PITTSBURGH – Canisius senior Phil Valenti hit a jumper from just inside the free-throw line with 1.6 seconds left, and the Golden Griffins’ defense got one last late stop, as the Blue and Gold went on the road and defeated Duquesne 78-77 Friday night in the Palumbo Center. The victory, Canisius’ first of the season, is also the program’s first under new head coach Reggie Witherspoon.
The game’s last 14 seconds were a wild affair with each team scoring a bucket before Valenti hit the floater to seal the win for the Griffs. Canisius took a 76-75 lead with 14 ticks left on the clock when Valenti grabbed an offensive rebound and laid one over the rim. The Dukes (2-2) answered seconds later when freshman Isiaha Mike hit a base-line jumper with nine seconds left that put the Dukes up 77-76. Canisius, which had one timeout left, chose to push the ball up the floor in an effort to score in transition.
And score in transition is exactly what Canisius did. Freshman Isaiah Reese dribbled toward the center of the floor from the wing and dished the ball to Valenti, who let go a floater from just inside the free-throw line for the game-winner. After the officials put some time back on the clock, Duquesne’s long throw-in pass was deflected, and the final horn sounded with Canisius earning the win, the program’s first non-conference road victory in exactly two years.
Canisius led 43-41 at the break, but the Dukes would eventually lead by as many as eight points midway through the second half thanks to an 11-3 run that made the score 61-53 with 12:04 left to play. Canisius turned up the defense from there, and allowed Duquesne to make just two field goals in the game’s final 12:04.
Junior Jermaine Crumpton ended the night with a game-high 18 points for Canisius, and he was also credited with seven rebounds. Valenti scored 14 points to go with four boards and four assists and junior Kassius Robertson added 13 points to the winning effort. Nine of the 11 Canisius players that saw time in the game had at least two points, as the Griffs ended the night by shooting 50 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point land and 91.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Duquesne’s Tarin Smith and Emile Blackman each scored 18 points in the loss for the Dukes, while Mike added 17 points and seven boards. Duquesne shot 48.1 percent from the field, but just 23.5 percent from 3-point range and 65.6 percent (21-for-32) from the charity stripe.
After playing three straight on the road to start the year, the Griffs will open the home portion of the 2016-17 slate on Monday when the Blue and Gold hosts UT Martin in the final game of the Bluegrass Showcase. Tipoff in the Koessler Athletic Center is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT
