NATCHITOCHES, La. - Canisius senior Elton Frazier scored a game-high 22 points and fellow senior Greg Logins chipped in 17, but early struggles from the field and foul trouble were too much for the Golden Griffins to overcome, as the Blue and Gold fell on the road to Northwestern State by a score of 86-74 Sunday night in the Prather Coliseum. The win was the Demons' fifth-straight and improved the team to 8-3 on the season, while Canisius slipped to 4-6 with the loss.

Frazier scored his 22 points after he went 9-for-14 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point range and 1-for-3 from the free-throw line to go with six rebounds and a steal. Logins, who was in foul trouble from the opening stages of the game, ended the night with 17 points and four boards before fouling out with more than nine minutes left in the game. The senior from Sodus, N.Y., became the 30th player in school history to reach the 1,000-career point milestone with his third field goal of the contest at the 13:11 mark of the first half. Senior Robert Goldsberry was good for a career-high 15 points and dished out a season-high seven assists in the loss, while fellow senior Tomas Vazquez-Simmons led all Canisius players with eight rebounds off the bench.

For Northwestern State, Devon Baker come off the bench to post 22 points after he went 6-for-8 from the field, 4-for-8 from behind the 3-point line and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line, while senior Will Pratt chipped in 17 points off the bench, with 13 of those coming from the charity stripe. In all, the host Demons went to the line 43 times as the Griffs were called for a season-high 31 personal fouls. Ten of the 11 players who saw time for the Blue and Gold were charged with a personal foul in the loss.

"I thought we really competed tonight, from start to finish, but we had a few factors that really hampered our efforts," Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. "Up front we were undermanned because Chris [Manhertz] was out with the ankle injury, and when Greg, Tomas and Elton got in early foul trouble, it really changed our rotation. From a standpoint of working hard, I think we turned the corner. Our guys didn't stop scrapping until the end and we had some chances to get back into it in the second half, we just couldn't get over the hump."

The Griffs trailed 25-22 with 6:55 left before the break, but Northwestern State pushed its cushion to 11 at 35-24 thanks to an 8-2 run over 2:34 with Pratt and Baker teaming to account for six of the Demons' eight points during the charge. Sophomore Gaby Belardo helped get the Blue and Gold back into the game with a driving lay-up with 3:24 left before the break to make the score 35-26 in favor of Northwestern State, and from there, Canisius was able to cut the Demons' cushion to just one at 35-34 with 1:18 left before intermission thanks to an 8-0 run with Belardo and Vazquez-Simmons combining to tally five of the team's eight points during the spurt. After Baker hit one free throw with 1:00 left in the opening stanza, Goldsberry sunk a pair from the line to knot the game at 36-36, but Baker sent his squad into the locker room at the half up three at 39-36 after he hit a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key with 38 ticks left before the break. In the opening stanza, Canisius shot just 33.3 percent from the field and 7.7 percent from behind the arc after going 1-for-7 from long range.

In the second half, Logins came out and scored the Griffs' first eight points of the half, capped by a putback off on offensive board with 17:15 left in the game to make the score 48-44 in favor of the Demons. Frazier's break-away dunk cut the lead to two points at 48-46 with 16:04 left on the clock, but Northwestern State got away from Canisius with another 8-2 run, sealed by a lay-up from guard Logan McConathy with 13:26 remaining. Logins' 3-pointer with 11:39 left to play made the score 56-51, but that bucket would be the Blue and Gold's last field goal for a span of 3:06, allowing Northwestern State to pull away and take a 65-54 lead with 8:57 left to play.

For the game, Canisius shot 36.4 percent from the field, 25.8 percent from 3-point land and 75 percent from the free-throw line, while the Demons shot 49 percent from the floor, 40 percent from behind the arc and 65.1 percent from the charity stripe, going 28-for-43 on the evening. Northwestern State held a 42-36 advantage on the glass, while the Griffs posted a 21-19 advantage in points off turnovers.

Canisius will return to action Wednesday, Dec. 22 when the team plays at Lamar. Tipoff in Beaumont, Texas is set for 8 p.m., eastern time.

Game Notes: This was the first meeting between the two schools... These same two teams will play again Dec. 29 in the Koessler Athletic Center... For Northwestern State, Will Pratt went to the free-throw line as many times as Canisius' starting five... Freshman Ashton Khan came off the bench to play a career-high 17 minutes where he scored three points and dished out a career-best three assists... Freshman Eric Kindler made his first collegiate start in the loss and scored five points while being credited with three rebounds and two assists.