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Gianni Thompson looks to get free of an Iona defender in the first half of a home game on March 2, 2025.
Anthony Militello
82
Winner Iona Iona 14-16,11-8 MAAC
52
Canisius Canis 3-26,3-15 MAAC
Winner
Iona Iona
14-16,11-8 MAAC
82
Final
52
Canisius Canis
3-26,3-15 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Iona Iona 39 43 82
Canisius Canis 25 27 52

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Iona Rolls Past Men’s Basketball

Iona guard Adam Njie Jr., scored a game-high 26 points and the visiting Gaels shot 57.4 percent from the field and made seven 3-point field goals en route to an 82-52 win over Canisius in MAAC men's basketball action Sunday afternoon at the Koessler Athletic Center.
 
The victory improved Iona to 14-16 overall and 11-8 in league play, while the Golden Griffins fell to 3-26 overall and 3-15 in conference action.
 
Njie Jr., scored his 26 points after he went 11-for-16 from the field, 2-for-4 from 3-point land and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line to go with three rebounds, two assists and three steals in 25:15 of game action. Yaphet Moundi came off the bench to add 15 points and six rebounds, while Clarence Rupert also grabbed six boards in the win for the Gaels. For the game, Iona out-rebounded Canisius 41-22, with 12 of those rebounds coming off the offensive glass, which the Gaels turned into 17 points.
 
Canisius senior Tana Kopa scored a team-high 15 points in the loss for the Griffs, with 12 of those points coming on the power of four makes from 3-point land. Junior Gianni Thompson added 14 points and a career-high four blocked shots, while fellow junior Paul McMillan IV scored 12 points to go with four rebounds and a pair of assists. For the game, Canisius shot just 36.5 percent from the field, made 6-of-23 tries from 3-point land and hit on 8-of-13 chances from the free-throw line.
 
Canisius scored the game's first points, a 3-point make by Thompson 47 seconds into the contest, and Iona took over from there. A 7-0 run midway through the half put Iona up 23-10 with 8:41 left before intermission, but from there, the Gaels never led by more than 10 until the closing seconds of the opening stanza. A 3-pointer by Kopa off an assist from sophomore Anthony Benard got the Blue and Gold within seven at 32-25 with 2:20 remaining before halftime, but the Gaels pushed right back by scoring seven points in the final 1:15 of the first half to take a 39-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The Griffs scored the first five points of the second half to trim Iona's lead to 39-30, but Canisius could never get the score any closer than nine points. After Thompson drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 14:25 left to play to make the score 44-35 in favor of Iona, the Gaels went on a 10-2 run over the contest's next 2:14 to make the score 55-37 in favor of the visiting team, with Njie and Moundi accounting for eight of those 10 Iona points.
 
HEAD COACH JIM CHRISTIAN'S POSTGAME COMMENTS
   
GAME NOTES
• Sunday was the 86th meeting between the two schools in history, a series Iona leads 52-34.
• Iona's 30-point win is the Gaels' largest margin of victory against Canisius at the Koessler Athletic Center.
• The five blocked shots for the Griffs on the day are the most for the team in a MAAC game this season.
• Kopa, who has scored 10-or more points in 22 games this season, has now made multiple 3-point field goals 23 times in this season, and 71 times in his collegiate career.
• Kopa will enter the final two games of the regular season with 89 3-point field goal makes, which ranks fourth-most for a Canisius player in program history for a single-season.
• McMillan IV extended his string of scoring in double-figures to 29 games. He is the first Griff to score 10-or more points in 29 consecutive games since 'Sugar' Ray Hall did it in 1984-85.
• With his 12 points on Sunday, McMillan IV leads the team and ranks second in the MAAC with 579 total points. That ranks as the ninth-most points for a Canisius player in a single-season in school history.
• Thompson's 14-point performance on Sunday marked the third time this season he has scored in double-figures. All three of those occasions have come against MAAC opponents.
• Benard had one steal in Sunday's game, giving him a steal in five straight and 14 of the Griffs' last 15 contests.
• Prior to the start of the game, Canisius honored six student-athletes who will earn their undergraduate degree from the University in May and/or will exhaust their collegiate eligibility. One of those players, junior Maji David-Maji made his first career start in the contest.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will close out the 2024-25 regular season on the road with a pair of games in the state of New Jersey, starting Thursday at Rider. Game time between the Griffs and the Broncs is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The Canisius radio call will be available at GoGriffs.com through the Golden Griffin Broadcast Network, on the Varsity Network APP and on X through the @GoGriffs handle.
 
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