LEWISTON, NY - Sophomore A.J. English's three pointer from the corner with 7.9 seconds left propelled the Iona College men's basketball team to its sixth straight win as the Gaels escaped with a 90-89 victory over Niagara in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play at the Gallagher Center. The Maroon & Gold (13-8, 11-2 MAAC) erased a 12-point deficit in the last 4:09 of the contest.

Down 86-74, Iona's decisive 16-3 game ending run began with two free throws by junior David Laury with four minutes left. English made it a nine point game with 3:21 left by converting 1-of-2 from the charity stripe. After a Niagara turnover, Laury put in Iona's first field goal in nearly three minutes at the three minute mark to make the score 86-79. Following a missed front end of a one-and-one opportunity by Niagara senior Marcus Ware, junior Tavon Sledge made it a four-point game with a three-point play following a driving layup. Purple Eagles' freshman Wesley Myers answered with a three point play of his own on Niagara's next possession to regain the seven-point advantage.

Ten seconds later, senior Sean Armand answered with a long three-pointer as the Gaels trailed by four with 1:52 left. Ware missed two more free throws and Iona cut it to two points with two Armand free throws with less than a minute to play. Niagara sophomore Tajere McCall missed a jumper that would have made it a two possession game but teammate Antoine Mason grabbed the offensive board and was fouled with 28 seconds left. Following a miss on the first attempt, the Gaels called timeout to ice the nation's leading scorer.

Mason proceeded to miss the second attempt and senior Tre Bowman corralled the rebound to set up the eventual game winning play. The Gaels nearly turned the ball over but Laury came up with the loose ball and on the broken play, Sledge found English wide open for the trifecta that gave Iona a one-point lead.

The game was not over yet as Iona needed one more stop. Conventional wisdom called for Mason to get the ball on the last possession, however, it was McCall's deep three attempt for the gamewinner that hit the iron and a tip-in attempt by sophomore Rayvon Harris came up short as the Gaels escaped with the one-point victory.

There was a 24-point swing in the contest as Iona led by 12 points with five minutes left in the first half. Niagara cut the deficit to four points at the half and eventually took the lead until the final seconds of the game with 13:36 to play on freshman Ramone Snowden's three ball from the wing.

Laury had a career-high 28 points to lead the Gaels. He shot 9-of-13 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds. The 50.7% free throw shooter coming in to the game converted 10-of-12 from the charity stripe including his last seven attempts in the contest.

Armand scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half with four three pointers while adding four assists and two steals. Sophomore Isaiah Williams hit six three pointers, grabbed five rebounds and had three assists in his 18-point effort. English had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in the win.

Five Niagara players recorded double-digits led by Snowden's 18-point, 10-rebound double-double. Myers posted 16 points, Harris had 14 points and 12 rebounds and McCall posted 12 points for the home team. The Gaels held Mason to 13 points on 6-of-18 shooting in the win.

Iona out shot Niagara 50.1% - 46.8% for the contest but was out rebounded mightily, 48-30. The Purple Eagles did damage on the offensive glass grabbing 21 boards while holding a 22-0 advantage on second chance points.

By virtue of Canisius' loss to Manhattan, the Gaels sit in first place alone in the MAAC standings heading into a showdown with the Golden Griffins Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm in Buffalo.