NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – Lamont Jones scored 20 points and Sean Armand added 19 in Iona's 65-58 win over Denver on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
Jones, who also dished seven assists, made 7 of 15 shot attempts — including three 3-pointers. Jones was on the court all 40 minutes for the Gaels, who had six players see over 25 minutes of game action.
Iona led 13-6 with 11:29 left in the first half before Armand scored seven straight points for the Gaels, pushing their advantage to 20-6.
Iona increased its lead to 19, 36-17, behind a 3-pointer from Jones and entered halftime with a 40-17 lead.
Denver battled back in the second half, narrowing the gap to 59-53 with 4:44 left to play, but Jones converted another 3-pointer and made a layup on back-to-back possessions to expand Iona's lead to 11, 64-53.
Chris Udofia led Denver with 20 points.
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