Canisius sophomore TJ Gadsden scored a career-high 16 points in his first career start and fellow sophomore Xzavier Long added 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists as the Golden Griffins went on the road and snapped their nine-game losing streak with a 64-57 win over Manhattan at Draddy Gymnasium in Riverdale, N.Y., Friday night. The win moves Canisius to 3-11 overall and 1-4 in MAAC play, while the Jaspers fell to 4-10 overall and 2-3 in league action with their third-straight defeat.
The Griffs trailed Manhattan 51-50 with 4:14 left to play before a bucket by Long off a pass from Gadsden with 3:56 remaining to put Canisius up for good at 52-50. In the game’s closing 3:20, graduate student Jamir Moultrie scored seven of his nine points on the night, highlighted by a 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:31 on the clock that put Canisius up 60-53. Manhattan answered Moultrie’s 3-pointer with a 3-pointer on its next trip down the floor, but Canisius closed out the night by scoring four of the contest’s final five points to secure the victory.
Gadsden’s 16 points came after he went 4-for10 from the field, 2-for-6 from 3-point land and 6-for-6 from the foul line in nearly 36 minutes of action. He also recorded four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot. Long went 6-for-9 from the floor, as Canisius shot 45.3 percent from the field for the game, making 24-of-53 attempts on the evening. Of those 24 made field goals, only three came from behind the 3-point arc, and the Blue and Gold shot 86.7 percent (13-for-15) from the free-throw line.
Eight of the nine Canisius players that saw time in the game scored at least two points in the victory, with graduate student George Maslennikov and redshirt-freshman Tahj Staveskie each adding six points to the winning effort. Canisius also scored 36 points in the paint, the second-most for the squad this season.
The Griffs took a 32-20 lead into the halftime break after closing the final 11:35 of the opening stanza on a 23-5 run. Manhattan whittled the Griffs’ lead down to just one at 44-43 with 9:25 left on the clock on the power of a 23-12 surge, and the Jaspers took their first lead of the second half at 46-44 after guard Raziel Hayun made three free-throws with 9:00 showing on the clock. But Manhattan would never lead by more than three points in the game’s closing 8:00, allowing Canisius to stay close enough to eventually take the lead for good with 3:56 left to play.
Three different Manhattan players scored 13 points in the loss for the Jaspers, which have now dropped four of their last five at home to the Griffs, dating back to the 2016-17 campaign. Josh Roberts had 11 rebounds for Manhattan, which out-rebounded Canisius 30-28 for the game, but the Griffs took advantage of 19 Manhattan turnovers, which the Blue and Gold turned into 22 points.
GAME NOTES
• Friday was the 98th all-time meeting between the two schools, with Manhattan leading the series 57-41.
• In 35 trips to Manhattan’s Draddy Gymnasium, Canisius has won just 11 games. Four of those 11 wins have come under head coach Reggie Witherspoon.
• The three makes from 3-point land are the fewest triples in a game for Canisius this year.
• Prior to Friday’s game, Gadsden had scored a total of 25 career points as a college player.
• Long’s eight rebounds gives him five-or more rebounds in 21 career contests.
• Gadsden earned the start on Friday because the Griffs were without graduate student Jordan Henderson, who saw his streak of 76 straight games played end with an upper-body injury.
UP NEXT
Canisius will close out its weekend road trip at Saint Peter’s on Sunday when the team plays at Saint Peter’s. Tip-off at the Yanitelli Center in Jersey City, N.J., is set for 2 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The radio call can be found exclusively through GoGriffs.com.
