BUFFALO — The Canisius Golden Griffins overcame 21 turnovers by shooting 52 percent from the field, 60 percent from 3-point land and 76.9 percent from the free-throw line in a 91-81 win over St. Francis Brooklyn Saturday afternoon in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win, Canisius’ second straight, moves the Blue and Gold to 5-5 on the year, while the terriers slipped to 2-8 with the loss.
Canisius had four players scored in double-figures in the victory, led by junior guard Kassius Robertson, who posted a game-high 27 points. Freshman Isaiah Reese came off the bench to add a career best 17 points to go with seven boards and three assists, while junior forward Jermaine Crumpton chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds. Senior Phil Valenti scored 10 points with freshman guard Malik Johnson posting five points, a career-high eight assists and a career-best seven rebounds.
Canisius led St. Francis Brooklyn 46-39 at the break after the Blue and Gold shot 60.7 percent from the floor and 87.5 percent (7-for-8) from 3-point land in the game’s opening 20 minutes. The Terriers came out of the intermission and used a 14-2 run in the first 4:12 of the second stanza to take a 53-48 lead. The game remained tight for the next 5:00 and change, but a scoring run by Canisius, a 12-2 run over the game’s next 3:10, gave the Blue and Gold a 72-63 lead with 5:27 left on the clock.
In that decisive run, Robertson and Valenti accounted for eight of the Griffs’ 12 points, with Valenti’s lay-up off a pass by freshman Spencer Foley capping the spurt. The Terriers would get the game to 81-75 with 1:24 left on the clock, but the Griffs went 9-for-12 from the free-throw line in the game’s closing 1:02 to seal the win, the Griffs’ first home victory under first-year head coach Reggie Witherspoon.
St. Francis Brooklyn had four players post double-figures in the scoring column as well, led by senior forward Gunnar Olafsson, who posted a career-high 22 points in the loss. Rasheem Dunn was good for 21 points and four rebounds in the loss for the Terriers, who shot 40.3 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from 3-point land and 61.9 percent from the charity stripe.
Canisius will close out its two-game homestand Monday, Dec. 12 when the Griffs play host to Albany in the Koessler Athletic Center. Game time is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3, with the radio call available on Timeless WECK 1230-AM/102.9-FM and GoGriffs.com.
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