NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona University men's basketball team never trailed in an 80-53 victory over Rider in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play at the Hynes Center on Senior Night. Junior
Kosy Akametu paced the effort with 22 points as the Gaels delivered a commanding performance from start to finish.
Prior to tipoff, the Maroon & Gold recognized graduate student-athletes
CJ Anthony,
Toby Harris and
Keshawn Williams, graduate assistants Bobby Gerity and
Jules Le Jamtel and senior content creators Will Quincy and Elizabeth Riccio for their contributions to the program.
THE RUNDOWN
Anthony opened the scoring with a three-pointer on the first possession, setting the tone early. Rider cut it to 3-2 at the free throw line before
Denver Anglin answered with a triple of his own. Zion Cruz trimmed the margin to 6-5 with a three, but it proved to be the closest the Broncs would come.
Clinging to a 30-28 lead late in the first half, Iona strung together a 10-0 run to create separation and secure its first double-digit cushion. Cruz beat the halftime buzzer with a pull-up jumper in the paint, sending the home side into the break ahead 40-30.
The advantage never dipped below 10 over the final 20 minutes. Another 10-0 spurt pushed the margin to 73-50 with 4:39 remaining. Two Anglin free throws extended the lead to a game-high 25 at the 3:35 mark, capping a decisive conference win.
IONA PERFORMERS
- Akametu poured in 22 points and grabbed six rebounds, shooting 7-for-11 from the floor, 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 5-for-6 at the stripe in an efficient outing.
- Anglin added 14 points behind four three-pointers while contributing four rebounds and three assists in a well-rounded effort.
- Harris finished with 12 points and six boards, knocking down three timely shots from distance.
- Anthony totaled 10 points, six assists and two steals while directing the offense throughout the evening.
- Sabally and rookie Alliou Fall chipped in five points apiece. Fall secured a season-best eight rebounds, and Sabally pulled down seven in the victory.
THE OPPONENT
- Cruz led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-20 shooting, adding two rebounds and three steals.
- Flash Burton recorded 13 points, five rebounds and four steals in an active performance.
- Caleb Smith contributed eight points and a game-high nine rebounds on the interior.
TEAM STATS
- Iona shot 48.1 percent from the field compared to 30.8 percent for Rider. From three-point range, the Gaels connected at a 46.4 percent clip, going 13-for-28, while the Broncs finished 4-for-23 at 17.4 percent.
- The Maroon & Gold held a 43-37 rebounding edge. Rider made a second-half push on the offensive glass and finished with a 15-9 advantage in that category, while Iona maintained a 12-10 edge in second-chance points.
- The Gaels dished out 15 assists and committed 17 turnovers. Rider totaled four assists and 12 giveaways.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Eleven different players found the scoring column in the balanced attack. The team reached 80 points in back-to-back games for the first time since the opening two contests of the season.
- In a game played at 72 possessions according to KenPom.com, Iona limited Rider to 0.805 defensive points per possession. The program improved to 4-0 in 2025-26 and 73-1 over the last 16 seasons when holding an opponent under 0.88 points per possession.
- The victory marked the 16th game this season with at least 10 three-pointers, the most since hitting 20 during the 2016-17 campaign.
UP NEXT
The Gaels travel 10.5 miles southwest to face archrival Manhattan on Sunday afternoon in the regular season finale at Draddy Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
FOLLOW THE GAELS
Be sure to follow Iona University athletics on all social media platforms:
Iona Athletics: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
Iona Men's Basketball: Twitter, Facebook. Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
