YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Canisius junior guard Kassius Robertson scored a season-high 27 points to lead four Golden Griffins in double-figures as the Blue and Gold went on the road and defeated Youngstown State 90-84 Saturday afternoon in the Beeghly Center. The win snapped a two-game losing streak and improved the Griffs to 2-4 on the year, while the Penguins fell to 3-4 with the loss
The win for Canisius also stands as the 200th career victory for first-year head coach Reggie Witherspoon. In his 15th season as a Division I head coach, Witherspoon earned 198 career wins during his 14 years at Buffalo.
Robertson’s 27 points were one shy of tying his career high, set Dec. 22, 2015 in a triple-overtime win over ULM. Senior Kiefer Douse scored a career-high 16 points in the victory, while junior Jermaine Crumpton and senior Phil Valenti added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Valenti also recorded a game-high 11 rebounds in the win for his first double-double of the season and the fifth in his career.
Youngstown State led 20-18 with 10:40 left in the first half, but Canisius took the lead for good 19 seconds later on a 3-pointer by freshman Isaiah Reese that gave the Griffs a 21-20 lead. Canisius led by as many as eight points at 39-31 with 1:30 left before halftime, and the Griffs went into the locker room holding a 41-35 advantage after the team shot 55.2 percent from the field in the game’s first 20 minutes.
Canisius came out of the locker room and used a 10-4 run in the first 2:17 of the frame to take a 51-39 lead, capped by a lay-up by Valenti, which forced a Youngstown State timeout. The Griffs led by as many as 17 points at 76-59 with 8:44 left on the clock, but the Penguins were able to battle back and cut the Griffs’ cushion to five at 84-79 with 2:00 left to play. Canisius was able to keep Youngstown State at arm’s length down the stretch, as the Blue and Gold hit six-straight free-throws in the final 40 seconds, with freshman Malik Johnson draining the team’s last four tosses from the stripe to seal the win.
Youngstown State guard Francisco Santiago had a team-high 23 points to go with 11 assists in the loss for the Penguins, while fellow guard Cameron Morse scored 15 points. Morse, who entered the game ranked eighth in the nation in scoring average at 25.2 points per game, went 6-for-20 from the field in the losing effort.
Canisius will open MAAC play next weekend with a pair of road games, starting at Manhattan on Friday. Game time in Riverdale, New York is set for 7 p.m.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT
