Canisius sophomore Zach Lewis had a team-high 24 points and fellow sophomore Phil Valenti added 19 points, six rebounds and two assists as the host Golden Griffins defeated Iona 78-74 Sunday afternoon in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win moves Canisius to 10-7 overall and 5-3 in the MAAC while the Gaels, who saw their five-game winning streak come to an end with the loss, fell to 13-6 overall and 6-2 in league play.

Lewis went 8-for-15 from the field, 5-for-9 from 3-point land and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line in the win for Canisius, the team's second-straight victory after defeating Siena 83-49 on Friday night. Valenti went 7-for-12 from the field, 1-for-2 from 3-point range and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, with two of those makes coming in the game's final 10.4 seconds to seal the win for the Blue and Gold. As a team, Canisius shot 43.9 percent from the floor, outscored Iona 21-0 in bench points and turned the ball over a season-low six times.

Iona was led by senior forward David Laury, who posted a game-high 29 points for the Gaels. Junior A.J. English had 19 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in the loss for Iona, which shot 48.2 percent from the field but connected on just 6-of-24 tries from 3-point range.

"This is a heck of a win for us, our kids never put their heads down," Canisius head coach Jim Baron said. "To win a game like this with one of the youngest teams in the country is phenomenal, our kids just kept working. David Laury is one of the best players in our league. He just attacks the basket. They are a really good team, they were picked to win this league for a reason, but this is a great win for us and I'm proud of the effort we got in both games this weekend."

Canisius held a 42-34 lead at halftime, led by Lewis' 14 points. In the second half, Iona fought back and five-straight points from Laury got the Gaels within three at 54-51 with 14:15 left to play in the game. Canisius and Iona traded 3-point makes back-and-forth before Iona knotted the game at 59-59 with 10:55 left on the clock on a dunk by Kelvin Amayo. A driving bucket by English put Iona ahead 61-59 with 10:03, but Canisius redshirt-freshman Jermaine Crumpton scored the game's next five points, capped by a 3-pointer from the left corner with 8:45 left on the clock, to give the Blue and Gold a 64-61 advantage.

Canisius stretched its lead to as many as six points at 76-70 with 2:58 on a jumper by Valenti, but Laury and English combined to score the game's next four points to make the score 76-74 with 48 seconds left to play. After Canisius came up empty at its end of the floor, Iona came down the court and turned the ball over when English was called for an offensive foul with 11 seconds left to play. On the ensuing inbounds play, Valenti was fouled, and the Victor, N.Y., native drained a pair of free-throws with 10.4 left on the clock to seal Canisius' 78-74 win.

Senior Jeremiah Williams had 10 points and four assists off the bench for the Blue and Gold, while Crumpton finished the day with eight points, a rebound, a steal and an assist. Freshman Jan Grzelinski led the Griffs with five assists as the Blue and Gold ended the contest with 17 assists on 29 made field goals. Senior Josiah Heath also had eight points in the win for Canisius, which improved to 13-9 all-time in the Koessler Athletic Center against Iona with the victory.

The Griffs will return to action Thursday, Jan. 22, when the team plays at Fairfield. That game will be broadcast live on ESPN3, with tipoff set for 8 p.m.