Iona 85, Wake Forest 81: A.J. English scored 27 points as the visiting Gaels held off a furious Demon Deacons rally for the win.

All five Iona starters scored in double figures and the Gaels were 13-of-33 from 3-point range. Isaiah Williams had 15 points and 10 rebounds, freshman Schadrac Casimir had 12 points, David Laury 11 and Kelvin Amayo added 10 for Iona (2-1).

Devin Thomas had 18 rebounds, including 16 on the defensive end, to go with 12 points for the Demon Deacons (2-2), who have lost two in a row. Codi Miller-McIntyre finished with 20 points, including 14 to rally Wake Forest in the second half, and freshman Konstantinos Mitoglou added 10 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

The Gaels took their biggest lead of the game, 74-61, on an English 3-pointer with 7:07 to go, but the Deacons rallied to pull within 78-75 after two Miller-McIntyre free throws with 46 seconds remaining. Miller-McIntyre’s jumper cut the deficit to 81-79, but Wake Forest was given a technical foul with 23 seconds left for calling a timeout when it didn’t have one and English made one of two free throws.

With the score tied at 24, Williams hit a 3-pointer midway through the half and Iona pulled away to lead 41-33 at intermission. The Gaels shot 50 percent (17-of-34) from the floor, including 7-of-16 from 3-point range, while the Deacons struggled, making just 9-of-33 (27.3 percent) from the floor.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Thomas has a double-double in all four games this season. … The Gaels entered averaging 27 rebounds and finished with 34, but the Deacons, averaging 44 boards, dominated the glass with 55. … Iona relied almost exclusively on its starters as the reserves were a combined 2-of-6 from the floor.