Sean Armand scored 22 points and Scott Machado had 16 points and nine assists to lead Iona to a 75-62 victory over Rider on Wednesday night in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game.
The victory, combined with a 72-54 loss by Loyola (Md.) to Marist, moved the Gaels (21-6, 13-3) into sole possession of first place in the conference.
The Broncs (11-17, 8-8) led 37-32 at halftime, but Iona took control with a 19-3 run at the start of the second half. Machado, the nation's assists leader, dished off on a tying 3-pointer by Armand and a 3 by Lamont Jones that gave the Gaels a 43-40 lead. Taaj Ridley finished the run with three straight baskets for a 51-40 lead with 12:05 left.
Ridley finished with 13 points and Jones and Mike Glover had 11 each for Iona.
Anthony Myles scored 21 points to pace Rider.
