NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. –  It was a game of pace with the first half belonging to the Stags and the second half going the Gaels' way. And in the end, Iona College wound up with the momentum at end, resulting in a 74-58 win over the Fairfield University men's basketball team.

                Offense was not in short supply as the Stags netted 37 first-half points for the second straight game. Fairfield scored by going inside and by making shots from the outside. The combination of Tyler Nelson's long-range shooting, Mike Kirkland's play around the rim, and Jerome Segura's drives to the hoop kept Fairfield in front for all but a few seconds of the opening half

                Fairfield opened the game by scoring the first five points of the game and eight of the 10 points to open an 8-2 edge by the first media timeout. Iona warmed up from the outside and found its three-point range which helped the home team creep back into the game. The Gaels next three field goals all came from behind the three-point arc, the last of which brought Iona within a point at 14-13 with 11:55 remaining in the half.

                The Stags answered with seven straight points off a running one hander from Segura, a three pointer from Nelson, and a layup from Kirkland, making it an eight-point Fairfield lead at 21-13 at the 9:59 mark. Fairfield tacked one more point onto that lead with seven minutes remaining as Coleman Johnson's jumper gave the Stags a 28-19 lead.

                The Gaels put together their own seven-point run to come within a possession at 28-26 as David Laury posted three of those points. Iona would take its only lead of the half when A.J. English sank a long three pointer to push the Gaels in front at 36-35 with 28 seconds remaining. However, Segura regained the lead with another driving layup with one second left on the clock that sent Fairfield to the locker room ahead, 37-36.

                Kirkland opened the second half by scoring four of the Stags' first six points that enabled Fairfield to open up a four point lead at 43-39 in the opening minutes. After the lead reached five points at 45-40, Iona scored seven straight points on layup from Laury and five straight points from English to give Iona a lead at 47-45. Nelson stopped the run with his fifth three pointer of the night to recapture the lead at 48-47.

                After trading baskets, Iona wrapped four  three-point field goals around a Kirkland layup to gain its biggest lead to that point at 61-52 with 8:40 remaining. English made two of those two of those three pointers. Another English three pointer followed a jumper from Marcus Gilbert which allowed Iona to take a double-digit lead at 64-54 with 7:57 on the clock.

                Iona would lead by as many as 16 points down the stretch which ended up being the final margin.

                “Iona is a good team that provides unique challenges offensively,” Head Coach Sydney Johnson said after the game. “I like what we are doing offensively over the last few games. We keep improving each game and I like how we continue to grow as a team.”

                The Stags will return home Friday when they host Marist College at Webster Bank Arena at 7 pm.