GULFPORT, Miss. - Canisius senior Frank Turner scored a career-high 30 points, including the Golden Griffins' final eight points in the last 1:36, as the Blue and Gold defeated Southern Miss 59-56 on the second day of the Southern Miss Christmas Classic in Gulfport, Miss. The win snapped Canisius' four-game losing streak and improved the team to 5-6 on the year, while the Golden Eagles dropped to 8-2 with the loss.
Turner became the first Canisius player to score 30 points in a game since the 2005-06 campaign after he ended the night by going 11-for-15 from the field, 2-for-5 from 3-point range and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. With the game tied at 51-51 with 1:36 left on the clock, the Atlantic City, N.J. native sliced through the paint and dropped one over the front iron to give the Griffs a 53-51 advantage, a lead the Blue and Gold would not give up the rest of the way.
After Southern Miss went 1-for-2 from the free throw line to make the score 53-52 with 1:22 left, Turner went down to the other end of the floor and again hit a tear-drop runner in the lane, this time to put the Griffs up 55-52. After Southern Miss missed two chances to tie the game with 3-point shots, the Golden Eagles hit a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left to cut the Griffs' hold to 55-54.
From there, Turner would close out the night with four made free throws in the game's final 15 seconds to seal the victory. Southern Miss had a chance to tie the game at the end, but Angelo Johnson's 3-point try from the top of the key bounced off the left side of the rim as time expired.
"The obvious difference between tonight and last night was that we dug down defensively and got rebounds when we needed them," Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. "We didn't get a lot of points from some of our normal scorers, but we did get a great team effort at both ends of the floor against possibly the most talented team we've played so far this year."
Junior Elton Frazier scored 10 points and pulled down five rebounds in the win, while juniors Julius Coles and Robert Goldsberry posted six points apiece for the Griffs. Goldsberry was credited with a game-high six assists, while Turner was credited with three steals.
Southern Miss guard Maurice Bolden was good for 15 points and 17 rebounds in the loss for the Golden Eagles, which were held to a season-low 56 points. Gary Flowers posted his fourth-straight double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Canisius shot 36.8 percent from the field and 91.7 percent from the foul line, knocking down 11-of-12 chances from the stripe. The team also matched a season-low with nine turnovers, while forcing Southern Miss to turn the ball over 15 times.
The Griffs will close out their stay in Mississippi on Wednesday, Dec, 23, when the team plays New Orleans. Tipoff in Bert Jenkins Gym is set for 5:30 p.m.
Game Notes: The Griffs improved to 8-6 all-time against current members of Conference USA... The meeting with Southern Miss was the first in school history... Turner is the first Canisius player since Corey Herring to score 30 or more in a game - Herring had 32 against Fairfield at home Jan. 29, 2006... Turner's 30 points Tuesday move him past Hank Nowak for seventh all-time in career scoring... Canisius set a new school record with 35 3-point field goal tries... The previous record was 33, set Jan. 18, 1994 against Cornell... This was the first time Canisius shot better than 90 percent from the line in a game since Dec. 31, 2007, when the team shot 92.3 percent in a home win over Maine.
