Courtesy of GoGriffs.com
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Monmouth sophomore Justin Robinson scored eight of his nine points in the second half, capped by a pair of free-throws with 3.2 seconds left, as the host Hawks defeated Canisius 44-40 Sunday afternoon in the MAAC in West Long Branch, N.J. The win ended Monmouth’s two-game losing skid and improved the team to 13-12 overall and 9-5 in MAAC play, while the Golden Griffins dropped their third straight to fall to 12-11 overall and 7-7 in conference games.
The 84-combined points scored on Sunday stands as the lowest scoring Canisius game since Feb. 7, 1948, when the Griffs lost to Toledo in Buffalo’s Memorial Auditorium by the score of 50-34. The 40-point effort is the lowest for the Blue and Gold since Nov. 16, 2007, when the team posted 40 points in a loss at Penn State, and the 44-points allowed by the Griffs are the fewest since Canisius held Siena to 44 points in an 84-44 win over the Saints March 1, 1997 in the MAAC Tournament.
Canisius sophomore Zach Lewis scored a game-high 11 points in the loss for Canisius, which shot 34 percent from the field, 21.1 percent from 3-point land and 33.3 percent from the free-throw line for the game. Senior Josiah Heath was good for seven points and seven rebounds in the loss, while redshirt-freshman Jermaine Crumpton and Kassius Robertsonchipped in five points and four rebounds, respectively.
Canisius was ahead 34-33 with 7:48 left to play after Heath hit a jumper from the top of the key. From there, Monmouth went on a 9-0 run over the span of 4:17 push the Hawks to a 42-34 lead with 3:06 left to play. In that run, Monmouth reserve forward Chris Brady scored five of the Hawks points before Crumpton nailed a 3-pointer for the top of the key to make it a five-point game at 42-37 with 2:08 left on the clock.
Canisius cut the Hawks’ cushion to just two points at 42-40 when Crumpton found Robertson wide open on the right side of the floor for a 3-point field goal with just 51 seconds left to play. Canisius had a chance to tie the game with just 6.2 seconds left , but the Griffs were whistled for offensive interference after Crumpton’s runner in the paint rimmed out and the officials ruled the ball was touched by a Canisius player while the ball was still on the cylinder. Canisius was forced to foul Robinson on the ensuing in-bounds play, and he went to the Hawks’ end of the floor and drained both free-throws to seal the victory.
“I told the guys after the game that we’re too far into the season to be considered young, we need guys to start stepping up and making shots when they have the chance,” Canisius head coach Jim Baron said. “We played hard today, but we just didn’t make enough shots. Give Monmouth credit, they shot 21 free-throws. We had six. We need to do a better job of defending without fouling. We just need to keep working hard and trying to get better.”
Robinson added four rebounds and four assists to his nine points in the win for Monmouth, which has now beaten Canisius three-straight times. Senior forward Brice Kofane had nine points and six rebounds for the Hawks, which shot 31.8 percent from the floor, 12.5 percent from 3-point land and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line.
Canisius will return home next weekend for a pair of home games, starting Friday, Feb. 13, when the team plays host to Rider in the Koessler Athletic Center. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Game Notes: This was the fourth all-time meeting between these two programs, with Monmouth leading the series 3-1… Sunday’s 84-combined points also stands as the third-lowest scoring game in MAAC history… Canisius has now held 13 opponents to 60-points or less this season… Lewis has scored in double-figures 31 times in his career… Junior Kevin Bleeker matched a career-high with three blocked shots… Heath is averaging 8.1 rebounds per game in the team’s last five games.
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