ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Sophomore Tyler Warner registered his first career double-double and led three in double figures, but it was not enough as the Aquinas Institute Li’l Irish fell 59-55 to the Canisius Crusaders in boys’ basketball action at the Wegman-Napier Center, Thursday.
Warner posted career highs with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a game-high 12 rebounds. The 6-foot-10 center has 26 points and 24 rebounds over the last three games.
Frontcourt mate Kidtrell Blocker led the Li’l Irish with 13 points to go with five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
Senior guard Eric Carter came off the bench and added 12 points and handed out a game-high three assists.
Aquinas fell to 4-13 with the loss.
Jayce Johnson connected on 8 of 14 from the floor to lead Canisius (19-2) with 24 points. Johnson hit 8 of 13 from the free throw line, had two assists, one block and a steal for the Crusaders currently ranked No. 5 NYSSWA Class A.
Brendan Trapper added 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Trapper shared a team-high of nine rebounds with Austin James who chipped in seven points.
Johnson and Trapper combined to score the first seven Canisius points. Ishamael Fairclough scored two of his seven points on a layup late in the first quarter to give the Crusaders a 9-7 edge. Canisius did not trail again in the game. The Crusaders led by as many as 12 points early in the fourth quarter.
Nicholas MacDonald scored four points.
Despite hitting just 2 of 12 from behind the 3-point arc, Canisius won its ninth straight game. The win was the fourth this season for the Crusaders over a Section V school having defeated McQuaid Jesuit (76-53) on December 13th, Irondequoit (48-47), December 19th and Bishop Kearney (78-74) on January 27th. Only Irondequoit traveled to Buffalo for its meeting with the Monsignor Martin Association opponent.
Canisius edged Aquinas on points in the paint (30-28) and points off turnovers (13-10). AQ had a 7-4 advantage on second-chance points and 18-10 in bench points.
Sam Kelly had eight points and four rebounds for Aquinas. Luke Putnam added three points. Steven Chen scored four off the bench, and Marlek Connor had two points. Danny Speed hit one of two free throws.
Aquinas will host No. 4 NYSSWA Class AA Liverpool on Saturday for a 3 PM tipoff. The Warriors are coached by former Section V and Syracuse Orange stand out Ryan Blackwell.
CANISIUS 59, AQUINAS 55
CANISIUS (19-2)
Jayce Johnson 8-14 8-13 24; Brendan Trapper 4-5 6-6 14; Ishamael Fairclough
2-5 2-2 7; Austin James 3-12 0-0 7; Nicholas MacDonald 1-7 2-2 4; Dewayne
Vass 1-3 0-1 2; Jonathan Evans 0-1 1-2 1; Andrew Hartnett 0-0 0-0 0; Ryan
Bradley 0-2 0-0 0; Connor McCaffrey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-49 19-26 59.
AQUINAS (4-13)
Kidtrell Blocker 4-13 3-5 13; Eric Carter 3-6 6-8 12; Tyler Warner 5-8 2-2
12; Sam Kelly 3-6 2-3 8; Steven Chen 1-1 2-3 4; Luke Putnam 1-7 0-0 3;
Marlek Connor 1-1 0-0 2; Danny Speed 0-2 1-2 1; Jack Scanlon 0-7 0-0 0.
Totals 18-51 16-23 55.
Canisius………………….
Aquinas…………………..
3-point goals–Canisius 2-12 (Austin James 1-4; Ishamael Fairclough 1-1;
Nicholas MacDonald 0-3; Dewayne Vass 0-2; Brendan Trapper 0-1; Jayce Johnson
0-1), Aquinas 3-15 (Kidtrell Blocker 2-5; Luke Putnam 1-3; Jack Scanlon 0-6;
Eric Carter 0-1). Fouled out–Canisius-None, Aquinas-None.
Rebounds–Canisius 35 (Brendan Trapper 9; Austin James 9), Aquinas 37 (Tyler
Warner 12). Assists–Canisius 5 (Jayce Johnson 2; Austin James 2), Aquinas
12 (Eric Carter 3). Total fouls–Canisius 21, Aquinas 23. Technical
fouls–Canisius-None, Aquinas-None. A-200
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