No. 16 Iona Leads at Halftime Before Falling to No. 1 North Carolina in NCAA Tournament First Round
No. 1 University of North Carolina – 88 | No. 16 Iona College – 73
2019 NCAA Tournament First Round – Midwest Region
Columbus, OH
Nationwide Arena
No. 16 Iona (17-16) led 38-33 at the half but No. 1 North Carolina (28-6) scored 55 points in the second half to win 88-73 in First Round action of the Midwest Region. North Carolina shot 63-percent (22-of-35) from floor over the final 20 minutes.
North Carolina Notes
• North Carolina advances to play the No. 8 seed University of Washington in the Round of 32 on Sunday.
• The Tar Heels were led by Cameron Johnson with 21 points.
• Luke Maye added 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
• On the glass, North Carolina held a 52-26 advantage and outscored Iona 48-10 in the paint.
• North Carolina won for the fifth time this season when trailing at the half.
Iona Notes
• The Gaels were led by senior guard Rickey McGill, who had a game-high 26 points.
• In the first half, the Gaels hit 10 3-pointers and finished 15-of-41 (36.6%) from behind the arc.
• The 15 3-pointers made by the Gaels are second only to the season-high 17 against Monmouth on January 3.
• Asante Gist led three other Gaels in double figures with 17 points.
• Iona’s lead at the half coupled with No. 16 Gardner-Webb’s lead over No. 1 Virginia marked the first time in NCAA Tournament history that two No. 16 seeds led two No. 1 seeds at halftime on the same day.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38
th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.