BUFFALO — The visiting UT Martin Skyhawks shot 51.5 percent from the field in the game’s second half and outscored Canisius 40-33 in the contest’s final 20 minutes to post a 72-69 win over the Golden Griffins Monday night in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win, UT Martin’s fourth straight, improved the team to 4-1 on the year, while Canisius fell to 1-3 with the loss.
Canisius senior Phil Valenti scored a game-high 21 points in the losing effort, his 11-straight game with double-figures in the scoring column, dating back to last season. Junior forward Jermaine Crumpton added 17 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals in the loss, while senior guard Kiefer Douse chipped in 11 points and four rebounds. Canisius shot 43.1 percent from the field, but the team went just 6-for-30 from 3-point land in its 2016-17 home opener.
Canisius led by as many as 11 points at 30-19 with 4:59 left before the halftime break, but the Skyhawks cut the Griffs’ margin to four at the half by closing out the first stanza by outscoring Canisius 13-6 in the final 4:23 of the first half. In the second half, the Skyhawks continued to roll offensively and the visiting team eventually took its first lead of the night at 45-44 on a lay-up by Chandler Rowe with 15:39 left to play.
The game remained tight for the next few minutes until UT Martin went on a 10-1 run over the span of 1:59, capped by a dunk by Malik London, that forced Canisius to take a 30-second timeout with 9:51 left in regulation time. UT Martin’s lead ballooned to as many as 10 points with 7:20 left to play, but Canisius battled back to get within five points at 72-67 with 1:24 left on the clock after junior Kassius Robertson connected on a 3-pointer from just in front of the Griffs’ bench. After Canisius got a defensive stop, and a lay-up by Douse to make it a three-point game at 72-69 with 42 ticks remaining. Canisius’ defense answered the bell again, forcing a UT Martin turnover on the next possession, but Canisius was unable to force the game to overtime as a long-range 3-point try with three seconds bounced off the side-iron and the Skyhawks grabbed the rebound as time expired.
UT Martin shot 47.5 percent from the field in the win, but the Skyhawks ended the night by going 4-for-23 from 3-point range. Forward Javier Martinez was good for 17 points and seven boards in the win for UT Martin, while fellow forward Kedar Edwards chipped in 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Canisius will close out its brief two-game homestand on Wednesday when the Griffs play host to Tennessee State in the Koessler Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
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