Monmouth took its first lead of the night on a put-back dunk by sophomore Chris Brady with 5:06 left in regulation time and the visiting Hawks did not relinquish the lead down the stretch as Monmouth ended Canisius' three-game winning streak with a 73-68 win Friday night in the Koessler Athletic Center. Monmouth moves to 6-7 overall and 3-0 in MAAC play with the win, while the Golden Griffins slipped to 7-5 overall and 2-1 in league play.
For Canisius, sophomore guard Zach Lewis scored a career-high 31 points after he went 11-for-23 from the field, 8-for-17 from 3-point land and 1-for-1 from the free-throw line. He also added three rebounds and two assists to the Griffs' effort in the loss. Junior Jamal Reynolds chipped in eight points, seven boards and three assists, while senior forward Josiah Heath was good for a season-high 12 rebounds.
Monmouth had four players score in double-figures, led by sophomore guard Justin Robinson and senior Andrew Nicholas, who each had 14 points in the victory for the Hawks. Deon Jones added 11 points, as did teammate Austin Tilghman, with nine of Tilghman's points coming from the free-throw line. The Hawks shot 41.5 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from the charity stripe in the victory, and Monmouth was able to turn 15 Canisius turnovers into 24 points.
"We knew coming in that this was going to be a hard-fought battle," Canisius head coach Jim Baron said. "Monmouth has a lot of weapons. They were able to get the free-throw line and we made too many turnovers. They got 24 points off turnovers. Hard to win that way. Give them credit, they went small on us in the second half with five guards and they really caused us some trouble."
Canisius led by as many as 13 points with less the 4:00 left before halftime, but Monmouth trimmed the Griffs' cushion to 34-32 at the break thanks to a 14-3 run over the final 3:39 of the first stanza. In the second half, Canisius took a 49-41 lead on a put-back dunk by junior Kevin Bleeker, but Monmouth answered with a 7-1 run over the next 3:35 to make the score 50-48 with 8:41 left to play. Canisius' lead ballooned to five at 55-50 with 6:54 left on the clock after Lewis hit one of his career-high eight 3-pointers, but a pair of made free-throws by Brady and a 3-pointer from Monmouth reserve Collin Stewart with 5:48 left on the clock knotted the game at 55-55. After Canisius came up empty on its ensuing possession, Brady was able to follow up a missed 3-point shot from the top of the key to put Monmouth ahead for good.
The Griffs shot 36.1 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from 3-point range in the loss. Canisius controlled the glass, out rebounding Monmouth 42-33, but Monmouth's bench was able to out score Canisius' reserves 38-18 to help push the Hawks to the victory.
The Griffs will close out their five-game homestand on Sunday when the team hosts defending MAAC champion Manhattan in the Koessler Athletic Center. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
Game Notes: This was the third all-time meeting between these two schools, with Monmouth now holding a 2-1 lead in the series… The 73 points allowed at home by the Griffs are a season high… Lewis' eight 3-pointers were one shy of the Koessler Athletic Center record for makes from behind the arc and his 17 shots from long-range set a new facility record for a Canisius player in a game… In three career games against Monmouth, Lewis is averaging 23.0 per game and he's knocked down 17 3-pointers… Heath's 12 rebounds are the most for the senior since the 2012-13 season when he had 11 rebounds in a win at Temple… Bleeker's seven boards are a season-high… Redshirt-freshman Jermaine Crumpton was credited with a career-high three assists in the loss.
