Courtesy of GoGriffs.com
Canisius junior Phil Valenti scored a career-high 28 points and senior Malcolm McMillan added 17 points and six rebounds to help lead the Golden Griffins to a 65-62 win at Manhattan Friday night in Riverdale, N.Y. The win not only snapped Canisius’ four-game losing skid, but it also ended the program’s six-game losing streak to Manhattan, and it stands as the Griffs’ first win in Draddy Gymnasium in exactly five years. Canisius is now 8-10 overall and 3-4 in MAAC play, while the Jaspers slipped to 6-10 overall and 3-4 in conference action.
Valenti’s career-high 28 points came after he went 10-for-14 from the field and 8-for-10 from the free-throw line to go with six boards, four assists and a block in 34 minutes of action. McMillan added six rebounds to the winning effort for the Blue and Gold, and sophomore Jermaine Crumpton came off the bench to record 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Canisius shot 43.1 percent from the field and 78.3 percent from the free-throw line, while holding Manhattan to 40 percent from the floor and 38.1 percent (8-for-21) from 3-point range.
Manhattan hit a pair of free-throws with 49 seconds left to play to give the Jaspers a 62-61 lead. The Griffs had two chances to take the lead on their ensuing possession, but the team missed both shots. Crumpton was able to grab a rebound on his own miss and call timeout before he fell out-of-bounds. Out of the timeout, Canisius got the ball to Valenti who was fouled. He made both free-throws to give Canisius a 63-62 lead with 14 seconds left to play.
Manhattan had a chance to win in regulation, but Valenti was able to get his hand on Zane Waterman’s lay-up attempt with time winding down. McMillan grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 0.3 seconds left, and the senior captain drilled both charity tosses to seal the victory for the Blue and Gold, the team’s first since defeating Marist on the road back on Jan. 2.
How It Happened:
• Manhattan jumped the Griffs early, knocking down three 3-point field goals in the game’s first 4:46, to take an early 13-3 lead.
• Canisius battled back and took its first lead of the night with 8:27 left before the break on a 3-pointer by senior Kevin Bleeker. The game would go back-and-forth from there before a lay-up by McMillan at the 5:45 mark of the first half put Canisius up 22-21.
• The Griffs closed the first stanza on a 10-2 run, starting on the lay-up by McMillan. In that run, McMillan accounted for seven of the Griffs’ points, to send the Blue and Gold into the locker room with a 33-23 halftime advantage.
• In the second half, Canisius, which led by as many as 11 points early in the frame, held a 57-51 lead with 5:03 left to play after Crumpton drained a pair of free-throws. The Jaspers stormed back and tied the game at 57-57 with six-straight points in 40 seconds, capped by a 3-pointer from Manhattan senior Shane Richards.
• Canisius took the lead right back on its next possession thanks to a jumper in the lane by Crumpton, but Manhattan took advantage of an offensive rebound at its end of the floor on the next trip down the court. After senior RaShawn Stores missed a long 3-point try from the top of the key, Richards grabbed the rebound and kicked it to Rich Williams on the wing. Williams stepped up and hit his only triple of the night with 1:28 left on the clock to give Manhattan a 60-59 lead.
• McMillan drew a foul with 1:05 showing on the clock and hit a pair from the free-throw line to give Canisius the 61-60 advantage. The next time down the court, Waterman was fouled, and his two free-throws were good, before Canisius was able to dig in to secure the win late.
Beyond the Box Score:
• Canisius had 32 points in the paint in the win. In each of their last three victories, the Griffs have scored 30-plus points in the paint.
• After getting to the free-throw line a total of 19 times in their last two outings, Canisius went to the line 23 times on Friday, making 18 of those chances.
• The Griffs moved to 6-2 on the year when out-rebounding the opposition. Canisius held a 34-30 advantage on the glass.
• Canisius’ 10-point lead at the half marks just the sixth time this season where the Blue and Gold led at intermission. The Griffs are 5-1 in those six contests.
• Canisius made a season-low three 2-point field goals in the victory.
Quotes from Canisius coach Jim Baron
“I thought our kids stepped up and accepted the challenge tonight. It’s tough to win here, and that’s the two-time defending MAAC champions. We executed, we made shots and we made free-throws late. This is a good win for us.”
“We did a good job of slowing it down tonight and playing with poise. Their zone is tough to play against. They extend it out and take away the perimeter game. We did a good job of moving the ball and getting it into the middle of the zone. I thought Phil [Valenti] and [Jermaine] Crumpton did a really good job of finding soft spots and making shots.”
“I’m proud of the way we defended tonight. I thought Kassius Robertson did a great job guarding Shane Richards. Richards had 32 against us a week ago at our place. Tonight, we held him in check and we didn’t let him get in a rhythm from 3-point range.”
“Out of that last time out, we chose to go zone. I knew they were going to try and pound it inside and post up Richards in an effort to get him to the free-throw line. So we packed it in and forced them to try and change on the fly. That was a gritty defensive stop for us late to lock down the win.”
Additional Game Notes:
• This was the 88th all-time meeting between these two schools, with Manhattan leading the series 54-34.
• The win in Draddy Gymnasium was the program’s seventh in 30 tries, and it was the team’s first road win in the series since Jan. 15, 2011.
• Valenti averaged 27 points per game in two meetings against Manhattan this season. His 28-point game on Friday was his fifth 20-plus point game this year.
• Freshman guard Chris Atkinson had a career-high four rebounds and a career-best four steals in the win for Canisius. He also had three assists, his 12th multi-assist game this year.
• After scoring a career-high five points in the loss to Dartmouth Jan. 12, junior Keifer Douse was credited with a career-high three rebounds in seven minutes off the bench.
Up Next: Canisius will travel to play at Quinnipiac on Sunday, Jan. 19, with tipoff set for 2 p.m. The live radio call can be heard on Timeless WECK 1230-AM and 102.9-FM in Buffalo and through GoGriffs.com, with the M&T Bank Pregame Show set to begin at 1:40 p.m.
OTHER GAMES IN THE MAAC
Fairfield 73 Niagara 68
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The Niagara Purple Eagles had their two-game win streak snapped in a 73-68 defeat to the Fairfield Stags on Friday. READ MORE.
Monmouth 110 Iona 102
NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Justin Robinson (Lake Katrine, NY/Kingston) scored a career-high 29 points and Monmouth put five in double-figures in scoring 110 points for the first time since 1994 in a 110-102 win over Iona Friday night. Monmouth hit 13 second-half threes and scored 66 in the half to improve to 13-4 and 5-1 in conference, while Iona falls to 9-7 and 6-1 in the league. READ MORE.
Siena 64 Quinnipiac 52
Brett Bisping fought through back spasms to score a game-high 18 points, and Javion Ogunyemi finished one block shy of a school-record helping Siena power past Quinnipiac 64-52 Friday night in Hamden. The Saints improve to 4-2 in the MAAC with their first conference road win of the season. READ MORE.
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