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NIAGARA UNIV. — Canisius heads north on I-190 Monday night when the Golden Griffins renew their rivalry with Niagara in the Gallagher Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. This will mark the 180th meeting in the series which dates back to the 1905-06 season.
The Golden Griffins are 12-8 overall and 5-4 after falling to Quinnipiac 95-90 Jan. 20. Including the loss to Monmouth at home Jan. 16, Canisius comes into this game with back-to-back losses for the first time since Nov. 21 and 23. Canisius’ 90 points scored in the loss to Quinnipiac Jan. 20 marks the 11th time this season the team has scored 80-plus points in a game. The Griffs are 9-2 in those 11 contests. Canisius junior Kassius Robertson ranks fourth in the MAAC in scoring average with his 18.1 points per game. He had two 3-pointers in the loss to Quinnipiac, giving him multiple 3-point makes in 53 career games. Junior Jermaine Crumpton had 23 points in the loss at Quinnipiac Jan. 20 – his sixth game of 20-or more points scored this season. Senior Phil Valenti averages 17.4 points per game against Niagara in five career meetings against the Purple Eagles.
This will be the 180th all-time meeting between these two Western New York schools, with Niagara holding a 97-82 lead in the series. Canisius has won six of the last seven meetings between these two schools after the Blue and Gold posted a 102-97 triple-overtime win over the Purple Eagles in March 3, 2016 in the first round of the MAAC Tournament. That triple-overtime contests stands as the longest game in MAAC Tournament history. The five-point Canisius win in the MAAC Tournament last March marked the 73rd time in series history where the game was decided by five points or less. Canisius has played more overtime games against Niagara (19) than any other rival. Canisius leads that portion of the series 10-9. The last regular-season overtime game between these rivals was on Feb. 15, 2012.
Niagara is 6-14 overall and 3-6 in league play after the Purple Eagles defeated Saint Peter’s 57-55 Saturday in Jersey City, N.J. The Purple Eagles’ win on Saturday over Saint Peter’s snapped the team’s four-game losing streak. As a team, Niagara ranks fifth in the MAAC in scoring average at 74.7 points per game, while ranking seventh in the MAAC in scoring defense, allowing 78.3 points per contest. Junior Matt Scott leads the team and ranks sixth in the MAAC in scoring average at 17.1 points per game. He also ranks eighth in the conference in rebounds per game with 6.6 boards per contest. Fellow junior Kahill Dukes ranks 10th in the MAAC in scoring at 16 points per game. Niagara and Canisius are the only two teams in the league to feature two scorers ranked among the top-10 in scoring average this season.
The Griffs will return home Saturday, Jan. 28, when the team hosts Manhattan. Game time is set for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3, and the live audio call will be available on Timeless WECK 1230-AM and 102.9-FM in Buffalo and through GoGriffs.com.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT