Junior Julius Coles scored a game-high 18 points to lead four Canisius players in double figures as the Golden Griffins defeated Marist 71-56 Friday night in MAAC action in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win snapped the Griffs' three-game losing streak to improve the team to 12-14 overall and 7-8 in league play, while the Red Foxes fell to 1-24 overall and 1-14 in MAAC action.

Senior Frank Turner was good for his second-straight double-double with 16 points and 10 assists, while junior forward Tomas Vazquez-Simmons registered his fifth career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Greg Logins came off the bench to add 16 points to the Griffs winning effort, as the Blue and Gold ended the night with 17 points off turnovers and 17 second-chance points.

Canisius took control of the game early and never looked back as the Griffs lead 17-2 8:19 seconds into the contest. Twelve of the Griffs' first 17 points came via the 3-point shot, and the 17-2 run to open the game was capped by a Turner put back off a free-throw miss by Logins. The Blue and Gold stretched its lead to as many as 14 in the first half at 25-11 with 7:01 left before intermission, but Marist responded with a 10-2 run to close out the first stanza to make the score 27-21 at the break.

The Griffs wasted little time pushing their cushion back to double-digits in the second half, using a 10-4 run over the first 3:19 of the half to take a 37-25 lead. Marist cut the Griffs' hold to just nine at 41-32 with 12:43 left on the clock after Javon Parris connected on a traditional three-point play, but from there, Canisius pulled away with a 10-0 spurt, capped by four-straight free throws by Turner.

For the game, Canisius shot 38.9 percent from the field, 35.5 percent from 3-point range and 78.3 percent from the free-throw line, while holding Marist to 39.6 percent from the field. Turner's 10 assists helped lead the Griffs to posting 17 assists on 21-made field goals, and the team's 11 made 3-pointers matched a season-high.

"It wasn't the prettiest of games, but we came out and defended the way we really wanted to defend," Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. "We knew full-well that Marist is a team that can go on runs and they never seem to be out of game because they can shoot the ball from three so well. This win is a testament to us coming off a hard road swing and to come back and be mature about taking care of business."

Marist freshman Candon Rusin scored a team-high 17 points in the loss for the Red Foxes, which have now dropped 13 straight. Korey Bauer had 14 points and six rebounds, while Devin Price chipping in 12 points to the losing effort.

The Griffs will return to action Sunday when the team plays host to Siena in the Koessler Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m., and the game can be seen live on Time Warner SportsNet.

Game Notes: Canisius has now won four straight over Marist and leads the all-time series 17-13... The Griffs improved to 9-5 this season when scoring 70-plus points, and the team improved to 19-9 in its last 28 games when holding the opposition under 40 percent from the field... Since 1999-00, the Griffs are 5-5 in the game following an overtime loss... Turner is the first Griff to have back-to-back double-doubles this season... Five of his eight career double-doubles have come with points and assists... This marks the sixth time in his career he's been good for 10 or more assists in a game... Coles' 18 points came off a 6-for-13 night from the field and a 4-for-10 effort from 3-point range... His four made 3-pointers gives him 110 in his career, which ranks 11th in school history... Vazquez-Simmons registered a season-high six blocks, the ninth time in his career he's been good for five or more blocks in a game.