Crawford's bucket send Iona past Monmouth 76-73

Jan 20, 2018, 02:47 am

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -- E.J. Crawford's shot in the paint with 32 seconds left lifted Iona to a 76-73 victory over Monmouth on Friday night for the Gaels' fifth straight win.

After Crawford's basket, Micah Seaborn, Monmouth's leading scorer who returned after missing three games with an injury, missed a short but well-contested jumper, and Iona's TK Edogi added two free throws with 5.6 seconds left. Austin Tilghman's 3-point attempt banked in and out as time ran out.

Iona had a 13-point lead late in the first half but Monmouth tied the game on Hammond's 3-pointer with 13:45 remaining and neither team led by more than three thereafter.

Rickey McGill scored 18 points, Crawford 16, Roland Griffin 15 and Edogi 12 with nine rebounds for Iona (12-7, 6-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference).

Ray Salnava scored 16 points, Deion Hammond 13 and Melik Martin 12 for the Hawks (5-13, 1-5). Seaborn made three 3-pointers for his nine points in 21 minutes.