Location: Koessler Athletic Center – Buffalo, N.Y.

Starters:  G - #1 Malcolm McMillan; G - #5 Kassius Robertson, G - #23 Jamal Reynolds, F - #22 Phil Valenti, C - #14 Kevin Bleeker

Game Recap
The Canisius men's basketball team ended a three-game losing streak on Saturday with an 84-68 win over Boston University in the Koessler Athletic Center. All 10 Golden Griffins who played in the game scored at least two points, and the host Blue and Gold out rebounded the Terriers 41-28 while forcing 24 turnovers. Canisius is now 4-6 on the year with the victory, while Boston University fell to 5-6 with the loss.

Four Canisius players scored in double-figures, led by junior Phil Valenti, who had a game-high 21 points. Senior Malcolm McMillan had 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals, while sophomore Kassius Robertson added 13 points and three steals to the winning effort. Sophomore Jermaine Crumpton scored 11 points off the bench and senior Jamal Reynolds recorded a game-high 12 rebounds for Canisius, which improved to 4-2 at home with the victory.

Three Boston University players posted double-figures in the scoring column, as the visiting Terriers shot 52.2 percent from the field for the game, highlighted by a 59.3 percent effort from the floor in the game's second half. Junior Eric Fanning had a team-high 18 points to go with seven boards for the Terriers, while senior guard John Papale added 16 points. Eight of the 10 Boston University players who saw time in Saturday's game were charged with a turnover in the loss, and Canisius ended the game turning those 24 mistakes into 29 points.

Canisius never trailed in the game, jumping out to a 9-2 lead just 2:58 into the game. The Griffs led by as many as 20 in the first half, and the team's 43-24 lead at intermission stands as the largest halftime lead for Canisius in each of the last two seasons. Boston University made a run in the second half and trimmed Canisius' cushion to 67-59 with 4:01 left to play, but a 3-pointer by Crumpton and a pair of made free-throws by Valenti pushed the Griffs back to a 13-point margin with 3:10 left in regulation time.

How It Happened:
• After Boston University turned the ball over on its first possession of the game, Canisius quickly jumped out to a 9-2 lead just 2:58 into the contest. McMillan put the Griffs up 9-2 after he darted down the left side of the lane and laid one off the glass for two of his 20 points.

• The Terriers fought back into the game early and trailed 11-8 with 12:38 left before break, but Canisius used a 15-4 run over the next 4:52 to take a 26-12 lead. In that run, Valenti scored eight-straight points for the Griffs and McMillan converted a traditional three-point play with 7:41 left before intermission.

• In the second half, the Terriers tried to get back into the game with an 11-4 run in the first 4:00 of the second stanza, capped by a 3-pointer from Papale from the right corner. From there, Canisius scored the game's next five points to stretch its lead to 17 at 52-35 with 14:45 left on the clock.

• Canisius led 74-64 with 2:05 left to play when Boston University head coach Joe Jones received two technical fouls and was ejected from the game. McMillan made all four free-throws, and then Robertson drained a pair of tosses from the stripe moments later to put the Blue and Gold up 80-66 with 1:47 left in regulation time.

Beyond the Box Score:
• As a team, Canisius had 21 offensive rebounds, led by Reynolds, who had four offensive boards in the win.

• The Griffs turned the 21 offensive rebounds into a season-high 20 second-chance points. The Griffs also scored 26 points in the paint, the 10th time this season the team has had 20-plus points in the paint in a game.

• Canisius made eight 3-pointers, with Valenti and Robertson knocking down three each. For Valenti, he now has three made 3-point field goals in each of the team's last four outings.

• The Griffs shot 39 percent from the field as a team. This marks the first time this season the team shot under 40 percent for the game and still earned a win.

• Canisius made 30 free-throws in the win, the second most this season (made 31 in the win over Lehigh Nov. 16).

• The Griffs' 42 chances from the free-throw line are the most for a Canisius team inside the Koessler Athletic Center since Jan. 31, 2000, when the Blue and Gold had 50 free-throw tries against Manhattan.

Quotes from Canisius coach Jim Baron
"I was a little apprehensive coming into this game because our guys were coming off final exam week and I saw how mentally drained some of them were. But we came ready to play and we were focused on the game plan from the start."

"You look at the stat sheet and we had some really good balance today. Balance is so important to what we do. When we get a good effort from our starters and the guys coming off the bench, it makes things much easier."

"We know we can score. We need to defend and rebound. I thought we did that pretty well today. You turned them over right from the start, and we were able to turn their mistakes into points. The 20 second-chance points is very telling as well. Those are gritty, tough plays and you need those types of plays if you want to win games."

"I've said from day one, we need consistency. This isn't a sprint. We just need to keep working and keep getting better. I liked some of the things I saw today, and there are some things we need to work on moving forward. It's nice to get a win, especially after taking a week to focus on school work. I commend our guys for coming ready to play today."

Additional Game Notes:
• This was the 24th all-time meeting between the two programs, with Boston University leading the series 14-10.

• Canisius is 2-0 against Boston University under Jim Baron. Baron's first win as Canisius' head coach came against the Terrier on Nov. 12, 2012.

• Valenti has now recorded 20-plus points in three of Canisius' last four games.

• McMillan's 20 points on Saturday marked the seventh time in his college career where he scored 20 or more points in a game – with five of those occasions coming this season.

• McMillan matched a career-high with 12 made free-throws in the win, and the 15 trips to the charity stripe are a new career high for the senior.

• Reynolds now has posted double-digit rebounds in nine career games, with four of those contests coming this season.

• Senior Kevin Bleeker played in his 90th career game as a Griff on Saturday.

Up Next: Canisius will travel across the country to play ULM in Orleans Arena in Las Vegas as the second part of the 2015 Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic gets underway Dec. 22. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m., Eastern time. There will be no live streaming video for the game in Las Vegas, but fans can hear the game live on 1230-AM and 102.9-FM WECK in Buffalo and through GoGriffs.com.