Sean Armand scored all 17 of his points in the second half to lead Iona over Fairfield 77-72 Friday night, earning the Gaels the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season title.
The sophomore guard got 15 points in the final 7:50, starting with a 3-pointer that gave Iona a 59-58 lead. He scored the next 12 points for the Gaels (23-6, 14-3) as they went ahead 71-65 with 2:44 remaining.
The Stags (17-12, 12-5) led 42-34 early in the second half, but Scott Machado scored six points in a span of 1:32 to rally Iona to a 42-42 tie with 15:30 to play.
Mike Glover finished with 13 points and Machado had 10 points and seven assists for the Gaels, whose title is their first since the 2000-01 season.
Rakim Sanders had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Fairfield, which had won its last seven conference games.
