SYRACUSE, NY - A run in the final five minutes allowed Syracuse to pick up a 71-62 non-conference win against the Iona College men's basketball program this evening at the Carrier Dome as Tyus Battle scored 28 points for the hosts to lead all scorers.  

Battle scored 23 of his 28 points in the second half for the Orange (2-0) to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Frank Howard added 15 points, four assists and three rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. Paschal Chukwu hauled in 10 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots. As a team, Syracuse shot 48.1 percent (26-for-54) from the field compared to just 36.7 percent (22-for-60) for the Maroon & Gold (0-2).

Rickey McGill played all 40 minutes for the Gaels towards a team-best 21 points to lead four players in double-figures in addition to six assists, four steals and three rebounds while knocking down five of the team's 10 3-pointers and a 4-for-4 performance from the free throw line. Deyshonee Much contributed 13 points and four assists in 34 minutes of action while TK Edogi fell one rebound shy of a double-double behind 10 points and nine rebounds. Zach Lewis posted 11 points, four assists, two blocks and two steals.

A Battle jumper more than eight minutes into the game created a 12-5 lead for the hosts before McGill and Lewis led a 7-0 charge from Iona to tie the game at 12 before McGill gave the Gaels their first lead of the game at 15-13 with 10 minutes left in the first half with a 3-pointer. Syracuse regained the advantage and pushed the margin to seven points twice throughout the final six minutes. However, the combination of McGill and Lewis once again brought Iona back as McGill cut the deficit to four with another 3-pointer while Lewis connected on a layup and a free throw to bring the score to 29-28 with 2:08 left in the period.

The Orange scored the last three points of the half in the last 48 seconds to create a 32-28 halftime lead. McGill led all scorers in the opening half with 11 points behind 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc to go with three assists and three steals. Howard led Syracuse with 10 points and three assists.

Syracuse pushed the margin to its largest of the game to that point with an eight-point lead less than two minutes out of halftime. The Gaels continued to stage rallies by cutting the deficit to one point again as Much hit a long 3-pointer to bring the score to 40-39 with 14:59 left in regulation. The Orange pushed the lead to eight point three more times in the next seven minutes until one of two dunks for Edogi in the half brought the margin to two points at 56-54 with 5:37 remaining.

Leading by two, Syracuse put one more run together to build a 65-55 lead following a Battle jumper with 2:35 remaining. Marek Dolezaj converted a layup to push the margin to 10 points once more before Lewis cut the deficit to seven points with 53 seconds left behind a trey. A pair of free throws from Howard sealed the final score of 71-62 for the Orange.

The Gaels next travel to the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase on the island of Nassau this Friday, facing Weber State at 8:00 pm. For all information regarding the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase, please click here.