Canisius returns to the road Saturday afternoon when the Golden Griffins play at Youngstown State. Canisius has dropped two straight after posting its first win of the season at Duquesne Nov. 18.
After playing back-to-back home games, Canisius opens a four-game road swing today when the team plays at Youngstown State. The Golden Griffins are 1-4 on the year after losing to Tennessee State at home on Nov. 23, by the score of 72-58. The 58 points scored in that loss stand as the fewest for the team this season. Three of Canisius’ first five games this season have been decided by a total of seven points. In the last 10 Canisius game decided by five points or less, the Griffs are 3-7. Canisius has been out-rebounded in all five games this season after Tennessee State posted a 45-31 advantage on the glass Wednesday night. Freshman guard Isaiah Reese came off the bench and scored a career-high 13 points in the loss to Tennessee State. He hit three 3-pointers in that game, the most for the Miami, Florida native this year. Canisius senior forward Phil Valenti scored 12 points in the loss Wednesday. He’s scored 10-plus points in 12-straight games, dating back to last year.
This marks the fifth meeting between these schools in a series that started during the 1940-41 season. Canisius is 4-0 in its four meetings against Youngstown State. The last time these teams played, the Griffs scored an 84-82 overtime win over the Penguins in the second round of the 2013 CIT. The last three meetings in this series, including today, have been played in Youngstown, Ohio.
Youngstown State is 3-3 on the year after beating Division III Westminster on Tuesday night by a score of 97-67. The Penguins are led offensively by junior guard Cameron Morse. Morse ranks eighth in the nation in scoring average with his 25.2 points per game and third in the country with 151 total points. Morse poured in a career-high 40 points in the team’s overtime loss to Toledo Nov. 14 – the second-highest single point total for any Division I player this year. Senior Jorden Kaufman leads the Penguins with his 7.2 rebounds per game. Of his 43 total rebounds this season, 12 have come off the offensive glass. Junior guard Francisco Santiago is averaging 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game for Youngstown State, which comes into today’s game averaging 82 points per game.
Canisius is 14-19 all-time against current members of the Horizon League. The Griffs have played more games (21) against Detroit Mercy than any other Horizon League member school. Canisius is meeting Youngstown State for just the fifth time in school history, despite the schools being separated by only 200 miles.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT