LAWRENCEVILLE, NY – Senior Rashon Dwight (Newark, NJ) netted the game-winning basket with 17.5 seconds left in the Iona College men’s basketball team’s nail biting 100-96 overtime win over Rider in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at Alumni Gym. Dwight also hit two free throws with 6.0 left in the extra frame to ice the victory for the Gaels (11-6, 5-1 MAAC).
In a game of huge momentum swings it was Iona that struck first, opening an 17-point, 30-13 advantage just over 12 minutes into the game. Junior Mike Glover (Bronx, NY) hit his first five field goal attempts of the contest and had 11 points early to lead the Maroon & Gold. With the Gaels leading 32-18 at the 7:08 mark, Rider (12-6, 4-2 MAAC) stormed back with a 12-4 run over the next three minutes to get within four points. Eight straight points from junior Jermel Jenkins (Union, NJ) put the Gaels back ahead by 12 with 1:47 remaining. The pendulum was back in Rider’s favor following Jenkins’ scoring spurt as the home team ended the half with and 8-0 run and trailed 42-38 at the half.
Iona’s lead was fully erased early in the second half. Junior Brandon Penn’s three-pointer with 16:21 left gave Rider its first lead since two minutes into the contest. An Anthony Myles’ three with just under 12 minutes remaining gave the Broncs their largest lead of the contest. They nursed a single-digit lead until the Sean Armand (Brooklyn, NY) show started for the Gaels. The rookie guard scored seven straight points and knotted the score at 66-66 with eight minutes to go in the contest. He scored all 14 of his career-high 17 in the final 10 minutes of regulation to spark the Gaels. After being held scoreless for more than 10 minutes, Glover erupted for 13 points in the final six minutes as he and Armand combined for 27 of Iona’s final 29 points to end regulation. After Armand gave Iona an 85-83 lead on a three-pointer with 1:10 to play, Rider’s Novar Gadson answered with a conventional three-point play on the next possession. Down one with the ball, junior Scott Machado (Queens, NY) dished the ball to Dwight who missed a layup in traffic but corralled a key offensive rebound. Iona called timeout and it was Glover who converted a three-point play to put Iona up by two with 14 ticks remaining. Rider’s Mike Ringgold knotted the score at 88-88 on the Broncs’ next possession. With six seconds left, the Gaels got two shots off but Glover’s tip-in at the buzzer rimmed out and the game went into extra minutes.
Rider held a three-point lead with less than 90 seconds to play and Armand hit his biggest shot of his young career to tie the score at 96-96 at the 1:19 mark. After a missed three-pointer by the Broncs, Dwight converted the game winning bucket with 17.5 on the clock. With a chance to tie, Ringgold grabbed a Justin Robinson miss and was fouled. After missing both free throws, Dwight was fouled on the rebound and hit both free throws to seal the four-point win.
Glover had a monster game with 24 points and 17 rebounds. He shot 8-for-12 from the field and was 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the win. Machado pitched in 18 points and nine assists, hitting a key three-pointer in the overtime frame. Jenkins scored all 18 of his points in the first half connecting on four long balls. Armand shot 7-for-9 from the field with a career-best 17 points in 15 minutes of play. Dwight added 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals in the win.
Both teams shot better than 50% from the field in the high-scoring affair. The Broncs out rebounded Iona 41-37 for the contest and connected on 13 three-pointers in the loss.
Gadson had 22 points and eight rebounds, while Ringgold added 21 and eight for the Broncs. Robinson had 14 points and eight assists as the Gaels held the MAAC’s leading three-point threat to a 2-for-9 performance from behind the arc. Penn scored all 11 of his points in the second half.
The Gaels are back in action on Sunday afternoon when they host Marist at the Hynes Center. By virtue of a Fairfield loss at Loyola, Iona holds a share of first place in MAAC standings through the first third of the conference slate.
–ICGAELS.COM-
