The Canisius men’s basketball team scored 10 of the game’s first 13 points and never looked back, as the Golden Griffins scored a 64-51 victory over Fairfield in MAAC action Sunday afternoon at the Koessler Athletic Center. The win, Canisius’ fourth in its last five outings, improved the team to 9-19 overall and 7-12 in league play, while the Stags fell to 12-17 overall and 8-11 in conference action with their third-straight loss.
Canisius sophomore TJ Gadsden led the way for the Blue and Gold in the victory with his third double-double of the season after he scored 11 points to go with a career-high 14 rebounds. Graduate student Jordan Henderson added 10 points, while redshirt-freshman Tahj Staveskie was good for nine points, a season-high seven rebounds and four assists. In all, Canisius tallied 20 assists on 27-made field goals in the win, as the team shot 42.2 percent from the field and outscored Fairfield 38-20 in the paint.
For Fairfield, Caleb Fields led all scorers with 15 points and three assists, while teammate Supreme Cook added 14 points, six boards and two steals. Fairfield shot just 35.1 percent from the field, 38.1 percent (8-for-21) from 3-point land and made 3-of-5 shots from the free-throw line.
Canisius took an early 6-0 lead 5:08 into the contest and then extended its lead to 10-3 with 13:18 remaining in the opening half after sophomore Xzavier Long scored off a pass from graduate student George Maslennikov. The Griffs took their largest lead of the first half with 6:04 left before halftime after Staveskie knifed through the lane and scored a lay-up to make the score 28-13 in favor of the home team, forcing the Stags to use a timeout. That field goal was the Griffs’ final field goal of the opening 20 minutes of play, but Canisius went into the locker room up 30-18 after Long knocked down a pair of free-throws with 10.4 seconds left before intermission.
In the second half, Fields was able to secure a loose ball and race to the opposite end of the floor for a lay-up to cut Canisius’ lead to nine points at 37-28 with 13:11 left in the contest, but Canisius ended any thoughts of a Fairfield comeback thanks to a 7-2 run over the game’s 1:20, with Henderson accounting for five of those points in that stretch. In the second half, Canisius shot 51.7 percent from the field and out-rebounded Fairfield by a 19-11 clip. For the game, Canisius pulled down 47 rebounds, the most for the squad since the team had a season-high 48 at Toledo back on Dec. 10.
Maslennikov and junior Siem Uijtendaal each had eight points off the bench for Canisius, while Long and senior Jacco Fritz and junior Bryce Okpoh all chipped in six points each to the winning effort. Long was good for eight rebounds and on the day as well, and he was one of four Canisius players to record four assists in the victory.
GAME NOTES
• Sunday was the 95th all-time meeting between these two Jesuit schools in a series that Fairfield leads 54-41. Canisius’ win on Sunday ended Fairfield’s five-game win streak in the series, that dated back to the 2020-21 campaign.
• The 18 points in the first half are the fewest points allowed in a half by Canisius under seventh-year head coach Reggie Witherspoon.
• Canisius improved to 14-4 under Witherspoon when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points in a game.
• Coupled with the 55 points allowed to Saint Peter’s on Friday, Canisius has held back-to-back opponents under 60 points for the first time since Feb. 8 and Feb. 10, 2018.
• Canisius has now dished out 20-or more assists as a team four times this season.
• Gadsden’s 14 rebounds are the most for a Canisius player in a game since former Griff Armon Harried had 14 rebounds at Quinnipiac on Feb. 27, 2022.
• Henderson’s 10 points gives him 1,166 career points, which ranks him 24th all-time in program history.
UP NEXT
Canisius will close out the 2022-23 regular season on Saturday, March 4, when the Blue and Gold plays host to long-time rival Niagara at the Koessler Athletic Center. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The audio call can be found exclusively through GoGriffs.com. The game against Niagara will be the second game in a basketball doubleheader at the KAC next Saturday, as the Canisius women will play host to Siena at 1 p.m., that afternoon. For tickets, or more information, call the Canisius ticket office at (716) 888-TIXX, or buy tickets online at GoGriffs.com.
For the most up-to-date information on Canisius men’s basketball, follow @Griffs_MBB on Twitter and Instagram.
