GAME HIGHLIGHTS (VIDEO) 

NEWARK, NJ – Junior guard Rickey McGill hit the go-ahead jumper with 0:41 left to give the Iona Gaels (4-4) the lead for good in a 74-70 win over the NJIT Highlanders (5-5) on Saturday afternoon at the brand-new Wellness and Events Center (WEC).
 
NJIT had tied the game at 68 apiece on a layup from Anthony Tarke with 1:14 to go.
 
The Highlanders cut the lead to two at 72-70 with 0:09 left, but Iona's Schadrac Casimir sank a pair of free throws on the other end to stretch the lead for the Gaels back to four and account for the final margin of victory.
 
The win snapped a five-game home winning streak for head coach Brian Kennedy's squad.
 
A layup from Highlanders' sophomore guard Shyquan Gibbs tied the game at 66 with 3:01 left before McGill hit a layup with 2:30 left to play to make it a 68-66 game in favor of the Gaels.
 
Tarke paced the Highlanders with a season-high 21 points, while Gibbs and junior guard Diandre Wilson added nine points apiece. Freshman guard Shawndale Jones contributed seven points of his own off the bench.
 
Tarke has now led NJIT in scoring in each of the past four games and has averaged 17.8 points per game during that stretch.
 
Sophomore guard/forward E.J. Crawford led the way for Iona with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting and was joined in double figures by McGill (17 points) and senior guard Deyshonee Much (15 points).
 
The Highlanders shot 36.7% (22-60) from the field and 7-23 (30.4%) from beyond the arc, while the Gaels were 26-58 (44.8%) from the field and 10-20 (50.0%) from deep.
 
Much hit a jumper with 18:27 left to make it a 45-33 game in favor of the Gaels before NJIT embarked on a 29-16 run over the next nine minutes that was capped by a Wilson layup to give the hosts a 62-61 advantage with 8:09 to play.
 
In the first half, Tarke hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 12 apiece with 11:11 left in the opening stanza before a 19-11 run for Iona capped by a Jan Svandrlik three-pointer opened up a 31-23 lead with just over six minutes left in the first half.
 
NJIT would not get closer than five the rest of the half and Crawford buried a jumper in the final minute of the first half to make it a 40-31 game in favor of the Gaels heading into the locker room.
 
The Highlanders outrebounded Iona by a 38-34 margin, led by 15 rebounds from junior forward Abdul Lewis. Much had seven rebounds to pace head coach Tim Cluess' squad.
 
NJIT is back in action on Tuesday night when they head to Colgate to take on the Raiders (3-6) of the Patriot League. Opening tip from Cotterell Court is set for 7 p.m.


Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry