POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - Junior Scott Machado scored 13 of his team-high 22 points in the second half and dished out 11 assists to complete his eighth double-double of the year in an 85-70 win over Marist in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at the McCann Center. Two games after reaching the 1,000-point mark, Machado set a new standard for single-season assists, breaking the 22-year old school record set by Glenn Grant.

For the third straight game, the Gaels (16-10, 10-5 MAAC) scored at least the first eight points of the contest, jumping out to an early 10-0 advantage with a senior Rashon Dwight three-pointer at the 17:31 mark. A 10-2 run over a two-minute span was capped by senior Alejo Rodriguez' layup at 4:08 put Iona ahead 38-19, its largest lead of the contest. Marist ended the first half on a 14-4 run to cut its deficit to nine points at the break.

Sophomore Sam Prescott took over in the second half for the Red Foxes, scoring the first seven points of the frame to get the home team within two points at 18:33. Three quick buckets by the Gaels made it an eight point game less than a minute later. A Prescott three-pointer with 10:26 cut the Red Fox deficit to just two points again. The Gaels responded with 12 straight points. A conventional three-point play by Dwight at 6:01 gave Iona a 72-58 cushion it needed to seal the win.

Machado's 22-points came on 7-of-13 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. He added two steals in 38 minutes of play. Machado ended the game with 199 assists on the season, five more than Grant's total in the 1988-89 campaign.

Dwight added 19 points, matching his career-high effort set earlier this season at Cleveland State on Nov. 13. Dwight was 7-for-11 from the field with two assists and a season-high five steals.

Glover had 15 points and six rebounds while Rodriguez added nine points and eight boards and junior Jermel Jenkins had seven points and three steals. With Glover and Rodriguez on the bench with foul trouble, sophomore Chris Pelcher scored six points in seven minutes of valuable action in the second half.

Prescott scored 23 of his career-high 34 points in the second half. He was 11-for-19 from the field with five three-pointers and seven-for-seven from the free throw line. Devin Price added 11 and Anell Alexis added 10 in the loss. Senior Korey Bauer posted 11 rebounds for the Red Foxes.

Iona out shot Marist 52.5%-36.7% but was out rebounded 41-31 in the contest. The Gaels matched their season low with just seven turnovers to Marist's 18. Iona recorded a season-high 13 steals in the win.

After beginning the weekend tied for fourth place with Loyola (which currently holds the tiebreaker by virtue of its defeat of first-place Fairfield) the Gaels vaulted into a tie for second place with their two wins this weekend. If the season ended today, the Gaels would be the No. 2 seed when you break the three-way tie with Rider and Saint Peter's. Iona holds a 2-1 record vs. the other two squads.

The Maroon & Gold continues its four-game road trip when they take on Manhattan on Wednesday (Feb. 16) evening.

Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Iona College..................   42   43  -   85
Marist........................   33   37  -   70