NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s top two teams went head-to-head in an epic regular season match up at the Hynes Center. A torrid shooting start to the second half led Monmouth to a 110-102 victory over the Iona College men’s basketball team. The loss snaps a 26-game home winning streak for the Gaels. Iona remains on top of the MAAC standings by a half game over the Hawks.
Senior A.J. English came within one-point of his previous career-best, scoring 45 points on 16-of-26 shooting from the field with seven three pointers and going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. English added a career-best seven steals while posting three assists.
Junior Jordan Washington added 21 points and eight rebounds and senior Isaiah Williams had 13 points to lead the Gaels’ double-digit scorers.
Monmouth junior Justin Robinson had 29 points, four assists and four rebounds. Four other Hawks recorded double-figures including senior Deon Jones (18), freshman Micah Seborn (15), junior Josh James (14) and junior Collin Stewart (12).
The Gaels went into halftime with a 45-44 advantage erasing a 10-point deficit in the frame.
Monmouth barely missed in the first 10:35 of the second half, hitting its first eight and 10 of its first 12 shot attempts during a stretch included eight three pointers.
The Maroon & Gold battled back over the final 9:25, cutting a 20-point deficit down to just five points in the final minute of the contest.
Iona faces a short turnaround in a Sunday afternoon tilt at Rider at 4:00 pm.
