BUFFALO — Canisius closes out the regular-season series with Iona tonight as the Gaels makes their annual trip to the Koessler Athletic Center. Game time is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
Canisius wraps up its two-game homestand tonight when the Golden Griffins play host to Iona in the Koessler Athletic Center. The Griffs are 15-11 overall and 8-7 in MAAC play after falling to long-time rival Niagara 94-81 Feb. 10 at home. Canisius dropped both meetings with Niagara this season, the Purple Eagles first regular-season sweep of the Griffs since 2011-12. Canisius was credited with 20 assists in the loss to Niagara. The Griffs’ 471 total assists this season are the sixth-most for a season in school history. Junior Kassius Robertson ranks fifth in the MAAC in scoring average with his 17.3 points per game. He needs four more 3-pointers to become the third Griff in school history to hit 200-plus career 3-point field goals. Freshman Malik Johnson ranks 85th in the nation (11th among freshmen) with his 115 assists this year. Senior Kiefer Douse had 20 points in the loss to Niagara, his second-straight game of 20-or more points.
This is the 71st meeting between these two schools and Iona leads the series 40-30. Iona has won four straight and eight of the last 10 meetings between these two squads, which includes three wins in the MAAC Tournament. The last four wins by Iona in this series have come by an average of 16.8 points per game. Canisius is 20-12 against Iona at home, with 13 of those victories coming in the Koessler Athletic Center.
Iona is 17-9 overall and 10-5 in MAAC play after beating Niagara 90-76 Sunday afternoon. The Gaels come into this game having won seven of their last eight and eight of their last 10, dating back to Jan. 8 when the team beat Canisius 98-75 in New Rochelle, New York. Senior Jordan Washington leads the Gaels and ranks sixth in the MAAC in scoring average with his 17.0 points per game. He also ranks sixth in the league with his 7.0 rebounds per contest. Graduate student Jon Severe is good for 12.2 points per game. Severe is in his first year at Iona after starting his college career at Fordham. Iona is averaging 80.0 points per game this season, which ranks second in the MAAC. The Gaels rank second in the league in team field goal percentage (45.6 percent) and team field goal percentage defense, with opponents shooting 42.5 percent from the field. The Gaels lead the MAAC and rank 16th in the nation in 3-point field goal makes per game at 9.9 per outing. Through 15 MAAC games, Iona has drilled 150 3-pointers as a team. The next closest team is Niagara, which has made 139 triples in league action so far this year.
Tonight’s game between Canisius and Iona features the top-two rated offenses in the MAAC, with Canisius averaging 80.3 points per game and Iona scoring an average of 80.0 points per contest. Canisius’ scoring average ranks 39th in the nation, while the Gaels come into this game ranked 43rd nationally in points per game. Between the two teams, Canisius and Iona have combined to score 80-plus points in a game 25 times (14 by Canisius, 11 by Iona).
The Griffs will start their final road trip of the 2016-17 regular-season at Rider on Friday, Feb. 17. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and the 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
