NEW ROCHELLE, NY - Senior Scott Machado fell one rebound shy of a triple-double while classmate Mike Glover and junior Lamont Jones each eclipsed 20 points for the second straight game as the Iona College men's basketball team cruised to a 91-71 victory over Rider in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at the Hynes Center. Iona (15-4, 7-1 MAAC) - the NCAA leader in assists per game - recorded 27 to just nine turnovers to maintain its first place conference standing.

Jones poured in a game-high 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field while Glover added a 20-point, nine-rebound performance. Entering the game as No. 2 in the NCAA in field goal percentage, Glover was 8-of-9 from the field. Machado posted 11 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds. It was the closest any Iona player has come to a triple-double since former standout Nakiea Miller became the first and only performer to accomplish the feat the MAAC semifinal in 2000. Machado posted his fifth 15+ assist effort of the season and improved his NCAA leading average to 10.6 per game. Sophomore Sean Armand scored all 15 of his points in the first half while fellow sharpshooter Kyle Smyth had 12 in the win.

Armand's first of five first half three-pointers broke a 16-16 tie with 10:25 in the first half and gave the Gaels the lead for good. Glover's layup off a feed from Jones with 3:57 remaining in the half gave Iona its first double-digit advantage at 36-25. After two Rider (6-14, 3-5 MAAC) free throws with 3.3 left made the score 43-32, Armand hit his fifth three pointer as time expired to give the Gaels a 14-point halftime advantage.

A quick start to the second half saw Iona extend its run to 13-4. Jones' layup at 17:21 gave the Maroon & Gold a 57-36 lead. The Gaels led by 27 points on a Smyth jumper with 14:10 to play. From Armand's shot at the end of the first frame to that point, the squad's run peaked at 24-8. Senior Jermel Jenkins gave Iona its largest lead with 7:19 to play with a three-pointer that made the score 85-56. Rider outscored Iona 15-6 to round out the 91-71 win.

Rider's Jeff Jones came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points. Anthony Miles had 14 while Novar Gadson and Brandon Penn scored 10 apiece. 

The Gaels outshot the Broncs 54.8% - 47.5% shooting 58.1% from the field in the second half. The squad's 27 assists matched the second best effort of the season. Iona also out rebounded its opponent 35-30.

The Maroon & Gold embarks on a stretch of five of its next six games away from the Hynes Center.  Iona takes on Siena next at the Times Union Center in Albany on Monday (Jan. 23) at 7:00 pm