By PAUL GOTHAM
BUFFALO, N.Y. — After 29 years on the bench, Jim Baron lugs a trunk load of sayings around with him. One of those rules of thumbs applies well to his current team.
“Less thinking and more playing,” the fourth-year Canisius coach said of his team’s effort after an 87-62 victory over Cornell Saturday. “I call those the ‘Baronisms.’ I got a lot of ‘Baronisms.'”
At a time when metrics and splits seem to take precedent over cohesion and desire, Baron’s team is best measured by its grit and determination.
“We try to keep it simple,” Baron explained. “We try to be aggressive. I try to take the thinking out of it and just play the game.”
For the second time in as many games, the Golden Griffins dominated the offensive boards. The Griffs grabbed 20 offensive rebounds on 37 missed shots.
“It’s effort,” Baron said of his team’s performance. “That’s what rebounding is.”
Combined with Monday night’s 98-89 triumph over Lehigh when Canisius grabbed 22 offensive rebounds on 38 misses, the Griffs corralled 56 percent of the possible chances on the offensive end for the week. To put that in perspective, only two teams (MAAC rival Quinnipiac and Baylor) grabbed more than 40 percent of the available rebound opportunities throughout the 2014-15 season.
Six different Griffs grabbed offensive rebounds, and they converted those into 14 second-chance points.
“If you don’t have the desire to go in there and put in the work and stuff, then it’s not going to happen,” said junior forward Phil Valenti. “It’s not easy. It’s dirty in there.”
Five Griffs scored in double figures. When Canisius took command of the game, six different players contributed to a decisive 14-2 run early in the second half.
“I thought we got great balance,” Baron said. “We kept being aggressive. We kept attacking the bucket. We did a great job sharing the basketball.”
After erasing an earlier deficit, Valenti drove baseline and found Kevin Bleeker in the lane with a shovel pass for two. Bleeker returned the favor on the next trip down the floor finding Valenti with a high-low pass. Valenti stole an inbound pass off the full-court press and found Isaiah Gurley who in turn fed Kassius Robertson for a catch-and-shoot three.
Malcolm McMillan made it an 11-point game when he drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner on the break. McMillan averaged 32 points in the Griffs first two contests of the season. The graduate transfer took just four shots in the first half and scored six points. The 6-0 guard finished with a game-high 16 on the night hitting 5-of-10 from the floor including 2-of-3 behind the arc.
“I was trying to let the game come to me because they were kinda denying me. Trying to not let me get the ball,” McMillan explained. “I had to kinda force some things. It worked out well for us. We have a very talented team. We probably got about five or six guys who can score the thirty points that I scored.”
Robertson found Cassidy Ryan underneath for a deuce, and Gurley converted a pair from the free throw line for a 57-42 lead. Canisius never looked back.
The Griffs caused 17 Cornell turnovers and created 26 points from those opportunities. Canisius outscored the Big Red 13-2 on the fast break. The Griffs handed out 19 assists on 30 made field goals.
“We just kept the pressure on, and we’re going to continue to do that especially with these guys,” Baron noted. “We got a lot of energy with this basketball team. This is fun. This is fun when you get aggressive and you turn teams over. You got guys running, and we’re attacking and we’re pushing the ball, making the extra pass.”
Valenti opened the game netting 10 the Griffs’ first 11. He started the scoring when he backed down his defender in the post. He followed with a mid-range jumper before scoring on the break on a feed from McMillan. Finally the 6-7 forward connected on a catch-and-shoot trey from the right corner for an early 11-7 Canisius advantage.
“When you don’t have to think, it just makes the whole game easier,” Valenti said of his coach’s approach. “It just helps us get into things easier.”
The Victor, New York native notched 15 on 6-of-11 shooting.
“We posted him early on,” Baron said. “We want to continue to do that. He’s got a great body plus he’s got experience. He’s like a hybrid-four. He can put it on the floor. He can shoot threes. He can pass it. He’s very versatile. He brings a dimension that a lot of teams don’t have. That’s important to have that.”
Robert Hatter and Matt Morgan scored 12 apiece for Cornell. The Big Red fell to 2-2 on the season.
Canisius improved to 2-1.
The win was the 450th in Baron’s career. The personal milestone was treated like a footnote.
“It’s huge,” Valenti stated. “But like he said there are many more to come. We’re not going to dwell on it.”
Canisius hosts St. Bonaventure on Tuesday night.
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