BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) _ Dyree Wilson scored 14 of his team's first 30 points, helping top-seeded Iona battle to a 64-52 win over Loyola of Maryland in Saturday's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference quarterfinal.

Earl Johnson scored 17 points and Wilson finished with 18 as the Gaels snapped a three-game losing streak while playing their first game in six days after getting a bye through Friday's preliminary round.

The defending champion Gaels (20-10), who won a MAAC tournament game in Buffalo for the first time in three trips, will meet fourth-seed Marist in Sunday's noon semifinal.

Marist defeated Rider 70-58 earlier on Saturday.

John Reimold, the conference's rookie of the year, scored 16 and added seven rebounds for Loyola, which has lost nine straight to Iona going back to the 1997-98 season.

The ninth-seeded Greyhounds (6-23), coming off Friday's 60-58 preliminary round win over Fairfield, are now 2-8 in MAAC quarterfinal games.

Trailing 35-20 at the break, Loyola mounted its lone charge early in the second half. Reimold hit consecutive 3-point baskets to cap a 12-0 run as the Greyhounds cut the Gaels' lead to 37-32 five minutes into the period.

Iona responded with a 13-1 run, capped by Maceo Wofford's 3-point basket as the Greyhounds went more than six minutes without scoring a field goal. Brian Carroll ended the drought hitting a 15-footer with 8:17 left, but the Greyhounds never got within seven points again.

The Gaels suffered a scare early in the second half when Miller, who led the MAAC in shooting percentage and blocked shots, twisted his right ankle when Reimold fell on it as the two were going after a loose ball. Miller had his ankle iced down and returned about five minutes later.

He finished with seven points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes.

Iona first took command from the opening minute, building a 13-0 lead five minutes into the game as Loyola missed its first seven shots and committed three turnovers.

Iona has now reached the 20-win plateau in five of their last six seasons, one of only 12 schools _ including Duke, North Carolina, Arizona and UCLA _ in the nation to achieve that feat.