RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Canisius junior Julius Coles hit a
3-pointer from the right wing with 5.8 seconds left on the clock and
Manhattan's last second shot to tie hit the from rim as the Golden Griffins
secured a 63-61 overtime victory over the Jaspers Saturday afternoon in the
Draddy Gymnasium. The win improves Canisius to 9-9 overall and 4-3 in the MAAC,
while Manhattan fell to 7-10 overall and 2-5 in league play.
Coles led the Griffs with a team-high 15 points as he
returned to the starting line-up for the first time since Jan. 2. Junior Tomas
Vazquez-Simmons posted his third career double-double with 13 points and 10
rebounds, while senior Frank Turner and junior Elton Frazier chipped in 12 points apiece in
the winning effort.
In the overtime period, the Blue and Gold trailed 61-59 with
1:12 left on the clock after Manhattan's Rico Pickett hit a jumper from the top
of the key for two of his game-high 16 points. On the Griffs' ensuing
possession, Turner made one of two free throws to make the score 61-60 in favor
of the Jaspers, but Canisius got the ball back after Pickett missed a jumper in
the lane with less than 30 seconds to play. Following Canisius' final timeout
of the game, Turner dribbled in and hit Coles with a pass, setting up the
junior guard's game-winning 3-pointer. Manhattan's last second shot hit the
front iron and the Griffs left Draddy Gymnasium with their first win over
Manhattan since the 2006-07 season.
Canisius raced out to a 39-23 halftime lead after the Blue
and Gold shot a red-hot 48.4 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from
3-point range, but Manhattan made it a game with an 18-3 run in the first 8:19
of the second stanza to make the score 42-41 in favor of the Griffs. The
Jaspers took the lead at 45-44 when Darryl Crawford hit a jump shot from the
top of the key with 9:47 left on the clock and the home team held its lead
around four points for a better part of the next six-plus minutes before a dunk
by Frazier with 2:42 left made the score 56-54 in favor of Manhattan. Canisius
would tie the game with 27 seconds left in regulation time after
Vazquez-Simmons sunk two from the free-throw line.
"We still have a lot of work to do, but this is a good
character win for our team," head coach Tom Parrotta said. "Give
Manhattan credit, they're a good team and we knew they were going to make a
second-half run. It turned into a five minute game and we were able to stay
focused and take care of things offensively and most importantly,
defensively."
For the game, Canisius shot 39.6 percent from the field and
33.3 percent from 3-point range, while knocking down 75 percent of its shots
from the free-throw line. Manhattan shot 33.3 percent from the floor in the
loss and went without a 3-pointer for the game, going a collective 0-for-12
from behind the arc. The Griffs held a 43-38 advantage on the glass, with
Frazier and Greg Logins pulling down eight apiece.
Canisius will close out its four-game MAAC road swing Monday
when the team plays at Fairfield. Tipoff in the Arena at Harbor Yard is set for
1 p.m.
Game Notes: Canisius improved to 47-40 all-time in overtime
games and 18-13 in extra sessions since joining the MAAC prior to the 1989-90
season... Each team secured a win in the 2009-10 regular season series, with each
squad winning on the road... Canisius has matched its MAAC win total for the
entire 2008-09 campaign... Prior to Saturday's game, Vazquez-Simmons' last
double-double came against Loyola on Feb. 3, 2008... Vazquez-Simmons has moved
into a tie with former Griff Mike Smrek for second all-time in career blocked shots
with 172... Canisius had four players score in double figures for the second time
this season - the team accomplished that just once last year.
