BUFFALO — The host Canisius Golden Griffins shot 46.9 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from 3-point land in the game’s second half and had a chance to tie the game late, but the Blue and Gold came up short as Monmouth defeated the Griffs 76-72 Monday night in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win, Monmouth’s fourth straight, improved the Hawks to 14-5 overall and 6-2 in the MAAC, while Canisius slipped to 12-7 overall and 5-3 in league play.
Canisius trailed by as many as 15 points with 8:28 left in the contest, but the Blue and Gold worked back into the game and cut the Hawks’ margin to three at 75-72 with 54 seconds left on the clock. After Canisius forced a Monmouth turnover on the next possession, the Griffs had a chance to knot the game late, but a three-point attempt with 13 seconds left bounced off the side-iron, and Monmouth’s Justin Robinson was able to make one of two free-throws to secure the win for his team, Monmouth’s third-straight victory over Canisius, dating back to last season.
Monmouth senior Chris Brady led all scorers with 22 points to go with 10 rebounds. Brady scored his career-high 22 points after going 11-for-12 from the field, and he was also credited with an assist and three blocked shots. Robinson had 21 points and eight assists in the win for Monmouth, which shot 43.8 percent from the floor, 11.8 percent from 3-point range and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line for the contest.
Canisius was led by senior Kiefer Douse, who scored 16 points after going 6-for-7 from the floor and 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Senior Phil Valenti posted his sixth career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 12 boards, while junior Kassius Robertson scored 13 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and a steal in 37 minutes of action. Canisius shot 42.9 percent from the floor and 39.1 percent from 3-point land in the contest, but the Blue and Gold ended the night shooting just 56.3 percent from the line, connecting on 9-of-16 tries from the charity stripe.
Monmouth jumped out to an early 10-4 lead just 4:08 into the contest, and the Hawks led the Griffs 40-32 at the break. In the second half, a lay-up by Valenti with 12:17 left to play got Canisius within three at 50-47, but Monmouth used a 14-2 run over the game’s next 3:39 to take a 64-49 advantage with 8:28 left in the contest. In that run, Robinson was good for six points, while Brady added four more for the Hawks. The Griffs fought back and got within two points at 72-70 with 2:07 remaining, but a free-throw by Micah Seaborn and a lay-up by Robinson stretch Monmouth’s cushion back to five at 75-70 with 1:09 left on the clock.
Canisius junior Selvedin Planincic had nine points and four blocked shots off the bench for the Griffs, while junior Jermaine Crumpton added eight points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals. Eight of the 10 Canisius players that saw time on Monday scored at least two points.
Canisius will travel to meet Quinnipiac on the road Friday with tipoff set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live online at QU All-Access, and the audio call will be on Timeless WECK 1230-AM and 102.9-FM in Buffalo and the Golden Griffin Broadcast Network.
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