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
Manhattan senior guard Shane Richards had a career-high 32 points, with 25 of those coming in the game's second half, and junior teammate Rich Williams added 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as the visiting Jaspers defeated Canisius 94-86 Thursday night in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win, Manhattan's third straight, improved the team to 6-8 overall and 3-2 in MAAC play, while the Golden Griffins slipped to 7-8 overall and 2-3 in conference play.

Canisius had three players score in double-figures in the loss, led by junior forward Phil Valenti, who poured in a career-high 26 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists. Senior Malcolm McMillan added 17 points, while sophomore Jermaine Crumpton posted 12 points and four boards. For the game, Canisius shot 50 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from 3-point land, but the Jaspers ended the game by shooting 55.8 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from behind the 3-point arc, draining 14-of-22 chances from long range.

Manhattan led by as many as nine points at 73-64 with 6:46 left to play, but the Blue and Gold was able to fight back, and a 3-pointer from redshirt-freshman Isaiah Gurley with 5:13 left on the clock put Canisius down two at 75-73. From there, Manhattan out scored Canisius 13-2 over the span of 3:50 to secure the win.

How It Happened:
• The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with the game's first 20 minutes featuring seven lead changes and two ties. Manhattan took a 41-38 lead into the locker room at halftime after Williams and teammate Tyler Wilson combined to score six of the final eight points before halftime.
• Manhattan shot 53.8 percent from the field in the first half, while going 54.5 percent from 3-point land. This marks the second-straight game where Canisius' opponent has shot better than 50 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, as Monmouth shot 53.3 percent from the floor to start the game in New Jersey Jan. 4.
• In the second half, the game was tied at 58-58 with 11:58 left on the clock after Valenti hit a jumper from just inside the paint. From there, Manhattan went on a 13-4 run to take a 71-62 lead with 8:24 left to play. In that run, Richards accounted for eight of the Jaspers' points, capped by a wide-open 3-pointer in the far corner.

Beyond the Box Score:
• Canisius was charged with nine turnovers in the game's first 20 minutes, but had just two turnovers in the second half.
• The Griffs were held to a season-low eight offensive rebounds in the loss.
• The Griffs allowed Manhattan to make 14 3-point field goals. In the team's last three games, the Blue and Gold has given up a total of 37 treys to Marist, Monmouth and Manhattan.
• Canisius out scored Manhattan 26-20 in the paint. The 20 points allowed in the paint are the fewest for Canisius since the Griffs defeated Cornell at home Nov. 21.

Quotes from Canisius coach Jim Baron
"We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game coming in, but give Manhattan credit. That's a good team that made shots tonight. And we did not make shots. That was the difference right there."
"I think only having one offensive rebound in the first half hurt us because we never got in a rhythm. They came out and really extended their zone in an effort to keep us from shooting 3s.We moved the ball and had open shots, we just didn't make them."
"Shane Richards is the real deal. He can shoot it, and he's smart. He carried them, and then Williams got rolling, and it became a pick-your-poison moment. We tried playing them in zone, we went man-to-man, we tried switching in possession out-of-bounds. They are a veteran team that has won big time basketball games."
"We had a chance to get back in the game and we couldn't get a stop. We couldn't get rebound. We gave up too many rebounds that turned into easy buckets. Those moments are really tough to over come when you're trying to dig out of a big hole."
"We need a leader. We need some guys to start to step-up and lead this team. We're right there, but we need some guys to move to the front of the line and lead this train."

Additional Game Notes:
• This was the 87th all-time meeting between these two programs, with Manhattan leading the series 54-33.
• Manhattan has now defeated Canisius is six-straight meetings.
• Valenti's 26 points on Thursday was one better than his 25-point effort in a loss to Quinnipiac at home earlier this season.
• Sophomore Kassius Robertson was credited with a career-high six assists in the loss for the Griffs.
• Gurley's eight points came on the power of two makes from 3-point land, his third game this season with multiple makes from 3-point range.