BUFFALO — Canisius will meet Rider for the first time this season on Monday night when the Broncs travel to the Koessler Athletic Center for a MAAC contest. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Canisius is 6-3 at home this season, having won six of its last seven home dates, dating back to Dec. 10.
Canisius closes a brief two-game homestand tonight when the Golden Griffins play host to Rider in the Koessler Athletic Center. The Griffs ended a three-game slide Saturday with a 78-64 win over Manhattan. Canisius is 13-9 overall and 6-5 in MAAC play this season. The win over Manhattan on Saturday gave the Griffs their first regular-season sweep of the Jaspers since the 1996-97 campaign. The Griffs boast the MAAC’s highest scoring offense at 81.3 points per game. Canisius comes into this game ranked 31st nationally in scoring average. Canisius freshman Malik Johnson matched career-highs with nine points and seven rebounds against Manhattan. He also had six assists, his 20th multi-assist game this season. Senior Phil Valenti scored a game-high 22 points against the Jaspers on Saturday. He is averaging 21 points per game in the team’s last two contests. Junior Kassius Robertson ranks third in the MAAC in scoring at 17.9 points per game, and he has multiple 3-point field goals in 17-straight games.
This will be the 45th all-time meeting between these two programs, with Rider leading the series 33-11. The last five games between these two schools played here in the Koessler Athletic Center have been decided by a total of 20 points, including last year’s 67-61 win by Canisius. In all, 14 of the previous 44 contests in this series have been decided by five points or less, with Rider holding an 11-3 record in those contests.
Rider comes into tonight’s game with a 12-10 overall record and a 5-6 mark in MAAC games. The Broncs have dropped two straight and five of their last six contests, dating back to Jan. 13 at Manhattan. Rider is coming off an 80-67 loss at Niagara on Saturday. The Broncs are 7-8 on the road this season, but just 2-4 in road league games. As a team, Rider is averaging 72.3 points per game, which ranks eighth in the league. Defensively, the Broncs are allowing 72.7 points per outing, which ranks second-best in the conference. Senior Kahlil Thomas leads the team and ranks 15th in the MAAC with his 13.5 points per game. He is also the Broncs’ top rebounder with his 9.3 rebounds per game, which ranks third in the MAAC and 43rd in the nation. Freshman guard Stevie Jordan is good for 11.8 points per game, and he leads the MAAC in assists per game average with 5.5 per contest. He comes into tonight’s game ranked 24th in the country with his 120 total assists through 22 games.
The Griffs will head east on the New York State Thruway to close out the regular-season series with Siena on Saturday. Game time in Times Union Center is set for 7 p.m.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT
