Men's Basketball 2/8/2009 5:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Men's Basketball Falls to Saint Peter?s at the Buzzer

Saint Peter's sophomore Ryan Bacon's tip-in as time expired help lift the visiting Peacocks to a 59-58 victory over Canisius College on Hall of Fame Day in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win improved Saint Peter's to 7-17 overall and 4-10 in MAAC play, while the Golden Griffins slipped to 7-17 overall and 2-12 in conference action.

Canisius sophomore Greg Logins scored a career-high 26 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in the losing effort for his fifth double-double of the season. Teammate Frank Turner added 17 points, six rebounds and four assists while Julius Coles chipped in eight points and four boards.

Canisius took a one-point lead at 58-57 after Turner hit a jumper from the paint with 1:03 left in the contest. Canisius took the ball away from Saint Peter's on the next possession, forcing the Peacocks to foul to stop the clock. On the ensuing inbounds play, the Peacocks were able to regain possession after a scramble for a loose ball at midcourt to set up the final sequence. Saint Peter's worked the clock down to less than five seconds before Nick Leon drove to the basket. After Costner's shot bounced off the iron, Bacon tipped the ball into the cylinder as the final horn sounded.

“I told the guys that we really outplayed that team for 39 minutes and however many seconds,” Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. “It came down to an unfortunate bounce and it bounced their way. That bounce could have gone the other way and it would have been a fantastic win for us. I can't fault their effort. They came out with a purpose today from start to finish and we asserted ourselves on offense and defense. This was a good battle right to the end.”

Canisius led 56-47 with 4:43 left in the game after Turner knocked down a jumper from the left wing. From there, Saint Peter's used a 10-0 run over a span of 3:19 to eventually take a 57-56 lead after Leon drove down the right side of the lane and laid one in for two of his nine points.

The Griffs started the game on a red-hot pace, taking a 10-point lead at 18-8 after Coles went to the basket and scored off the glass with 12:50 left before intermission. Canisius' cushion reached 35-23 with 1:20 left before the break after Logins hit two free throws, but Saint Peter's closed out the first 20 minutes by using a 5-0 run to send the teams into the locker room at the intermission with Canisius holding a 35-28 lead.

Saint Peter's ended the day with a 38-34 advantage on the glass, highlighted by Bacon's career-high 15 boards. Sophomore Wesley Jenkins scored 17 points in the win for the Peacocks.

The Griffs will close out their three-game homestand Thursday, Feb. 12, when the team hosts long-time rival Niagara in the Koessler Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. The game will be shown live on Time Warner SportsNet and GoGriffs.com.

Game Notes: Saint Peter's has now taken four straight from Canisius... Logins' 26 points bested his previous career-high of 23, set March 2, 2008 at Niagara... Four Canisius players (Coles, Logins, Turner and Tomas Vazquez-Simmons,) played all 40 minutes... Vazquez-Simmons had a game-high five blocks, the 27th time in his career he's registered multiple blocks in a game... The 11:30 a.m., tipoff is the earliest regular-season start time in school history.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#15 Julius Coles: G; 6' 4"; Sophomore

#00 Greg Logins: F; 6' 7"; Sophomore

#2 Frank Turner: G; 5' 10"; Junior

#42 Tomas Vazquez-Simmons: F; 6' 7"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#15 Julius Coles
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: G

#00 Greg Logins
: 6' 7"; Sophomore
: F

#2 Frank Turner
: 5' 10"; Junior
: G

#42 Tomas Vazquez-Simmons
: 6' 7"; Sophomore
: F