Mount Saint Mary’s Captures Win In 2025 MAAC Championship Game Rematch Against Iona

By: Ethan Hennessy

Emmitsburg Maryland

Mount Saint Mary’s and Iona took the floor on Monday night for the first time since the 2025 MAAC Tournament Championship game in Atlantic City. Mount Saint Mary’s won that matchup by a score of 63-49. The last time Iona played a game in Emmitsburg on February 6, 2025, the Gales prevailed with a buzzer beating three pointer in overtime to defeat the Mountaineers 70-67.

This contest had a rapid pace out of the gate as Mount Saint Mary’s put 18 points on the scoreboard through the first media timeout. After trailing for the first 9:30 of game time, Iona took the lead thanks in large part to an impressive shooting effort from three-point range. The teams slowed their brisk pace as the game settled down after the initial media timeout. The Gales hit seven three-pointers through the first twelve minutes of game time. Conversely, the Mountaineers were happy to play the opposite style of basketball. They pounded the ball in the paint and looked for easy layups and dunks at the rim. Mount Saint Mary’s scored 24 of their 30 first-half points inside the paint. Despite the contrasting styles, the first half remained close throughout, and only one possession was the difference on the scoreboard at halftime. 33-30 in favor of the Gales.

Iona blitzed The Mount out of halftime and forced Donny Lind to call a timeout to stop the bleeding as Iona’s lead had climbed to the largest of the game to that point at nine. Anthony Arrington gave The Mount their first lead since midway through the first half on a corner three. The Mountaineer faithful at Knott Arena erupted when the shot found the bottom of the net. Xavier Lipscomb Mount Saint Mary’s starting point guard exited the game with a little over ten minutes to play after taking a hard fall trying to block an Iona dunk at the rim. The two teams were tied at 46 with nine minutes to go when Justin Amadi converted a transition dunk off a steal. Then Arlandus Keyes found Abdou Khadre Kebe on an alley oop that brought the roof off Knott Arena.

Iona could do nothing right on the offensive end as Mount Saint Mary’s kept the Gales from finding the bottom of the net time after time down the floor. The gales went over four minutes without scoring. Xavier Lipscomb returned for the Mountaineers with 6:27 left in the game. Mount Saint Mary’s led comfortably the rest of the way and walked away with a 66-59 win. Iona fell to 9-5 and will return to New Rochelle, New York and host the Siena Saints on Friday. Mount Saint Mary’s improves to 5-9 and will also play on Friday as they visit Merrimack.