NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men’s basketball team suffered its second straight two-point loss in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference contest vs. Rider at the Hynes Center tonight. The Broncs (15-7, 7-3 MAAC) withstood a late Gael (13-8, 7-3 MAAC) charge and evened themselves in the MAAC standings with the 61-59 win.
Iona led by as many as 10 points in the first half when senior Rashon Dwight (Newark, NJ) converted two free throws at the 3:03 mark. The Gaels built the lead with the help of a 9-1 run midway through the half highlighted by two three-pointers by sophomore Kyle Smyth (River Edge, NJ) and a third by junior Jermel Jenkins (Union, NJ). Dwight’s free throws would be the last points Iona scored in the half as Rider cut the deficit to six at the break and held Iona without a field goal over the last four-plus minutes of the frame.
Rider knotted the score with a conventional three-point play by senior Justin Robinson at the 16:14 mark. The see-saw then saw four more ties and nine lead changes before a Robinson’s jumper in the lane made the score 59-55 with 16 seconds remaining. Junior Scott Machado (Queens, NY) cut the deficit to one with a three-pointer on the next possession. Rider’s Jonathan Thompson converted both free throws to put the Broncs up by three with eight seconds on the clock. Robinson fouled Machado to put the junior to the line. After making the first, Machado intentionally missed the second. The strategy nearly paid off as junior Mike Glover (Bronx, NY) grabbed the rebound and missed a potential game-tying bucket with controversial contact in the paint and Rider escaped with the two-point victory.
Smyth had a team-high 17 points, shooting 7-for-13 from the field with three long balls. Jenkins added 15 with three trifectas of his own while Machado posted 12 points and dished out seven assists in the loss. Glover was held to six points but grabbed a team-best 13 rebounds. The nation’s leading performer in field goal percentage shot just 3-for-12 from field. Also in the top 10 in free throw attempts, Glover did not go to the line for the first time all season.
Robinson scored 18 of his team-high 19 points in the second half to spark the Broncs. He was complimented by doubles by junior Novar Gadson (15 points, 10 rebounds) and freshman Danny Stewart (13 points, 11 boards).
In a rematch of a 100-96 overtime win for the Gaels less than two weeks ago, the two teams combined for just 120 points in the contest. Both teams shot under 40 percent with Rider besting Iona 38.9%-36.1%. The Broncs also won the battle on the boards 43-38. They shot 17-for-25 from the free throw line with the Gaels converting eight of their 14 attempts. Iona also held the MAAC’s leading three-point shooting team to a season-low 2-for-13 effort.
The Maroon & Gold looks to break its two-game slide on Sunday afternoon when they face Loyola in Baltimore, MD at noon.
—ICGAELS.COM—