POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Canisius men’s basketball team hit a school-record 17 3-pointers, senior Harold Washington had a season-high 25 points, junior Billy Baron registered his first career double-double and fellow junior Chris Manhertz pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds as the Golden Griffins defeated Marist 94-82 Sunday afternoon in the McCann Arena in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The win, Canisius’ third straight, improved the team to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play, while Marist slipped to 3-6 overall and 1-1 in league action.
The 94 points scored by the Griffs are the most for the program since the team posted 101 in an overtime loss at Niagara Feb. 16, 2005 and the 17 makes from behind the 3-point arc bested the previous program record of 16, set Jan. 10, 2001 at home against Siena. Eight of the nine Canisius players that saw time in the game scored five or more points in the win, as Canisius moved to 2-0 in MAAC play for the first time since 1997-98.
“This was a great team win for us today,” Canisius head coach Jim Baron said. “Marist is tough to defend because they like to play inside-out, and I thought we did a good job at making them take long jump shots. Chris Manhertz was a warrior out there today. He was up on the glass and really set the tone with his 18 rebounds. I’ve always been a big believer in the 3-point shot and we got on a bit of a roll there today and that allowed us to get away from them.”
Four Canisius players hit three or more 3-pointers in the victory, led by Washington, who drilled a career-high six treys en route to his season-high 25 points. Six Griffs had multiple assists in the win as well, led by Billy Baron, who ended he day with 16 points, a career-high 11 assists and eight rebounds. Washington added three assists to the winning effort, as did junior Reggie Groves. Canisius was credited with 23 assists on 30 made field goals and ended up outrebounding the Red Foxes by a 51-32 clip, highlighted by Manhetz’s 18 boards.
Canisius jumped out to an early seven-point lead 3:11 into the game thanks to two early 3-pointers by Washington and junior center Jordan Heath. Marist was able to make a push back at the Griffs and the home team took a 13-12 lead with 11:31 left before halftime, but that lead would be short-lived for the Red Foxes, as Canisius would go on to outscore Marist 16-8 over the next 8:20 to take a 39-22 lead, capped by a 3-pointer from the corner by senior Isaac Sosa, who finished he game with 11 points. The Griffs led 43-26 at the half and led by as many as 22 points early in the second half before Marist was able to whittle that lead down to 10 points at 80-70 with 3:59 left on the clock.
Senior Alshwan Hymes hit a pair of free-throws moments later to push the Griffs’ cushion to a dozen at 82-70 with 3:50 left, and a lay-up by Jordan Heath and a jumper by Hymes with 2:59 left on the clock gave Canisius a 13-point hold at 86-73 that essentially put the game away for good. The Griffs shot 43.5 percent from the field and 47.2 percent from 3-point land in the win, highlighted by the team’s 51.6 percent effort from the floor in the second half, with nine of those 16 makes coming from long range.
Hymes had 13 points while Manhertz, Jordan Heath and sophomore Josiah Heath chipping in eight points apiece in the victory for the Griffs, which won back-to-back league games for the first time since the 2006-07 season. Marist guard Devin Price had 25 points in the losing effort for the Red Foxes while junior center Adam Kemp posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Canisius will travel to No. 4/4 Syracuse Saturday, Dec. 15, for the Griffs first game in the inaugural Chevrolet Gotham Classic. Tipoff in the Carrier Dome is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel throughout New York State.
Game Notes: This was the 36th all-time meeting between Canisius and Marist, and the Griffs lead the series by a 21-15 count… Sunday’s win in the McCann Arena snapped the Blue and Gold’s two-game road losing streak to the Red Foxes… This marks the first time Canisius is 6-1 through seven games since the 1973-74 season… Prior to Sunday, the last time Canisius made 15 3-pointers in a game was Dec. 15, 2007, at home in a win over Coastal Carolina… The 51 rebounds for the team was a season-high… Washington has scored 20-plus points three times this season and 12 times in his career… Manhertz has double-digit rebounds in three-straight games and he’s been good for 10 or more boards 11 times in his career… Baron is the first Griff to record a double-double this season with his 16 points and 11 assists… The last Canisius player to have a double-double in points and assists was Frank Turner, who had 16 points and 10 assists at Rider Feb. 28, 2010… Hymes’ three 3-pointers gives him 184 for his career, which leaves him two triples shy of passing former Griff Kevin Downey for second all-time in school history… Sosa’s 11 points gives him 40 games through his career (including his time at Central Florida) where he’s posted double figures in the scoring column… The win was the 395th in the career of head coach Jim Baron.
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