Springfield, MA (Sports Network) - David Laury registered a double-double of 20 points and 17 rebounds to propel the fourth-seeded Iona Gaels to a 79-73 upset victory over the top-seeded Niagara Purple Eagles in the semifinals of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament at the MassMutual Center.

Lamont Jones tallied 17 points and five assists for Iona (19-13), which will now look to add onto its league record seven conference tournament titles on Monday against the winner of the Fairfield/Manhattan semifinal game. Taaj Ridley contributed 16 points and Sean Armand finished with 13.

Antoine Mason paced Niagara (19-13) with 21 points on 6-of-18 shooting from the floor and Ameen Tanksley chipped in 14 points. Juan'ya Green, Marvin Jordan and T.J. Cline all scored 11 points each in the setback.

In a very closely contested first half, Iona shot 46.9 percent from the field and connected on five 3-pointers. The Purple Eagles made 42.9 percent of their field goal attempts and all five of their free-throws to carry a narrow, 40-39 edge into halftime.

Niagara cooled off to hit on 38.2 percent of its shots from the field in the second stanza. The Gaels converted 14-of-17 at the charity stripe after the break to take control. Iona led for the final 13:59 of action.

Iona held a sizeable, 45-32 edge in the rebounding battle.

GAME NOTES:

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