Marist center Patrick Gardner scored a game-high 26 points and the visiting Red Foxes shot 55.1 percent from the field as a team en route to a 76-58 victory over Canisius in MAAC men’s basketball action Friday night at the Koessler Athletic Center. The win, Marist’s second straight, improved the Red Foxes to 6-9 overall and 2-4 in MAAC play, while the Golden Griffins saw their two-game win streak come to an end with the loss. Canisius is now 4-12 overall and 2-5 in league play.
Gardner finished the night by going 11-for-15 from the field, 1-for-3 from 3-point land and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line in 35:23 of game action. He also grabbed four rebounds and dished out an assist in the winning effort. Noah Harris added 14 points, fueled by four 3-point field goals, and Javon Cooley chipped in 13 points as well.
For Canisius, three players scored in double-figures, led by redshirt-freshman Tahj Staveskie, who had a team-high 18 points. Graduate student Jamir Moultrie added 12 points after he made four 3-pointers, and sophomore TJ Gadsden chipped in 11 points and four rebounds. As a team, Canisius shot 34.5 percent from the floor, 30 percent (9-for-30) from 3-point land and 64.3 percent from the free-throw line in the losing effort, while being out-rebounded by Marist by a 35-30 clip.
Trailing by four with less than 12:00 left to play in the second half, Staveskie cut Marist’s lead in half to 53-51 with 11:15 left to play on a jumper from just outside the lane. From there, Marist took over, using a 21-3 run over the next 7:50 to seal the victory. In that run, Gardner accounted for 11 of Marist’s points, capped by a 15-foot jumper from just outside the paint that put the Red Foxes up 74-54 with 2:02 remaining on the clock. In the game’s second half, Gardner scored 19 of his 26 points and the Red Foxes shot 58.3 percent from the floor as a team.
Canisius senior Jacco Fritz scored nine rebounds and nine rebounds in his first start of the season, while Moultrie matched a career-high with two steals. The Griffs turned the ball over just nine times in the loss, but Marist was able to turn those miscues into 14 points.
GAME NOTES
• Friday was the 57th meeting in series history, with Canisius leading 35-22.
• Friday was the Griffs’ first home game since Nov. 20, when the team beat Fredonia. The span of 54-days in between home contests at the Koessler Athletic Center is the longest in program history.
• Canisius was without the services of graduate student Jordan Henderson (upper-body injury) and sophomore Xzavier Long (illness).
UP NEXT
The Griffs will close out their weekend homestand on Sunday when the Blue and Gold plays host to Siena at the Koessler Athletic Center. Game time is set for noon, and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The radio call will be exclusively available through GoGriffs.com. Tickets for that game, and all remaining home men’s basketball games, are available online through GoGriffs.com, or by calling the Canisius Ticket Office at (716) 888-TIXX.
For the most up-to-date information on Canisius men’s basketball, follow @Griffs_MBB on Twitter and Instagram.
