Courtesy of GoGriffs.com
LAS VEGAS — Canisius sophomore Kassius Robertson scored a game-high 20 points and fellow sophomore Jermaine Crumpton added 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting as the Golden Griffins defeated Nicholls State University 83-74 in the championship game of the upper division in the 2015 Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic Wednesday afternoon in the Orleans Arena. The win, Canisius’ third-straight, improved the team to 6-6 on the year, while the Colonels fell to 4-8 with the loss.
Robertson went 7-for-10 from the field, 3-for-6 from 3-point land and 3-for-5 from the free-throw line in the victory to go with five rebounds and a steal. For his two games in Las Vegas, the Toronto native averaged 28 points per game and was named to the all-tournament team. Crumpton came off the bench and scored his 18 points, with 11 coming after halftime, on an 8-for-12 night shooting. He was also credited with an assist and a steal in 26 minutes.
Senior Kevin Bleeker had 12 points, three rebounds and two assists for the Griffs, which shot 50.8 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from 3-point land in the victory. Fellow seniorMalcolm McMillan added 10 points, four boards and matched a season-high with six assists in the Blue and Gold’s winning effort.
How It Happened:
• After a back-and-forth affair to start, Canisius used a 7-0 run late in the first half to turn a tie game into a 30-23 lead with 4:07 left before halftime. In that run, three different Griffs scored, including junior Keifer Douse, who knocked down a 3-pointer from the far corner to jump-start the rally.
• Nicholls answered that Griffs’ run and eventually took a two-point lead into the locker room at halftime. The Colonels shot 53.1 percent from the floor in the game’s first 20 minutes, going 17-for-32 in the opening stanza.
• Nicholls pushed its lead to as many as six at 49-43 early in the second half, but Canisius out scored the Colonels 12-6 over the game’s next 4:53 to knot the game at 55-55 with 12:49left to play. From there, Canisius went on an 11-3 run over the span of 3:41 to take a 66-58 lead with 9:08 left to play.
• In that scoring run, Robertson and Crumpton combined to score eight of Canisius’ points, and the run was capped by a 3-pointer by McMillan from the top of the key.
Beyond the Box Score:
• Nicholls out rebounded Canisius 34-29, marking the second-straight game where the Griffs were out rebounded, but still won the game. Prior to last night’s win over ULM, Canisius was 0-5 on the year when being out rebounded.
• The Griffs were charged with just seven turnovers, and four of those came in the game’s second half.
• Canisius’ 10 3-point field goals marks the 38th time under fourth-year head coach Jim Baron where the Blue and Gold have hit double-digit 3-pointe field goals in a game.
• The Griffs’ two point guards, McMillan and freshman Chris Atkinson, combined for 11 assists and zero turnovers in the win.
Quotes from Canisius coach Jim Baron
“I’m proud of these guys today because this took some extra enery. We had a three-overtime game less than 24 hours ago and I was worried about our legs. But they came ready to play and when they saw the game was in the balance, they struck and we picked up another good win.”
“Give Nicholls credit – that’s a team that runs a good system and they’re tough to guard on short-notice with all their movement and cutting offensively. Our guys did a good job for the most part keeping them from getting in their offense.”
“I’m proud of this group. They have held their heads high, even when we were having a tough time getting wins. Defense and rebounding is key, and now we move our focus to league play after Christmas and New Year’s.”
Additional Game Notes:
• This was the first all-time meeting between these two programs.
• Canisius has scored 80-plus points in eight of the team’s 12 games this year.
• Canisius won back-to-back games when trailing at halftime for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
• Atkinson’s five assists match a career-high for the freshman from Hempstead, N.Y.
Up Next: Canisius will take the next nine days off before returning to MAAC play at Marist Jan. 2, 2016. That game will be available through MAAC.tv online, with the radio call on Timeless WECK 1230-AM and 102.9-FM in Buffalo and GoGriffs.com.
Leave a Reply