Canisius tied a Koessler Athletic Center record with 16 3-point field goals, six players registered double-figures in the scoring column and the Golden Griffins held Iona without a field goal in the game’s final 5:32 en route to an 89-83 victory over the Gaels Tuesday night. The win snapped the Griffs’ four-game losing streak to the Gaels and improved the team to 16-11 overall and 9-7 in MAAC play, while Iona fell to 17-10 overall and 10-6 in league action with the loss.
The 16 makes from 3-point land on Tuesday night marks the third time in the building’s history where a team has hit 16 treys in a game. Canisius set the original record Jan. 10, 2001 against Siena, and Saint Peter’s had 16 makes from behind the arc against Canisius Feb. 19, 2004. The 16 triples matches a season high for Canisius, which also made 16 3-pointers in a road loss to Monmouth back on Dec. 4.
Senior forward Phil Valenti scored a game-high 18 points in the win for the Griffs, who shot 47.5 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from long-range and 78.9 percent from the free-throw line in the victory. Junior Jermaine Crumpton was good for 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while senior Kiefer Douse tallied 16 points and junior Kassius Robertson scored 11 points. Senior Martin Dixon-Green and sophomore Chris Atkinson added 10 points each off the bench for the Griffs, with the 10 points standing as a career-high for Dixon-Green and a season-high for Atkinson.
Canisius led 80-78 with 5:41 left to play after Valenti scored a lay-up, but the Gaels knotted the game just nine seconds later on lay-up at the other end of the floor by senior forward Jordan Washington. That bucket by Washington, two of his team-leading 15 points on the night, would end up being the final field goal make of the evening for the visiting team. With the game knotted at 83-83, Crumpton drilled a 3-pointer in the corner off a pass from Atkinson that gave Canisius the lead for good at 86-83 with just 1:19 left to play. The teams combined for back-to-back empty possessions before Canisius was able to get a steal with 14.9 seconds left to play. Iona was forced to foul Robertson, who made both free-throws to give Canisius an 88-83.
Iona had five players scored in double-figures, led by Washington and Jon Severe, who each had 15 points. Washington also grabbed 10 rebounds for Iona, which ended the game shooting 50 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3-point land and 82.4 percent from the charity stripe.
Canisius will start its final regular-season road trip on Friday, when the team travels to play at Rider. Game time in Lawrenceville, New Jersey is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. 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
