ALBANY, N.Y. -- A.J. English shot his way to 31 points in leading Iona to an 87-78 win over Siena in a conference matchup on Sunday.

Sean Armand closed with 19 points for the Gaels who netted 15 3-pointers.

Iona (8-7, 5-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) led from the start and took a 50-40 advantage into the break on the heels of the Gaels' high-scoring guard tandem, Armand and English, who combined for 32 first half points, including Armand's 5 3-pointers.

Siena (7-9, 3-3 MAAC) muscled back, outscoring Iona 26-12 and taking a 66-62 second half lead with nine minutes to play.

Play from that point was highlighted by several lead changes until Tre Bowman's 3-pointer put the Gaels up 75-71. The Saints comeback effort fizzled as Iona's Mike Poole and English were perfect from the free throw line in the final seconds.

Evan Hymes lead the Saints with 19 points.