By Paul Casey Gotham
BOSTON, MA. — Friday night can’t come soon enough for the Canisius Golden Griffins. After making a surge up the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference standings winning four in a row at the Koessler Athletic Center, the Griffs return home losers of three in a row on the road.
John Holland scored 28 and Darryl Partin added 20 as the Boston University Terriers defeated the Canisius Golden Griffins 70-62 in an ESPN Bracketbusters game at Agganis Arena.
The Terriers shot 50 percent from the field in the second half to rally from a three-point deficit at the break.
“They made some really, really tough shots,” Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. “I thought we defended them pretty well. We changed defenses very effectively. They just really got good players.”
After scoring just five points in the first half, Holland, Boston’s leading scorer, connected on six of a eleven shots after the break including three from behind the arc.
“The Holland kid is an exceptional, exceptional player,” Parrotta added. “I don’t know that he got a lot of open looks. He’s just so big that he shot over the top of us. If you’re not up into him immediately, and you don’t have a high hand, he shoots right over top of you. That kid has a wonderful feel for the game.”
The Blue and Gold closed out the first twenty minutes on an 18-6 run taking a 32-29 lead at half. The Griffs limited Boston U. to just one field goal in the last eight minutes of the first stanza.
“The switching defenses really hurt them,” Parrotta noted. “We were able to keep them off-balance, and we were able to get some good things off that.”
Gaby Belardo started the first-half run with a three. Tomas-Vazquez-Simmons chased down an offensive rebound and alertly kicked the ball to Belardo at the top of the key who squared and hit.
One possession later, Alshwan Hymes drove the paint, drew contact and converted both of the ensuing free throws.
Robert Goldsberry found Julius Coles open in the corner, and the Griffs climbed to within six at 25-19.
Elton Frazier hit a pair of free throws to make it a 25-21 game.
Greg Logins gave the Griffs the lead connecting on back-to-back attempts from behind the arc. Both times, Goldsberry set up his teammate on the perimeter.
Frazier hit two more from the charity stripe before Logins found the mark again.
This time, Reggie Groves drove the baseline along the right side, picked up his dribble and falling out-of-bounds threaded a pass to Logins on the opposite side of the floor for the trey.
But the Terriers came out of the locker room intent on grabbing the momentum.
“Ultimately, when they needed someone to step up and make a shot, they did,” Parrotta said. “They worked for them, but they made tough shots.”
Frazier led the way for the Griffs with 16 points and eight rebounds as Canisius won the battle of the boards 32-31.
Logins chipped in with 13 and Belardo had 12 to go with four assists.
Coles, Goldsberry and Groves had three helpers apiece.
Goldsberry scored eight points in 25 minutes of play-both highs coming off his injury back on January 28th.
“It’s good to see him back to his old self,” Parrotta said. “I think this is the first game that he actually felt that he had his legs underneath him, and he was like the Robert of old. But, you know what, you miss that. It’s been a few weeks now that he hasn’t been out there, and when he is out there, it makes an unbelievable difference. We had to have a shift in roles when he was out. Robert not being out there and doing those little things probably threw us for a curve.”
Goldsberry injured his head diving for a loose ball in the Niagara game.
Canisius falls to 13-14 overall. The Griffs lost at Niagara on Wednesday and at Loyola last Sunday.
With their sixth win a row, Boston University improves to 16-13.
The Griffs come home to finish their regular season at the Koessler Athletic Center hosting Manhattan on Friday and Loyola on Sunday. Canisius sits in a sixth-place tie with the Siena Saints. The top six teams in the conference receive first-round bye in the upcoming MAAC tournament.
Other than the Canisius loss, how was the Boston trip, Casey?
Thanks for asking. The trip, as I expected, was a whirlwind – drove in, did the game, drove out. I forgot to mention. I was the radio color commentator for the game. That is a first and was an absolute blast. I don’t know if I’ll get that chance again, but would love it.
Pretty cool, Casey. Congratulations on your radio debut!
Thanks. I had a blast as you can imagine.