ALBANY — The seventh-seeded Canisius Golden Griffins start their postseason Thursday night when the team takes on 10th seeded Marist in the first round of the 2017 MAAC Basketball Championship in Albany, New York. Canisius and Marist will be meeting in the MAAC Tournament for the sixth time, and for the first time since 2010.
Canisius opens play in its 28th MAAC Championship tonight when the Golden Griffins meet Marist in the first round. The Griffs earned the seventh seed in this year’s postseason event after going 17-14 overall and 10-10 in MAAC play. Canisius dropped three straight to close out the regular season, including a 72-65 loss to Saint Peter’s Feb. 26 in the Koessler Athletic Center. This marks the second-straight year where Canisius has played in the 7-10 games of the MAAC Championship. Last year, the Blue and Gold defeated Niagara 102-97 in three overtimes – the longest game in MAAC Championship history. Senior Phil Valenti is the program’s active leader in career MAAC Championship games played, having played in five postseason games in his career. Junior Kassius Robertson earned All-MAAC Second-Team honors after he led the MAAC with his 3.0 3-point field goals made per game.
Marist enters the MAAC Tournament as the No. 10 seed after the Red Foxes went 8-23 overall and 5-15 in league play. Marist closed out the regular season with wins in two of its last three games, including a 76-74 win over Canisius Feb. 19. Senior Khallid Hart earned All-MAAC Second-Team honors after he led the team with his 18.0 points per game scoring average.
This will be the 46th all-time meeting between Canisius and Marist, with the Golden Griffins holding a 27-18 advantage in the series. The Griffs have won 13 of the last 20 games between these two programs, dating back to 2008-09. In the first meeting between the teams this season, Canisius defeated Marist by a score of 91-58. The 33-point win for the Griffs is the largest margin of victory for either team in this series, which dates back to the 1997-98 season.
This game tonight against Marist will be Canisius’ 51st MAAC Tournament game. The Griffs are 24-26 all-time in this event. Canisius, which enters the tournament as the No. 7 seed, is playing its first MAAC Tournament game under first-year head coach Reggie Witherspoon. All time, the Griffs are 12-4 in MAAC Championship first round games. Canisius earned the No. 7 seed in this year’s tournament after going 10-10 in MAAC play during the regular season. The Griffs have been the No. 7 seed in the MAAC Tournament five times previously, including last year’s event. The Griffs are 6-4 all-time in the MAAC Tournament as the No. 7 seed. Last year, Canisius and Niagara combined to play the longest game in MAAC Tournament history when the two long-time rivals battled in a three-overtime affair in the first round.
Canisius had three players earn All-MAAC honors when the conference office announced the conference’s all-stars units on Monday. Junior Kassius Robertson was named All-MAAC Second Team after he led the Griffs in scoring average, and finished the regular season as the league-leader in 3-point field goal makes per game with 3.0 per contest. Junior Jermaine Crumpton earned All-MAAC Third-Team accolades after he closed out the regular season ranked in the top-10 in the league in scoring average, field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage. Freshman guard Malik Johnson was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team, making him just the ninth Canisius newcomer to earn all-rookie honors since the school joined the league in 1989-90. Johnson ranks fifth in the MAAC in assists per game and second in assist-to-turnover ratio. This season marks the first time Canisius has had three players earn all-league honors in the same season since 2006-07.
The winner of tonight’s game will advance to meet second-seeded Saint Peter’s in the quarterfinal round Friday night. Tipoff is set for 9:30 p.m.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT
