The Canisius men's basketball team jumped out to a 6-0 lead, led 33-18 at halftime and held a 26-point advantage midway through the second half en route to a 69-55 victory Sunday afternoon over Saint Peter's in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win snapped the Canisius' four-game losing streak and improved the Golden Griffins to 13-12 overall and 8-8 in MAAC play, while the Peacocks saw their three-game winning streak come to an end while falling to 13-14 overall and 7-9 in conference action.
Three Canisius players posted double-figures in the scoring column, led by senior guard Jeremiah Williams, who came off the bench to score a career-high 22 points after he went 7-for-9 from the field, 2-for-3 from 3-point land and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Fellow senior Josiah Heath was good for his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Kevin Bleeker scored a season-high 10 points to go with six boards. As a team, Canisius shot 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range while holding Saint Peter's to 36 percent from the floor and 33.3 from 3-point land.
"We knew this would be a battle today with these guys, it always is, but this is a heck of a win for our team," Canisius head coach Jim Baron said. "We've been fighting with some of the top teams in this league and we came up short, but our guys never once put their heads down. They come here to work everyday. They've been fighting the fight. We rebounded the ball today, we sent the ball inside and we really defended. Our guys came here locked in and ready to go."
Heath scored four of the game's first six points and assisted on a bucket by sophomore Zach Lewis as Canisius jumped out to an early 6-0 lead 3:37 into the contest. Saint Peter's was able to trim the Griffs' lead to two points at 11-9 with 11:50 left before halftime on a 3-pointer by reserve guard Chazz Patterson, but from there, the Griffs took over, outscoring the Peacocks 11-1 in the game's next 3:16, with Williams accounting for the first seven Canisius points in that run. Saint Peter's got within six points at 22-16 with 4:37 left before the halftime break on a dunk by senior Marvin Dominique, but the Blue and Gold ended the first half on an 11-2 run to take a 33-18 lead into the locker room, with Williams accounting for five of the team's points to close out the first stanza.
In the second half, Canisius scored six of the first eight points out of halftime to take a 39-20 lead with 17:00 left to play, and a pair of made free-throws by redshirt-freshman Kassius Robertson with 14:00 left on the clock gave the Griffs a 45-25 lead. Canisius shot 43.5 percent from the floor in the game's final 20 minutes and the Blue and Gold ended the game by going 15-for-18 from the free-throw line in the second half.
Robertson had eight points, four rebounds and two assists in the win for Canisius, which ended its longest losing streak since the 2011-12 season with the victory. Lewis was good for seven points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists and junior Jamal Reynolds added four points, six boards and three assists. For Saint Peter's, Dominique had a team-high 15 points and seven rebounds, while Patterson came off the bench to record 10 points in the losing effort.
The Griffs travel to meet Siena on Thursday, Feb. 19, at the Times Union Center. Game time is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.
Game Notes: This was the 73rd all-time meeting between these two Jesuit schools, with Canisius holding a 42-31 lead in the series… The Griffs have now won six straight over the Peacocks… The Griffs have held 15 team to 60-or fewer points this season… Canisius finished the game with a 36-26 advantage on the glass and the Blue and Gold's bench scored 33 points against 26 from Saint Peter's reserves… The Blue and Gold had 14 assists on 23 made field goals, with eight of the nine players who saw action on Sunday getting credited with at least one assist… Canisius is 13-6 this year when scoring 60-plus points in a game… Heath's double-double was the fourth in his career… Heath also matched a career-high with three blocked shots… Bleeker has a block in the win, giving him at least one blocked shot in three of the team's last four games… Williams' seven makes from the field in the win on Sunday is a new career-high.
