Gaels outshot the Broncs, 41.8% - 30.8% and held them to 6-of-22 shooting from long distance.
• Rider held a 45-37 advantage on the boards, and 16-5 on the offensive glass but just a 7-2 lead on second chance points.
• Both teams dished out 12 assists and had 11 turnovers with Iona holding an 11-10 lead on points off the turnovers.

UP NEXT

Iona completes MAAC action this upcoming week, traveling to nearby Manhattan College on Thursday before hosting Quinnipiac on Senior Day at the Hynes Center.

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