NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College men's basketball team withstood a late rally by Drexel in a 77-70 win in non-conference action at the Hynes Center. The Dragons cut a 19-point deficit at the midway point of the second half to just two with 98 seconds left before the Gaels closed with four free throws down the stretch to seal their 23rd straight home win.

Four Gaels scored double-digits led by senior Isaiah Williams' 19-point, 10-rebound double-double. Williams added a team-high six assists with two steals and a block in the win. Junior Jordan Washington posted 15 points and five boards, sophomore Deyshonee Much had 11 points and four rebounds and rookie Jahaad Proctor had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists for his third straight double-digit effort.

Drexel was led by 20 points off the bench from Sammy Mojica. Leading scorer Tavon Allen had 16 points, four rebounds and three assists while Rodney Williams recorded eight points and eight rebounds in the loss.

The Gaels jumped ahead 13-2 less than five minutes into the game after Williams drained a three from the win. The lead was extended to 25-6 at 10:43 following a Washington free throw. Leading 41-23 at the four minute mark following a Ryden Hines layup, the Maroon & Gold were held scoreless the remainder of the half. Drexel chipped away five points and trailed 41-28 at the half.

Iona's scoreless stretch ended at 6:44 on after Williams laid in rebound following his own missed three-pointer with 17:16 to play. Drexel's run was 10-0 and the Gael lead was trimmed to single-digits for the first time since early in the first half. Williams' bucket sparked a 17-7 Iona run to build their lead back to 19 at the 10:21 mark. The Dragons slowly clawed their way back into the game with the help of two stretches of more than two minutes without Iona scoring a point. Allen hit two free throws with 1:38 left in the contest to make it a 72-70 game. Washington, graduate Aaron Rountree and senior Ibn Muhammad combined for a 4-for-6 performance from the line in the final 1:13 to seal the win.   With a four-point lead and under 15 seconds left, Muhammad drew his third offensive charge of the game to force a key turnover.

The Gaels return to action in the New Year at Quinnipiac this Saturday (Jan. 2) for a 2:00 pm tip off with the Bobcats on SportsNet New York (SNY).