By Paul Casey Gotham
Setting: The Battle of the Bridge writes another chapter tonight when Joe Mihalich brings his Niagara Purple Eagles (4-17/ 1-8) to the Koessler Athletic Center for a tilt with Tom Parrotta and his Canisius Golden Griffins (9-10/ 3-6). The game will be televised on ESPN U at 7 p.m.. Doug Sherman brings the play-by-play with Dereck Whittenburg adding analysis.
Plot: Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference position is on the line. Canisius looks to move into a sixth-place tie with reigning conference champion, Siena. Niagara looks to escape a tie with Manhattan in the MAAC basement.
Sub-plot: The Griffs will be looking to string together a pair of vitories for the first time since beating Lamar and Northwestern State in late December. Canisius beat Iona, 75-73 last time out. The Griffs waded through three single-digit defeats before trimming the then first-place Gaels.
Battle of the Bridge refers to the Grand Island Bridge which the schools cross to play each other. The game is also part of the Canal Cup – a series which derives its name from the Erie Canal that divides the Niagara and Erie counties. Teams can gain points for their inidvidual school based upon regular season wins. The game is also part of the “Little 3” series involving the Griffs, Purple Eagles and the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. Niagara has won 21 of its last 23 outings against its Little 3 foes.
Elton Frazier slammed his way to the number one ESPN highlight from last year’s Canisius-Niagara matchup.
Flashback: Robert Garrison scored 18, and Anthony Nelson added 17 as the Purple Eagles earned a split in the season series with a 66-54 victory at the Gallagher Center. Niagara leads the all-time series 95-72. The Purple Eagles have won 13 of the last 15 tangles with the Griffs.
Canisius has earned four invitations to the NCAA tournament with back-to-back Elite Eight showings in ’55 and ’56. Niagara has punched three tickets to “The Dance” including a Sweet Sixteen showing in 1970.
Foreshadowing: Eleven Golden Griffins have gone on to play in the National Basketball Association including Mike Smrek who won a pair of titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. Eleven Purple Eagles have played in the Association including hall-of-famer Calvin Murphy.
Conflict: Canisius averages 69 points while Niagara scores 62. The Griffs grab 36 boards to Niagara’s 32.9.
How will Niagara’s inexperience respond to the energy of the sold-out KAC?
Anthony Nelson orchestrates the Purple Eagles’ offense. The senior point guard averages 4.2 assists to go with 16 points.He had 30 points, 10 rebounds and eight steals when Niagara beat Siena 69-55.
Nelson’s 26 threes rank second to freshman, Marvin Jordan’s 44 on the Niagara roster. Jordan scores 10.4 per game.
Kashief Edwards leads the Purple Eagles with 6.4 boards.
Eight Purple Eagles average at least 15 minutes including frehsmen Malcolm Lemmons and Skylar Jones.
Gaby Belardo and Elton Frazier lead a quartet of Griffs scoring in double digits. The inside-out duo get 11.3 apiece. Greg Logins adds 10.8 and Julius Coles 10.7. Robert Goldsberry roundsout the starting five adding 6.6 a game.
Belardo turned in consecutive five-assist performances against Rider, Manhattan and Siena while turning it over just three times in those contests. The red-shirt sophomore readily gets into the paint without needing a ball screen forcing opposing defenses to focus on him.
The space created on the perimeter has opened up room for Alshwan Hymes who is hitting 40 percent from the arc.
Senior, Tomas Vazquez-Simmons has adjusted well to coming off the bench. The school’s all-time leader in blocks (259) had nine points and seven rebounds in the loss to Fairfield.
Resolution: The Griffs have an advantage in size and experience that will decide this game. Logins is coming off a career-high 30-point performance over Iona. Logins, Frazier, Vazquez-Simmons and freshman, Chris Manhertz will be too much for the Purple Eagles as the Griffs win this one by double digits.
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