Canisius junior Jamal Reynolds recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 17 rebounds and senior Jeremiah Williams scored the game-winning shot with 11 seconds left to help lift the Golden Griffins to a 60-59 overtime victory Thursday night against Stony Brook in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win moves the Blue and Gold to 5-4 on the season while the visiting Seawolves slipped to 5-6 with the loss, having now dropped four straight.
In overtime, Stony Brook jumped out to a quick two-point lead at 54-52 just 18 seconds into the extra frame on a lay-up from junior forward Jameel Warney. Warney ended the night with a game-high 19 points to go with 18 rebounds, eight of which came off the offensive glass. A pair of free-throws by Canisius sophomore Zach Lewis moments later knotted the game at 54-54 before Stony Brook took its largest lead of the entire game with 3:48 left on the clock after sophomore Kameron Mitchell nailed a 3-pointer from the far corner to make the score 57-54. Back-to-back buckets from Reynolds and Lewis put Canisius back up one at 58-57 with 1:59 remaining, but Stony Brook took the lead right back 29 seconds later after guard Carson Puriefoy hit two free-throws. After both teams came up empty, Canisius brought the ball up the floor with 31 seconds to play. From there, Williams took the ball at the top of the key, made one hard jab-step to back his defender off, and then promptly drained a jumper from the right elbow with 11 ticks left to put the Griffs ahead for good at 60-59. Stony Brook had one last chance to win the game in the closing seconds of overtime, but Puriefoy's 3-point attempt with four seconds left went long and Reynolds grabbed the rebound to seal the win for Canisius.
"Stony Brook is a good team, that's a quality program right there," Canisius head coach Jim Baron said. "They were picked to win [the America East] and they had two preseason all-league guys. We had an idea coming into this game that it might end up being a rock fight. We took care of the things we needed to, really played some pretty good defense and we had a senior step-up and hit a big shot at the end. It was nice to play at home and get a win."
Lewis led all Canisius scorers with a team-high 16 points, and he was also good for four rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and a steal in the win for the Griffs. Reynolds added two steals to his final stat line, while Williams finished the game with nine points, highlighted by his 5-for-5 effort from the free-throw line. As a team, Canisius shot 32.1 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from 3-point land, but the Blue and Gold ended the night by shooting 90.5 percent (19-for-21) from the charity stripe and the team was credited with 12 assists on 18 made field goals.
For Stony Brook, three players scored in double figures, led by Warney's game-high 19 points. Puriefoy had 15 points and five boards, while Roland Nyama added 11 points and eight rebounds to the losing effort. Stony Brook out rebounded Canisius by a 53-38 margin, but Canisius' defense held Stony Brook to 28.4 percent from the floor and 23.5 percent from 3-point land.
The Griffs will continue their five-game homestand on Sunday, Dec. 21, when the team hosts Holy Cross in the Koessler Athletic Center. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
Game Notes: This was the second all-time meeting between the two schools, with each program winning on its home floor… The overtime game was Canisius' 126th OT contest all-time, where the team is now 83-43… Canisius is 4-1 in overtime games under Baron and the Griffs have won three-straight extra session contests… Reynolds' 17 rebounds are the most for a Griff since Chris Manhertz had 18 boards in a win at Marist Dec. 9, 2012… Senior Josiah Heath matched a career-high with three blocked shots... The win over Stony Brook was Canisius' 200th all-time victory in the Koessler Athletic Center.
