Canisius College (8-14, 4-9 MAAC) vs. Niagara (11-10, 7-5 MAAC)

Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2003?8 p.m. Koessler Athletic Center?Buffalo, N.Y.
Internet/Radio: 105.1 FM Jay Moran (play-by-play) TV: None

Tonight Canisius College hosts Western New York rival Niagara University in the Koessler Athletic Center. The Golden Griffins are on a four-game losing skid and suffered a 79-65 setback at Manhattan in their last game. The Blue and Gold enters the game with an 8-14 overall record and a 4-9 mark in league play. Niagara is 5-2 in its last seven contests and is coming off an 85-74 win at Fairfield last Sunday. The Purple Eagles enter the game with an 11-10 overall record and a 7-5 mark in league play.

Quick Hits

Canisius has not swept Niagara in the regular-season series since the 1994-95 campaign... Jon Ferris is averaging 12.8 points and 5.8 rebounds over his last five outings...Canisius is 1-7 in games decided by five points or less and 0-4 in games decided by three points or less... The Griffs saw 14-point, second-half advantages disappear in its last two home games... Four of Canisius' last five games of the regular season will be at home... Brian Dux ranks seventh in the country in free-throw shooting percentage (.908)... The senior is the fourth player in Canisius history to tally 100 or more assists in three seasons... Hodari Mallory is 14 points away from the career 1,000-point plateau... The senior tallied his fifth career double-double against Manhattan (2/8) with 15 points and 11 rebounds... Following the game vs. Loyola Friday, the Griffs have eight days off before their next contest.

Scouting the Purple Eagles

Juan Mendez leads Niagara in scoring and rebounding at 17.4 points and 8.6 boards a game. Tremmell Darden is posting 17 points and 5.8 rebounds an outing, while James Reaves averages 11.5 points and 8.4 boards an outing. The Purple Eagles are shooting 45.7 percent from the floor and allowing their opponents to shoot 44 percent, including 33.6 percent from three-point range.

Series History

Niagara owns an 82-72 edge in the all-time series, which began in the 1903-04 season. Niagara has won three of the last four contests against the Griffs with the lone Canisius victory coming at Niagara in November. Hodari Mallory scored a career-high 27 points, and Brian Dux netted his first career double-double with 24 points and 10 assists as Canisius defeated the Purple Eagles 89-69, the Blue and Gold's largest margin of victory ever at Niagara. Head coach Mike MacDonald owns a 6-7 mark against Niagara but is 3-2 against the Purple Eagles at home and has lost the last two. Canisius' last home win over Niagara was an 85-82 overtime decision in 2000.

Chalk Up Another One Sophomore guard Chris Ravello broke the middle finger in his left hand during warm-ups at Loyola Jan. 26, and is expected to return for the Saint Peter's game Feb. 23. Ravello is averaging 18.8 minutes, 3.9 points and 2.1 rebounds in 17 games this season. He is the fourth Canisius player to miss a game because of an injury this season.

Foster and Doss Will Redshirt Canisius coach Mike MacDonald has announced that senior forward Toby Foster and junior guard Dewitt Doss will redshirt the 2002-03 season. Foster will have one season of eligibility remaining, and Doss will have two. Foster fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot and had a screw put in to stabilize the fracture Oct. 26. The captain 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 had a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his left foot and had a screw put in to stabilize the fracture Nov. 2. He 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.

Putting Names in the Record Books Brian Dux is the 22nd player in the 99-year history of Canisius basketball to score over 1,000 points. With 1,155 points (16th) and 477 assists (2nd), the senior is the only player in Canisius history to score over 1,000 points and dish out over 400 assists. Senior Hodari Mallory also has a chance to put his name among the elite in Canisius basketball history. Mallory has 986 career points (23rd) and 448 rebounds (27th). Thirteen Canisius players tallied over 1,000 points and over 500 rebounds.
Head Coach Mike MacDonald 76-91; .455 (6th Year); Native of Ridgefield, Conn. Tied for fifth in school career wins, 13 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.

First Four on the Road The Griffs played 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 4-9 in the MAAC this season.
D-D-D Defense Canisius has held its opponent under 40 percent shooting from the floor in eight games 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 40.9 percent from the field, ranking first in the MAAC.
Mr. Helper With 10 assists to go along with 26 points against Saint Peter's Jan. 20, Brian Dux moved into second on the all-time Canisius assist list. He ranks second in the league, averaging 5.5 assists a game this season, and owns a +2.57 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 and 18 points against Buffalo Dec. 14. He has 121 assists this season and joins Javone “Bam” Moore, Rodney Brown and Aaron Covington as the only players in Canisius history to post 100 or more assists in three seasons.

The Iron Man Brian Dux is averaging 35.9 minutes a game this season. The senior has started 86 consecutive games, dating back to his freshman season. He has played in every game during his collegiate career, 113 contests. He played 40 minutes against Saint Joseph's, Siena (12/7) and Manhattan (2/2).

Not a Bad Outing Brian Dux scored a career-high 31 points at Iona Jan. 8. He was 10-of-15 from the floor and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line. Dux is the first Griff to score 30 or more points on the road since Darrell Barley posted 35 points at Saint Peter's Jan. 19, 1996. He is the first Griff to score 30 or more points in any game since Darren Fenn netted 32 at home vs. Iona Jan. 8, 2000.

Non-Conference Schedule The Griffs finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 4-5 mark. Three of the five losses
came against Saint Joseph's (25-AP, 27-USA Today/ESPN), Notre Dame (10-AP, 9-USA Today/ESPN) and Syracuse (17-AP, 18-USA Today/ESPN).

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.
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.

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. Hot on his heels is teammate Hodari Mallory with 131 three-pointers, including 40 this season. The senior is shooting 41.2 percent from three-point land, good for seventh in the league.

Friendly Confines For the first time ever, Canisius will play all its home games on campus. The Griffs own an all-time mark of 130-42 (.756) 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. The 13-game schedule at the Koessler Center is the largest in school history.

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. Canisius played in front of 17,305 fans at Syracuse; it's the largest attendance for a game involving Canisius since an 80-69 win over Texas Southern in front of 18,018 Nov. 22, 1997, at the Lobo Classic.

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

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, MAAC All-Academic and second-team Football Gazette Mid-Major I-AA All-America honors in 2002. He walked on to the basketball team as a freshman and has seen action in 21 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 seven games.

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

On the Tube The semifinal and quarterfinal rounds of the HSBC MAAC Tournament will be televised live on MSG, and ESPN will broadcast the championship contest. Canisius is 2-4 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.
Griffin History This is the 99th season of Canisius hoops, and the Griffs have an all-time record of 1084-978 (.526). 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 Luis Flores scored 24 points, and Manhattan (19-3, 12-1 MAAC) led wire-to-wire as the Jaspers extended the nation's second-longest winning streak to 15 games with a 79-65 men's basketball victory over Canisius College (8-14, 4-9 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. Justin Jackette netted 16 points off the bench, and Jason Wingate tallied 11 points and five assists. Dave Holmes collected 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Mike Konovelchick scored 10 points. Hodari Mallory tallied his fifth career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead Canisius. Jon Ferris posted 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench, and Richard Jones scored a career-high 14 points to go along with six boards. Canisius trailed 19-15 midway through the first half, when Manhattan finished the stanza with a 19-5 run over the next 9:18 to take a 38-20 lead into the break. The Golden Griffins shot 27.6 percent from the field in the first half and turned the ball over 12 times. The Jasper lead grew to as many as 26 points in the second half at 73-47 with 7:38 remaining. Canisius plays four of its five remaining games at home.