NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men's basketball team rallied from a six-point deficit at halftime to upend Ohio this afternoon 79-75 behind 30 points from Jordan Washington and 19 points off the bench from Jan Svandrlik.

The Gaels trailed by as many as 12 points on two occasions in the first half, however, a 45-35 second half advantage sparked by 16 points from Svandrlik and 12 from Washington helped lead the Maroon & Gold to victory.

Washington led all scorers with a season-high 30 points on 13-of-18 shooting while adding six points. Svandrlik beat his career-high scoring output by six points with 19 in reserve duty, knocking down 5-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc coupled with five rebounds. Meanwhile, E.J. Crawford went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe to aid 15 total points while Rickey McGill dished out 12 assists and came up with three steals.

Jaaron Simmons led the effort for the Bobcats behind 22 points to lead four players in double-figures to go along with four assists. Antonio Campbell added 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals.

Ohio created an early 16-4 advantage within the first seven minutes of the contest, capped off by a 3-pointer from Simmons. Rodney Culver pushed the advantage to 12 points once again for the Bobcats at 21-9 with 10 minutes left in the half before a 12-3 run from the Gaels cut the deficit to three points on a Washington layup.

A pair of runs from each team in the final stages of the first half led to Ohio scoring the final four points in the half to claim a 40-34 halftime led. Campbell and Simmons each tallied 12 points for the Bobcats while Washington went 7-of-9 from the field to lead all scorers with 18 points. McGill notched five of the team's eight assists in the opening 20 minutes.

The second half featured five lead changes and four ties, the first equalizer coming less than three minutes into the final at 43-43 on a Washington layup. After Ohio claimed a five-point lead at 70-65 with 7:40 remaining, Svandrilk erased the lead and regained control of the advantage for Iona with his own 8-0 run behind two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws.

After Jordan Dartis tied the score at 75-75 with 1:36 left on the clock, Crawford scored the final four points of the game for the Gaels. The freshman one free throw to give Iona the lead at 76-75 and followed up with layup and a free throw for an old fashioned 3-point play. Two Kenny Kaminski attempts from beyond the arc went off the iron for Ohio in the final seconds, with the last being rebounded by Washington.

Iona improved its shooting from 36.4 percent (12-for-33) in the first half to 59.3 percent (16-for-27) in the final half, led by a combined effort of 11-for-15 shooting from Washington and Svandrlik. McGill's 12 assists, a career-high, were part of 19 for the Gaels as Sam Cassell Jr. added four.

The Maroon & Gold conclude a quick two-game home stand on Wednesday, hosting NJIT for a non-conference matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.