ALBANY, NY - The Iona College men's basketball team saw a 21-point halftime deficit erased late in the second half, but held on for an 87-81 win at Siena in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play at the Times Union Center. With the win, the Gaels can finish no lower than the No. 2 seed in next weekend's MAAC Championship and a Friday night quarterfinal round date in Albany.

Senior A.J. English scored a game-high 32 points, grabbed seven rebounds and connected on six three-point field goals including a go-ahead connection with 3:33 left and another that made it a six-point game two minutes later to all but seal the win. It was his second straight 30+ point effort, the second time in his career he has done so and just the 10th time in program history it has occurred. Of the eight Iona performers to hit the mark only English and Steve Burtt Sr. have done it more than once. Warren Isaac (1964), Jeff Ruland (1978), Burtt Sr. (1983, 1984 twice), Sean Green (1991), Steve Burtt Jr. (2006), Mike Glover (2010), Lamont Jones (2013) and now English (2014, 2016 twice).

Sophomore Deyshonee Much complemented the effort with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. Junior Jordan Washington had eight points and nine rebounds in 14 minutes due to foul trouble. Graduate Aaron Rountree filled the stat sheet with six points, eight rebounds and a team high five assists while adding a block and a steal. Freshmen Rickey McGill and Jahaad Proctor and senior Isaiah Williams added five a piece and senior Ibn Muhammad had three huge points for the Gaels, a three-pointer from the right corner with less than a minute to play to make it a three-possession game.

Juniors Lavon Long and Javion Ogunyemi posted 18 points a piece for the home team. Junior Brett Bisping had a 17-point, 18-rebound double-double while junior Marquis Wright had 11 points in his second game back from a long injury.

Iona led by as many as 25 points with 1:16 to play in the first half. The Saints scored four points to end the frame and go into halftime down 57-36. The Gaels connected on 10-of-13 three-point attempts in the first half and were led by 22 points from English and 14 from Much.

Siena crept back into the game in the second half with a 16-2 run over a 3:46 stretch early that made it a single-digit deficit with 15:03 to play. The Gaels recaptured a 16 point lead with 11:01 remaining after two English free throws made the score 72-56. Siena proceeded to score the game's next 17 points as the Gaels went ice cold shooting 0-for-9 from the field and 0-for-2 from the line with four turnovers over a 7:24 span.

The Saints led for approximately four seconds before English's first dagger with 3:33 gave Iona a 75-73 lead. Long tied it with a layup on the next possession but the Gaels scored 12 of the game's next 15 points before a late three by Siena's Evan Fisher rounded out the scoring.

The Gaels complete their toughest road trip of the season Friday night at Manhattan at 7:00 pm on ESPNU.