Canisius College (5-4) vs. Syracuse (6-1)

Monday, Dec. 30, 2002?7 p.m. Carrier Dome?Syracuse, N.Y.
Internet/Radio: 105.1 FM Jay Moran (play-by-play) TV: None

Tonight After a weeklong holiday break, Canisius returns to action at Syracuse. The Griffs have not played since a 93-75 loss at Notre Dame Dec. 22. That contest was the first of a five-game road trip for the Blue and Gold. The Griffs enter tonight's game with a 5-4 overall record and have lost their last two games. Syracuse is 6-1 overall and has won its last six. The Orangemen are 6-0 at home this season. Quick Hits The Blue and Gold managed to score just 57 points against St. Bonaventure Dec. 19; it's the lowest output since netting 54 points at Fairfield Feb. 18, 2002... Notre Dame netted 95 points against Canisius Dec. 22; it's the most for a Griffin opponent since a 99-71 loss against the Irish in 2000... The Griffs are averaging 15.2 turnovers a game in their last five games (76)... Five Griffs scored in double figures against Morgan State; it was the first time Canisius had five scorers in double figures since an 86-82 loss at Niagara Feb. 23, 2002... Hodari Mallory has scored over 20 points in four of his last seven contests... Canisius has 154 assists on 250 total field goals this season (61.6 percent)... Canisius had 19 turnovers in the 71-63 loss at Siena Dec. 7; it's the most turnovers for the Griffs since a 73-53 loss to Manhattan Feb. 13, 2002... The Griffs also posted 19 turnovers against Morgan State Dec. 17... The Blue and Gold shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the free-throw line against Buffalo Dec. 14; it's the worst percentage since shooting 45.5 percent (15-of-33) at Morgan State Jan. 9, 2002... Canisius shot 50 percent from the line against St. Bonaventure Dec. 19.

Scouting the Orangemen

Syracuse is led by freshman sensation Carmelo Anthony, who is averaging 24.7 points and 10.1 rebounds a game. Hakim Warrick is averaging 14.7 points and 9.1 boards a contest. Gerry McNamara and Kueth Duany are scoring 14.3 points an outing. The Orangemen have played six games at home and one on a neutral floor. Syracuse is shooting 48.4 percent from the floor while allowing its opponents a 37.0 percentage. The Orangemen are outrebounding their opponents 45.4-37.9.

Series History

Syracuse leads the all-time series 40-24, but the teams have not played since the 1990-91 season, a 92-83 Orangemen victory. Syracuse has won the last 15 contests of the series. The Griffs last win was an 80-76 victory in the 1974-75 season. The series began in the 1944-45 campaign, when the Blue and Gold defeated Syracuse 58-45. Canisius won five of the first six meetings between the schools from 1944-48.

Player of the Week Brian Dux was named MAAC Player of the Week (Dec. 8-15) after leading the Griffs to a 71-65 home win over Buffalo Dec. 14. The senior collected 18 points and a career-high 11 assists in addition to two rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Injury Update Dewitt Doss had his walking boot removed and is allowed to participate in half-court workouts with the team. Toby Foster had his walking boot removed and has begun rehab, but has not seen any action on the court. Foster, a senior forward and captain, fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot and had a screw put in to stabilize the fracture Oct. 26. Doss, a junior guard, has a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his left foot and had a screw put in to stabilize the fracture Nov. 2. Foster started 25-of-26 games last year and finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.5 points a game in addition to five rebounds a contest. He is the school's all-time leading three-point shooter with 189 treys and has 828 career points. Doss started 29-of-30 games last season and was fifth on the team in scoring with 8.7 points a game to go along with two assists a contest.

Mid-Season Stretch Canisius is in the midst of a five-game road trip. Following tonight's game, the Griffs travel to Florida International (Jan. 2), Iona (Jan. 8) and Marist (Jan. 10).

