Siena guard Clarence Jackson came off the bench to score a season-high 13 points to help lead the visiting Saints to a 72-44 win over Canisius College in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action Sunday afternoon in the Koessler Athletic Center. Siena improved to 10-6 overall and 5-1 in the MAAC with the victory, while the Golden Griffins slipped to 2-14 overall and 0-6 in league play with their fourth-straight loss.
Canisius sophomore Frank Turner scored a team-high 12 points for the Griffs, while freshman Greg Logins added eight points and six rebounds. Freshman Rishawn Johnson (pictured) matched a career high with six points and fellow freshman Tomas Vazquez-Simmons chipped in six points as well.
Siena shot just 38.8 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from 3-point range, but the Saints were able to turn 21 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points and scored 28 points off 23 Canisius turnovers. Sophomores Edwin Ubiles and Ronald Moore had 10 points apiece in the win for Siena, with Moore finishing the contest with a game-high nine assists.
“We played a very good team in here today,” Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. “That was a very good team that we competed against, but they had answers for what we threw at them. We played hard, but we are not at the point where we can compete for a full 40 minutes.”
Canisius came out and took an eight point lead with 9:18 left before the half after the Blue and Gold went on a 9-3 run over 2:49, capped by a lay-up by Turner that put the Blue and Gold up 19-11. But the Saints answered the Griffs' run with a scoring spurt of their own and took a 25-19 lead after going on a 14-0 run over 3:51, highlighted by four 3-point field goals with Jackson and Moore each knocking down a pair.
As a team, Canisius shot 39.1 percent from the field and 25 percent from 3-point range for the game after shooting 47.8 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from behind the arc in the game's first 20 minutes. The Griffs were credited with 28 points in the paint in the loss, but ended up being out rebounded by Siena by a 45-29 count.
The Griffs will return to action Friday, Jan. 18, when the team plays host to Niagara in the Koessler Athletic Center. That game will be televised live on ESPNU and will follow the Canisius-Niagara women's game that will tip-off at 4:30 p.m.
Game Notes: Siena has now won four straight over Canisius and hold a 41-36 lead in the all-time series... Turner is averaging eight points per game in three career contests against Siena... Vazquez-Simmons posted three blocks in the game to give him 37 this season, which leads the team... The Griffs attempted a season-low eight 3-pointers.
