Rider junior Tariq Ingraham’s two free-throws with 13 seconds left to play proved to be the difference as the Broncs held on for a 66-64 win over Canisius Saturday afternoon at the Gallagher Center in Lewiston, N.Y. The win moved Rider to 6-6 overall and 3-0 in MAAC play, while the Golden Griffins slipped to 2-10 overall and 0-3 in league action with their eighth-straight defeat.
The game, which was originally scheduled to be played at the Koessler Athletic Center, was played at Niagara’s Gallagher Center due to ongoing clean-up efforts in and around Canisius’ campus following last weekend’s blizzard. The “home” game marked the first time in program history where the Griffs used the Gallagher Center as a home court, and it was the program’s first “home” game in Niagara County since the 1995-96 season when the Griffs played Loyola (Md.) at the Niagara Falls Convention Center.
For Canisius, graduate student Jordan Henderson scored a game-high 17 points, all of which were scored in the game’s second half. His 3-point basket with 2:59 remaining in the contest gave him 12 points on the day, and it also allowed the Cincinnati, Ohio, native to become the 40th player in program history to reach the 1,000-career point milestone. That basket got the Griffs within three points at 62-59.
After Canisius and Rider traded buckets in a span of 1:06 to make the score 64-61 in favor of the Broncs. The Blue and Gold got a defensive stop and then earned two free-throw chances with 48 seconds remaining, the Griffs came up empty on two misses from the free-throw line. The Griffs were able to get the rebound off the second miss, however, Canisius turned the ball over, giving the ball back to the Broncs.
On their next possession, Rider’s Dwight Murray Jr., missed a jumper from inside the paint, but Ingraham grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled. He made both of the ensuing free-throws to make the score 66-61, but Henderson hit a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left to make the score 66-64. Out of the Griffs’ final timeout, Rider made a long pass over top of the Griffs’ pressure and the clock expired, allowing Rider to earn the victory.
Sophomore Xzavier Long scored 14 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals in the losing effort, while redshirt-freshman Tahj Staveskie added 11 points and five assists. For the game, Canisius shot 40.6 percent from the field, 29.7 percent (11-for-37) from 3-point land and just 12.5 percent (1-for-8) from the free-throw line.
Three Rider players scored in double-figures in the win, led by Allen Powell, who had 15 points, with six of those coming from the charity stripe. Ingraham had 12 points and five boards, while Mervin James scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the winning cause. Rider shot 43.1 percent from the field and just 13.3 percent (2-for-15) from 3-point range, but the Broncs made 14-of-18 free-throws in the win, with eight of those makes coming in the game’s second half. Rider also ended the game with a 46-31 advantage on the glass, while Canisius was able to turn 15 Ruder turnovers into 16 points.
HEAD COACH REGGIE WITHERSPOON’S POSTGAME COMMENTS
“Our guys have been through a lot recently. We had a guy [junior Bryce Okpoh] who played a lot of minutes and he just got back into town at 1:30 in the morning. We had a number of guys who were only able to practice once this week with all the travel issues they experienced in getting back to town after Christmas. I thought we did a good job to fight through adversity and responding to the challenge, but now we need to confront the things that we need to be better at. Like today, we got exposed on the backboards. We need to clean that stuff up.”
“Both teams played really, really hard today. [Rider] is obviously a really good team. And they have one of the best players in the league in Dwight Murray Jr. What we need to do is continue to work at controlling what we can control. The little things add up. Those types of things are our focus.”
“Jordan [Henderson] is a veteran guy who gives us great minutes on the floor. I’m proud of him for reaching that 1,000-point mark for his career because he has been a tremendous ambassador for our program, on the court, in the classroom and among the campus community.”
GAME NOTES
• Saturday was the 56th all-time meeting between the two teams. Rider leads the series 40-16.
• Seven of the last 10 games between Canisius and Rider, dating back to 2017, have been decided by two points or less.
• The game featured seven ties and four lead changes.
• Canisius’ 40 1,000-point scorers is tied for the third-most in the MAAC, along with Rider, which also has 40. Niagara has 50 1,000-point scorers, while Fairfield and Siena have 45, each.
• Five of Henderson’s six makes from the field in the losing effort were from behind the 3-point. This marks the 41st time in his career where he’s knocked down multiple 3-pointers, and it also allowed him to move into sixth-place all-time on the school’s career 3-point chart.
• Long has scored in double-figures in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
• Staveskie’s five assists gives him multiple assists in 10 of the team’s 12 games to date.
• Okpoh’s three offensive rebounds gives him multiple offensive rebounds in all 12 games this season.
UP NEXT
Canisius will return to action on Monday, Jan. 2, when the Griffs play host to Mount St. Mary’s at the Gallagher Center in Lewiston, N.Y. Game time is set for 3 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The radio call can be heard exclusively on GoGriffs.com. Season ticket holders for Canisius will have their tickets for the Jan. 2 (previously Jan. 1) game honored at the Gallagher Center on Monday afternoon, and one ticket is good for admission to both contests. Tickets for the doubleheader are available, and can be purchased through the TICKETS link at the top PurpleEagles.com.
