BRIDGEPORT, CONN. – Canisius junior Jermaine Crumpton scored his first career double-double with a career-high 32 points and 10 rebounds, and senior Phil Valenti added 20 points, six rebounds and three assists as the Golden Griffins went on the road and defeated Fairfield 86-72 in Webster Bank Arena. The win moved Canisius to 11-6 overall and 4-2 in MAAC play, while the Stags fell to 8-6 overall and 3-2 in league games.
Crumpton’s 32 points came after he went 11-for-19 from the floor and 10-for-12 from the free-throw line. He had 17 of his points in the game’s second half, and he also grabbed eight of his 10 boards in the game’s final 20 minutes. Valenti went 8-for-10 from the field, 1-for-1 from 3-point land and 3-for-4 from the charity stripe in the win, with 11 of his 20 points coming in the first half, including the team’s first five points of the ball game. Junior Kassius Robertson scored 13 points, while freshman Isaiah Reese came off the bench to score eight points to go with four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Fairfield scored the game’s first eight points before Valenti got the Griffs on the board 1:54 into the contest. Valenti’s basket started an 11-1 run for the Blue and Gold over the game’s next 3:54 to give Canisius an 11-9 advantage with 15:12 left before halftime. After Fairfield knotted the game at 11-11, Canisius broke the game open with an 8-0 run over the next 2:10 to make the score 19-11 with 12:08 left before intermission.
Canisius stretched its lead to as many as 17 late in the first half, and the Griffs took a 46-31 lead into the locker room at halftime. In the second half, Canisius pushed its lead to as many as 22 points with 14:33 left to play before the Stags battled to get back in the game. Fairfield was able to whittle Canisius’ cushion to eight at 71-63 with 5:36 left on the clock, but Canisius answered with an 8-3 run over the next 1:50 to push its lead to 79-64 with 3:05 left to play.
Canisius shot 51.7 percent from the field in the win, and every Griff that saw time on the floor Tuesday night had at least one point. Junior Tyler Nelson, the MAAC’s leading scorer, led the Stags with 24 points, one of four Fairfield players to record double-figures in the loss.
Canisius will return home Saturday when the team hosts Marist. Tipoff in the Koessler Athletic Center is set for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3, and the audio call will be on Timeless WECK 1230-AM and 102.9-FM in Buffalo and the Golden Griffin Broadcast Network.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT
