NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College men's basketball team led wire-to-wire for the 10th time this season in a 70-62 win over Loyola in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at the Hynes Center. The Gaels held on in the second half after seeing a 14-point halftime lead cut to just three points midway through the second half.

The Gaels jumped out to an 8-0 lead on the heels of three-point field goals by rookie Kyle Smyth and sophomore Scott Machado. After the Greyhounds scored six straight to cut the lead to two points, senior Jonathan Huffman hit a trifecta at the 14:43 mark to give Iona a 13-6 advantage. Leading by five a little over a minute later, the Maroon & Gold embarked on a 6-0 run to take their first double-digit lead of the game. Machado's jumper in the lane put Iona ahead 21-10 at the 11:24 mark. The Gaels maintained a cushion of at least seven points throughout the remainder of the half. Sophomore Trinity Fields' three-pointer in the final minute gave the home team their largest lead of the half at 40-26.

In the second half, two Rashon Dwight free throws pushed Iona's lead to 46-31 with 17:45 to play. The Greyhounds scored nine straight points to cut the deficit to just six points just under four minutes later. With less than 12 minutes to play, Loyola senior Brett Harvey was fouled on a three-point attempt and sank all three free throws to get the visitors to within three points at the 11:41 mark. The two teams traded buckets before Huffman drained back-to-back three pointers to push Iona's lead back to nine points at 8:19. The Greyhounds would not get any closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Machado's 12 points led the Gaels. He shot 3-of-4 from the field including his first half three pointer and 5-of-8 from the charity stripe in 24 minutes of play. Huffman added 11 points with three long balls while Fields posted his second double-digit effort of the year with 10 points. Rookie Mike McFadden's five rebounds and Dwight's four assists were both team bests.  All 12 players that appeared in the contest for Iona factored in the scoring.

Loyola sophomore J'Hared Hall had 14 points while Harvey and classmate Jawaan Wright each had 13 in the loss.

Iona is now one victory away from their 14th 20-win season in their history. The Gaels host the CAA's William & Mary at the Hynes Center on Friday night in a Bracketbusters matchup on ESPNU at 9:00 pm. Prior to the game, the Maroon & Gold will host their Senior Day festivities honoring its four graduates, Huffman, Milan Prodanovic, David Nelson and team manager Jake Moore.