New Rochelle, N.Y. - Scott Machado, the nation's leader in assists, had 17 points (15 in the second half), 11 assists and nine rebounds as the Iona Men's Basketball team earned an 87-62 win over Hofstra on Wednesday evening at the Hynes Athletic Center.

Senior guard Charles Jenkins (Queens, N.Y.) had 15 of his 20 in the second half in a losing cause for the Pride, which falls to 7-5 on the year with the loss. Iona improves to 8-5 with the win.

Iona held a 40-26 lead at the half, and quickly built it up to 20 points at 50-30 on a three-pointer from sophomore guard Kyle Smyth at the 17:00 mark. The lead then vacillated between 16-21 points for the next 10 minutes, as neither team could sustain a run. Jenkins had 11 straight Hofstra points during a 5:30 stretch as he tried to get the Pride back in it, but Iona was able to answer each challenge.

Jenkins did move into fifth place on the Pride's all-time scoring list with his 20 points. He now has 2,049 in his career, passing the 2,045 held by Bill Thieben (1952-55). Junior guard Mike Moore (New Haven, Conn.) added 18 for Hofstra.

Iona took an early 5-0 lead, and after the Pride pulled even at 13-13, the Gaels went on a 15-2 run to take a 28-15 lead on a jumper from Jermel Jenkins. Hofstra got back within 32-23 on a pair of foul shots from Moore, but Kyle Smyth hit back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead up to 15, and then fed Alejo Rodriguez for a lay-up just before the halftime buzzer, giving the Gaels a 40-26 lead at the break.

The Pride changed its starting line-up for the first time this season, as junior point guard Dwan McMillan (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was held out of the line-up due to an illness and did not play, and senior guard Brad Kelleher (Victoria, Australia) stepped into his place. Hofstra had started the same five players for each of the first 11 games this year.

Machado led a balanced offense that also received 16 points and 12 rebounds from Mike Glover, 16 points on 5-6 shooting from Smyth, and 15 points from Alejo Rodriguez. The Gaels shot 61.1 percent for the game, compared to 37.5 percent for the Pride.

Hofstra will next be in action when it returns to Colonial Athletic Association play on Monday in Philadelphia for a 7 p.m. road contest against Drexel, before returning home to face George Mason on Wednesday at 7 p.m.