Pickett, Siena get it going in second half, beat Iona

Feb 2, 2019, 08:29 pm

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- Jalen Pickett scored all 17 of his points in the second half and Siena rallied to defeat Iona 56-54 on Saturday.

Siena trailed 46-39 with 9:56 left in the second half before Pickett found his touch. He scored the game's next 10 points, including a 3-pointer for a 49-46 lead with 5:45 to go.

Siena led 54-46 with 3:24 remaining but the Gaels had their own rally to come. E.J. Crawford hit a layup then his two free throws made it 54-50 with 1:08 to go. After Siena committed a turnover, Crawford drew another foul and made both free throws. Trailing by two with 22 seconds left, Iona sent Pickett to the line and he made both for a 56-52 lead.

After the Gaels' Rickey McGill made two free throws to draw within 56-54 he stole the inbound pass and Iona missed four shots, three of them from 3-point distance, in a hectic final 15 seconds.

The final miss was a 3-pointer by Andrija Ristanovic, who was 0 of 7 from distance and 0 of 9 overall. He did grab eight rebounds.

Crawford led Iona (7-14, 5-5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) with 19 points and Perez, who scored 14 points in the first half, finished with 17. He made 5 of 7 3-pointers. The Gaels have lost three straight after a 5-2 start to conference play.

Evan Fisher added 12 points for Siena (10-12, 5-4). The Saints are 5-6 on the road.