McGill sparks Iona past Monmouth 103-84 in MAAC opener

Jan 4, 2019, 03:15 am

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- Rickey McGill scored a season-high 29 points on 9-for-11 shooting and Iona poured in 17 3-pointers to wallop Monmouth 103-84 Thursday in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener.

The Gaels (3-9) topped 100 points for the first time this season with five players reaching double figures. E.J. Crawford scored 22 with five assists, Ben Perez scored 19, Jahnathan Maxwell 16 with seven rebounds and Andrija Ristanovic tossed in 12 points. Iona made 31 of 53 shots, 59 percent, 17-for-31 from behind the 3-point arc and had 18 assists.

Ray Salnave, who led Monmouth scoring for six games in a row, was held to five points on 1-for-7 shooting. Salnave scored the game-winner on Sunday against Penn, snapping Monmouth's 14-game losing streak that had stretched back to last season.

Deion Hammond led the Hawks with 22 points and five 3-pointers, Diago Quinn scored 20 with seven rebounds and two blocks.