NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College men's basketball team used a late second half surge in an 88-74 win over Siena in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play at the Hynes Center. The Gaels (9-8, 6-2 MAAC) moved back into a four-way tie for first place in the standings following Canisius loss to Monmouth earlier in the afternoon. Senior Tre Bowman had 25 points and sophomore Isaiah Williams contributed a career-high 20 in the win.

Iona trailed for all of 22 seconds in the contest, a total of two possessions. The Gaels gained a double-digit advantage with 6:30 to play in the first half on a three-pointer from the wing by senior DaShawn Gomez. Siena got within six points with 2:08 remaining before Gomez hit a layup to make the margin 46-38 at the half.

The Maroon & Gold struggled over the first five minutes of the second half and allowed Siena to get within four points.  A Rob Poole layup made the score 53-49 with 15:03 left. Four minutes later freshman Maurice White made the margin the same but couldn't convert the free throw on the conventional three point play that would have put the Saints down three points at the midway point of the second half.  The Gaels followed with a 9-1 run in less than two minutes as Williams converted a Sean Armand assist into a layup to give the home team a 68-56 lead with 8:15 to play.  The run extended to 17-4 as Iona led 76-59 at 6:04 after an Armand three-point play.  The closest the visitors would get was the final margin of the contest.

Bowman scored 21 of his game-high 25 in the first half.  He shot 9-of-15 for the game and connected on five three-pointers in the win.  Bowman added six rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes.  Williams was 8-for-10 from the field and 4-of-5 from long distances with six rebounds, three assists and two steals.  Armand added 11 points, three assists and two steals while junior David Laury posted 10 points, six rebounds, four steals, three blocks, and three assists off the bench.  After scoring 31 points in the teams' first matchup eight games ago, sophomore A.J. English contributed just nine points, but had a team-high four assists in the win.

Junior Evan Hymes led Siena with 23 points.  Rookie Lavon Long posted a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double. Freshman Marquis Wright posted 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

The Gaels shot 54.0% from the field and held Siena to 41.8%.  The Saints held a 46-27 advantage on the boards.  Iona had 21 total assists and just nine turnovers, the fifth straight game it had 10 or less turnovers in a contest.

Iona completes its three-game home stand Friday night when they host Quinnipiac at the Hynes Center for a 7:00 pm tip off on ESPNU.