CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
Game Recap
Villanova forward Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree posted his first career double-double with a career-high 15 points and a career-best 13 rebounds, and the defending-national champion Wildcats outrebounded Canisius 51-24, as Villanova posted an 83-56 win over the Golden Griffins in the first game of the 2018 AdvoCare Invitational Thursday afternoon at HP Fieldhouse in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The win moves the Wildcats to 3-2, while the Griffs slipped to 1-3 with their third-straight loss.
For Canisius, junior Isaiah Reese led all scorers with 19 points, 17 of which came in the second half. He also added seven rebounds and three assists before fouling out of the game. Sophomore Takal Molson had 10 points to go with three boards and four assists and junior guard Malik Johnson added eight points, four steals and two rebounds to the losing effort. For the game, Canisius shot 32.7 percent from the field, 26.1 percent from 3-point land and 82.4 percent from the free-throw line.
Villanova had four players in double-figures scoring, with Cosby-Roundtree and Phil Booth leading the way with 15 points apiece. Saddiq Bey and Cole Swider added 11 points to the winning effort for the Wildcats, who shot 48.3 percent from the field, 32.3 percent from 3-point land and 75.0 percent from the charity stripe as a team.
The difference in the game was on the glass, as the Wildcats grabbed 51 boards, including 18 off the offensive backboards, for 21 second-chance points. Villanova also held a 32-16 advantage in points scored in the paint.
Canisius shot just 29.6 percent from the field in the game’s first 20 minutes, making just one of eight tries from 3-point range, but the Griffs closed the opening stanza on a 6-0 run to go into the locker room down 38-26. Out of the intermission, Reese caught fire, scoring 11-straight points in the span of 2:36 to make the score 46-37 with 16:24 left to play. But that scoring run ended quickly after the Wildcats took a 30-second timeout, as Villanova used an 8-2 run over the next 2:02 to push its lead back to 55-39 with 13:58 showing on the clock.
A pair of free-throws by Molson with 4:23 left in the game cut Villanova’s lead to 63-52 before the Wildcats went on another scoring run, this time a 9-0 spurt, to stretch the lead to 20 at 72-52. That run was fueled by a pair of 3-point makes by Swinder, who came into the contest with just one make from 3-point land this year.
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon‘s Postgame Comments
“We had some really good looks early on where we were able to penetrate and get to the basket, but we missed four or five point-blank lay-ups and that really set us back. That, and the fact that they just destroyed us on the glass.”
“We need to play with more focus and be ready to compete for a full 40 minutes. We have not been able to sustain the high-level of intensity needed to win games so far this year. When you play good teams like this, and your full intensity level isn’t there, you see what happens.”
Game Notes
• The game on Thursday was the 30th all-time meeting between the two programs, with Villanova leading the series 21-9.
• Thursday’s game marked the first meeting between Canisius and Villanova since the first round of the 1994 NIT.
• This was the second time in program history where the Griffs played on Thanksgiving Day. The team is now 0-2 when playing on “Turkey Day”.
• The 19-point effort for Reese marks the 39th time in his career where he’s scored 10-or more points in a game. Additionally, he has knocked down multiple 3-point field goals 34 times in his career.
• Johnson’s four steals in the loss on Thursday gives him multiple steals in four of the team’s last five games, dating back to last season.
Up Next
Canisius will play in the consolation bracket of the 2018 AdvoCare Invitational on Friday, Nov. 23, when the Griffs square-off against either Memphis or Oklahoma State. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3. The radio call can be heard on WECK-Radio Buffalo, GoGriffs.com and the TuneIn app.
