WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ — The Iona College men’s basketball team erased a 13-point first half deficit late in the second frame but a late Monmouth run led to a 92-89 defeat in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play at the Multipurpose Activity Center. Junior A.J. English scored 31 points and freshman Schadrac Casimir added 29 in the loss.
English was 9-of-14 from the field with three three-point field goals and a 10-for-10 effort from the charity stripe. He added a eight assists in just under 40 minutes of action. Casimir was 10-of-20 from the field and matched his Iona rookie record from two games ago with eight trifectas. Senior David Laury posted 13 points and seven rebounds, while junior Isaiah Williams had eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Junior Ibn Muhammad added a season-high eight points to account for the Gaels scoring.
Over the first 18:13, Iona shot just 8-for-25 (32.0%) from the field and recorded eight turnovers and found themselves in a 44-31 hole. Three straight three pointers by Muhammad, English and Casimir got the Gaels within six points in less than two minutes. Monmouth senior Max DiLeo converted a layup to give the Hawks a 48-40 halftime advantage.
The Gaels dialed long distance in their comeback attempt in the second half converting 8-of-14 three point attempts while shooting 59.4% overall in the final 20 minutes. Trailing 62-53 with 15:14 left, Casmir went on a personal 10-2 run over a 2:25 span to get the Maroon & Gold within one point with 12:57 to play. Monmouth rebounded with five straight points and after the two teams traded buckets, Iona scored six straight even the score at 71-71 with just under 10 minutes remaining. Iona held an 85-82 lead with 4:26 left but went scoreless for more than four minutes, allowing Monmouth to build a five point lead with 13 ticks left. Sophomore Justin Robinson hit a jumper from the foul line with 32.1 seconds remaining and the shot clock winding and all four free throw attempts on the team’s next to possessions to seal the win. English hit two layups in the final seconds to end Iona’s scoring drought and pull the final margin to 92-89.
Robinson scored 25 points while junior Deon Jones added 18, DiLeo had 12 points and five steals, and Andrew Nicholas posted 11 off the bench. The Hawks outshot the Gaels 52.4% – 50.0% and held a 34-28 advantage on the boards. Iona’s 16 turnovers proved costly as Monmouth converted them into 20 points. The Maroon & Gold had just 10 points off the Hawks 12 giveaways. Monmouth also had a significant advantage in transition (21-8 on fast break opportunities) and in the paint (42-26).
The Gaels are back in action on Wednesday, completing MAAC December play when they host Rider at the Hynes Center at 7:00 pm.