Canisius sweeps regular season series with Niagara

Canisius senior Malcolm McMillan and junior Phil Valenti each scored 14 points, while senior center Kevin Bleeker posted eight points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots to help lead the Golden Griffins to a 65-60 win over long-time rival Niagara Thursday night in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win, Canisius’ second straight, improved the team to 13-17 overall and 8-13 in MAAC play, while the Purple Eagles slipped to 7-23 overall and 5-14 in conference games.

McMillan, who was playing in his final home game as a Griff on Thursday night, also had five rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and a steal in the win for the Blue and Gold as Canisius swept the regular-season series from Niagara for the second time in the last three seasons. Valenti went 6-for-10 from the floor in the victory, while Bleeker made four of his seven field goal attempts in the game, as the Griffs shot 42.6 percent from the field. Sophomore Kassius Robertson added nine points to the winning effort, while fellow sophomore Jermaine Crumpton came off the bench to add eight points and a blocked shot.

Niagara’s Emile Blackman scored a game-high 27 points in the loss for Niagara. He also had four rebounds and three assists. Justin Satchell came off the bench to score 11 points to go along with five boards for the Purple Eagles, which ended the night with a 39-34 advantage on the glass.

Canisius senior Jamal Reynolds posted four points, seven boards and three steals in his final home game in a Canisius uniform. Sophomore Cassidy Ryan came off the bench to chip in six points as the Blue and Gold closed out the home schedule in 2015-16 with a 7-7 record.

How It Happened:
• For the second-straight game, Canisius jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Niagara scored the game’s first basket 1:13 into the game, but Canisius jumped out in front with a 13-0 run over the next 3:40, capped by a jumper in the paint by Crumpton.
• Canisius led by 10 at 24-14 with 6:36 left before the half, but Niagara went on a 7-0 run in the span of the game’s next 2:39, with Blackman accounting for five of those seven Niagara points.
• A dunk by Blackman with 19 seconds left to play in the first stanza cut the Griffs’ cushion to 28-25, but McMillan sent the home team into the locker room at the half up six after he drained three free-throws with 1.4 seconds left before intermission.
• In the second half, Canisius came out of the locker room and put the game out of reach early, as the Griffs scored the first 12 points of the second half to take a 43-25 lead with 15:30 left in regulation time. In that 12-0 run, Robertson knocked down a pair of 3-point field goals and Valenti added four points to the Griffs’ cause.
• Canisius led by double-digits until 4:23 left to play when Satchell scored on a driving lay-up to make it an eight-point game at 57-49. After a bucket by Blackman, Satchell drained a corner trey with 3:03 left on the clock to make it a three-point game at 57-54.
• The closing 2:22 turned to be a free-throw shooting contest, as the two teams combined to take 13 free-throws in the game’s closing two minutes. Canisius led 61-58 with 36 seconds left when Reynolds missed the front-end of a one-and-one chance, but the senior grabbed his own rebound off the back-iron and quickly passed the ball to McMillan, who promptly made two free-throws to give the Blue and Gold a 63-58 advantage.
• After Blackman sunk two free-throws with 11.4 seconds left to play, McMillan knocked down a pair of charity tosses with less than 10 seconds to secure the win. For the night, the two rivals combined to shoot 35 free-throws, with Canisius shooting 66.7 percent from the stripe in the victory.

Beyond the Box Score:
• In their last five wins, dating back to Jan. 17, at Quinnipiac, Canisius’ defense has held its opponents under 40 percent from the field for the game.
• Canisius won the game despite being out rebounded. Canisius is now 5-13 this season when its opponent grabs more rebounds in a game.
• The Griffs turned 13 Niagara turnovers into 17 points. Canisius also held a 36-24 advantage in points scored in the paint.

Quotes from Canisius coach Jim Baron
“This was a great win for use, especially getting back-to-back wins after beating Marist on Saturday. We knew this would be a grudge match because [Niagara] is athletic and they can score a lot of different ways. I thought our defense down the stretch was pivotal. We kept switching defenses on them and it took them out of any rhythm offensively.”

“We did a good job of keeping them off the foul line. They really get their offense going by driving to the basket. We took some key charges tonight that forced them to think about driving to the hoop. That’s the way we have to play defensively.”

“I want to thank the fans and our student body tonight. There’s been a buzz around here all week because we were playing Niagara. They were loud and they provided us with some energy. It was a great college rivalry game atmosphere tonight.”

“I’m happy we were able to go out with a win for our seniors. I’m proud of Malcolm, Jamal and Kevin Bleeker. Those guys are going to leave here with their degrees, and for Malcolm and Kevin, they’ll have their master’s degrees. That’s not happening everywhere in college basketball. I think that’s a point that our guys and our program should be proud of for sure.”

Additional Game Notes:
• This was the 178th all-time meeting between Canisius and Niagara, with Niagara leading the series 97-81.
• The Griffs have now won four of the last five meetings between the two Western New York rivals. Canisius also improved to 8-11 all-time against the Purple Eagles in the Koessler Athletic Center.
• Thursday’s game marks the 72nd time in series history that the final score was decided by five-points or less. Niagara leads the portion of the series 40-32.
• Robertson’s two 3-pointers in the win gives him 73 this season, which ranks sixth on the school’s single-season 3-point field goals made chart. He has hit multiple treys in 21 games this season and 31 times in his career.
• The seven rebounds for Reynolds gives him seven-plus boards in a game 24 times in his career as a Griff.
• McMillan, who entered the game as the MAAC’s leader in free-throws made and free-throw attempts, went 7-for-7 at the stripe in the win. He has made five or more free-throws in 15 games this season.

Up Next: Canisius will close out the 2015-16 regular-season on Sunday, Feb. 28, when the Griffs go on the road to play at Iona. Game time in New Rochelle, N.Y., is set for 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3, and the radio call can be heard on Timeless WECK 1230-AM and 102.9-FM in Buffalo and through GoGriffs.com.