D-D-D Defense Canisius has held its opponent under 40 percent shooting from the floor in six games, including four of the last five, and under 30 percent in two contests. The Griffs held Morgan State to 46 points, the least points allowed since a 78-46 win over Buffalo in 1999. Morgan State's shooting percentage of 27.4 percent was the lowest for a Canisius opponent in KAC history; the previous record of 29.4 percent was set against Elmira Dec. 4, 1990. Canisius set a school record by allowing Niagara to shoot 18.4 percent (7-for-38) from the field in the first half Nov. 30. The previous record was 18.8 percent (6-for-32), set in 1984 against Oswego and matched against the University at Buffalo Nov. 24, 2001. The Blue and Gold is allowing its opponents to shoot 37 percent from the field, ranking first in the MAAC.

Record Setting Performance Hodari Mallory tied a school record with seven three-pointers at Bucknell Dec. 3. Craig Wise netted seven against Fairfield Feb. 13, 1995, and Mickey Frazier had seven against Toledo Dec. 20, 1995.

Head Coach Mike MacDonald 73-81; .474 (6th Year); Native of Ridgefield, Conn. Ranks sixth in school career wins, three away from fifth. He spent nine years as an assistant at Canisius under Marty Marbach and John Beilein. Mike's late father-in-law, Tom Heary, played for Canisius from 1957-60, while his brother-in-law, Michael Heary, played at Navy. Brother Tommy played at New Hampshire, brother Timmy played for St. Michael's and brother John played for Dowling.

Not a Bad Outing Hodari Mallory scored a career-high 27 points in 24 minutes against Niagara Nov. 30. The senior netted 22 points in the second half. He shot 9-of-14 from the field, 4-for-4 from three-point land and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. It's the most points a Griff has scored since Darren Fenn tallied 29 points and 18 rebounds in a home 85-82 victory over Niagara Feb. 15, 2000. It's the most points a Griff has scored on the road since Kevin Thompson netted 27 at Colgate Dec. 28, 1997, in an 88-79 victory. Mallory is shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 52.2 percent from three-point land this season.

First Four on the Road The Griffs will play their first four conference games on the road. The last MAAC team to play its first four conference games on the road was Canisius in the 1995-96 season. The Griffs posted a 19-11 overall record, a 7-7 mark in the MAAC, won the MAAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament that season. The Griffs are 1-1 in the MAAC this season.

Friendly Confines For the first time ever, Canisius will play all its home games on campus. The Griffs own an all-time mark of 129-39 (.772) in the Koessler Athletic Center. The KAC underwent a $1.3 million facelift over the past three years, which includes adding reserved seating and bringing the capacity to 2,176. Season ticket sales have increased 400 percent from last season.

Attendance Three crowds at the Koessler Athletic Center this season have ranked in the top 15 of all time. The attendance of 2,176 vs. St. Bonaventure (the first sellout since the remodeling) ranks second, the crowd of 1,856 against Morgan State is tied for eighth and the 1,808 fans against Buffalo ranks 13th.

Mr. Helper With 10 assists against Niagara Nov. 30, Brian Dux moved into third on the all-time Canisius list. He is averaging a league-best 6.6 assists a game this season and owns a + 3.3 assist to turnover ratio, good for first in the MAAC. Dux had his first career double-double at Niagara Nov. 30, posting 24 points and 10 assists; he's the first Griff to collect 10 assists since Kevin Worley had 10 vs. Niagara Feb. 6, 1999. Dux tallied a career-high 11 assists against Buffalo Dec. 14.

The Iron Man Brian Dux is averaging 35 minutes a game this season. The senior has started 73 consecutive games, dating back to his
freshman season. He has played in every game during his collegiate career, 100 contests. He played 40 minutes against Saint Joseph's and Siena (12/7).

Preseason Poll Canisius was picked to finish sixth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Senior guard Brian Dux was named second-team All-MAAC.

Putting Names in the Record Books Seniors Brian Dux and Toby Foster have a chance to put their names among the elite in Canisius basketball history. Dux has 950 career points (25th) and 415 assists (3rd). Only one player in Canisius history has scored over 1,000 career points and dished out over 350 assists. Craig Wise (1991-95) tallied 1,799 points (3rd) and 353 assists (6th) to go along with 784 rebounds (4th). Foster has 828 career points (34th) and 401 rebounds (32nd). Thirteen Canisius players tallied over 1,000 points and over 500 rebounds.

Long Road Trip Canisius spent 10 days in Europe last August and compiled a 4-0 record on the hardwood. Nine players made the trip, and five averaged double figure points. Hodari Mallory led the team with 14.7 points and 8.7 rebounds a game, and Toby Foster posted 14 points and 8.5 rebounds a contest. Brian Dux tallied 12.5 points and 4.3 assists, while Richard Jones and Dewitt Doss each averaged 12 points a game.

Perk Knows Basketball Tom Perkovich is the first Griff since 1949 to play football and basketball all four years at Canisius. An offensive lineman on the football team, the senior played in every game during his career (42 contests) and started the last 31. Perkovich earned first-team All-MAAC and MAAC All-Academic football honors in 2002. He walked on to the basketball team as a freshman and has seen action in 20 contests during his career.

The Tradition Continues Sophomore Andrew Spitler is the fourth Spitler to don the Blue and Gold and the fifth to play collegiate basketball. His father (Kevin), uncle (Mark) and brother (Pat) all played at Canisius, and Pat transferred to Stony Brook. Another brother, Chris, played at Holy Cross. Andrew transferred from John Carroll and attended St. Joe's High School. Andrew's parents are infamous for traveling anywhere to see their sons play. Andrew has played in three games.

From Way Downtown... With his third three-pointer against Bucknell Jan. 5, 2002, Toby Foster set a new school record for career treys. The senior bested the old mark of 147, set by Kevin Thompson, who played for the Griffs from 1994-98. Foster now has 189 career three-pointers and a .417 career percentage.

No In-Season Tournament This is the first season Canisius has not played in a regular-season tournament since the 1992-93 campaign.

On the Tube Two more Golden Griffin games will be broadcast live on television. The Griffs' game against Saint Peter's in the Pepsi
Arena in Albany Jan. 20, and their home contest against Manhattan Feb. 2, will be televised live on Empire Sports Network and MSG as part of the MAAC television package. Canisius is 1-2 in televised games.

On the Air All of Griffs' games will be aired on the radio at 105.1 FM The River and all on the Internet at www.GoGriffs.com.
Non-Conference Schedule Canisius has two non-conference tilts remaining. The Griffs have a 4-3 non-conference mark this season.
Griffin History This is the 99th season of Canisius hoops, and the Griffs have an all-time record of 1081-968 (.528). The Golden Griffins' 93-69 victory over Iona on Feb. 8, 2001, was the 2000th men's basketball game in Canisius history.

Captains Brian Dux, Toby Foster and Hodari Mallory are the Canisius captains this season.

Canisius Signs Two Darnell Wilson and Charles Harris, a pair of players from Michigan, have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Canisius and play basketball, beginning in the 2003-04 season. A 6-foot-6, 190-pound forward, Wilson averaged 20 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks a game at John Glenn High School, where his team posted a 15-7 record and won its league tournament championship. He averaged 22 points an outing over the last 15 games of the season. Wilson was named first-team All-West by the Detroit Free Press and second-team All-West by the Detroit News. He was rated one of the top-five power forwards in Michigan by prepspotlight.com. Harris, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard averaged 21 points a game at Southfield Lathrop last season. He earned all-state honors in the Class A division and was named all-league. Harris will play his senior season at St. Martin DePorres High School under head coach Durand Shepherd.

Last Time Out Dan Miller and Matt Carroll combined to shoot 10-of-15 from three-point range to lead Notre Dame to a 93-75 victory over Canisius Sunday afternoon. Carroll finished with 25 points, and Miller scored 23. Chris Thomas posted 17 points and 13 assists. Brian Dux led Canisius with 20 points and five assists, and Richard Jones scored a career-high 13 points. Notre Dame took control from the start, taking an 8-0 lead on two 3-pointers by Miller and two free throws by Torin Francis. The Irish hit seven of their first nine shots to quickly extend the lead to 22-4. The Irish, who had a season-low three 3-pointers in their last game against DePaul, had three in three minutes against Canisius.