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Canisius University Athletics

#Griffs The Official Home of the Canisius University Golden Griffins | #Griffs
Isaiah Reese
Andy Mead/YCJ
63
Canisius CAN 3-7
65
Winner Holy Cross HC 7-4
Canisius CAN
3-7
63
Final
65
Holy Cross HC
7-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius CAN 32 31 63
Holy Cross HC 32 33 65

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Holy Cross Races Back to Beat Men’s Basketball

Game Recap
Holy Cross outscored Canisius 10-0 over the game's final 5:13 and senior Jehyve Floyd blocked Canisius' last-second chance to tie the game at the buzzer as the host Crusaders posted a 65-63 win over the Golden Griffins Thursday afternoon in the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass. The win moves Holy Cross to 7-4 on the year, while the Golden Griffins slipped to 3-7 with their two-game win streak coming to an end with the defeat.
 
Canisius took its largest lead of the day at 63-53 after senior Jibreel Faulkner slammed home a two-handed jam off an offensive rebound with 5:13 left on the clock. That, however, would be the Blue and Gold's final points of the contest, as Canisius was charged with four turnovers in the game's final 4:04 to help the Crusaders' comeback effort.
 
Canisius led 63-60 with 3:37 left to play, but a common foul and a technical foul against the Griffs as the teams went to the benches for the under-four media timeout gave Holy Cross four free-throws. After making two of those four, the Griffs' lead was trimmed to 63-62. The score would remain 63-62 for the next 3:15 before Floyd took a baseline pass from teammate Jacob Grandison and scored with 22 seconds left to put the Crusaders up 64-63, the home team's first lead since the 18:36 mark of the second half.
 
On the ensuing possession, Canisius turned the ball over, forcing the Blue and Gold to foul. Holy Cross made one of two free-throw chances, allowing Canisius 4.6 seconds to try and tie or win the game. Canisius' Malik Johnson raced the length of the floor as time was winding down and tossed the ball toward the rim, but Floyd came over and blocked the shot out-of-bounds as the final horn sounded to seal the victory for Holy Cross.
 
Leading 45-44 with 14:27 left to play, Canisius used a 10-2 run over the span of 3:06 to take a 55-46 lead midway through the second half. In that run, which was started by a 3-pointer from Faulkner and fueled by five points by junior Isaiah Reese, the Griffs forced Holy Cross to miss three 3-point attempts and turn the ball over three times. Holy Cross whittled the Canisius cushion to five at 55-50 with 8:40 left on the clock, but a powerful two-handed jam off an offensive rebound by Faulkner and a bucket by sophomore Scott Hitchon off the feed from Reese allowed the Blue and Gold to regain a nine-point lead at 59-50 with 7:40 left on the game clock.
 
Holy Cross again worked Canisius' lead down to two possessions, but four quick points from Canisius, capped by Faulkner's baseline jam with 5:13 left in the game, gave the Griffs their largest lead of the contest. Down the stretch, Holy Cross went just 3-for-7 from the free-throw line, but the Crusaders were able to hit on 3-of-5 shots from the floor to assist in their comeback efforts.
 
Reese scored a game-high 16 points in the loss and also dished out four assists for Canisius, which shot 41.1 percent from the field, 30.4 percent from 3-point land and 76.9 percent from the free-throw line. Sophomore Takal Molson was good for 14 points and eight rebounds, while Hitchon posted 11 points to go with a career-high eight boards. Faulkner chipped in nine points, seven boards and two steals in the losing effort, as Canisius ended the game with a 38-33 advantage on the glass.
 
For Holy Cross, Floyd and Grandison led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds, apiece, as the Crusaders shot 45.6 percent from the field, 19 percent from 3-point land and 56.3 percent from the free-throw stripe. Sophomore Matt Faw added 11 points and six rebounds before he fouled out of the game, a contest which saw four ties and six lead changes.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"I thought we worked so hard to build that lead in the second half, but then we lost our composure and we didn't play with poise and we let them right back into the game. Holy Cross is a solid, well-coached team. They've won some good games on the road and they're not going to just go away. We knew that coming into this game."
 
"We didn't stay locked-in mentally, and as the game got closer, we just didn't execute."
 
Game Notes
• This was the 20th all-time meeting between the two schools, and Holy Cross leads the series 14-6.
• Thursday was the sixth time in series history where the final score between these two programs was settled by less than five points. Holy Cross is 5-1 in those six contests.
• The loss drops Canisius to 77-2 since 2013-14 when leading with 2:00 left on the clock.
• Reese matched a season-high with four 3-point field goal makes in the game. He has now scored in double-figures in 42 career contests, and the 16 points on Thursday allowed him to pass the 900-career point milestone.
• Molson has now scored in double-figures in all 10 games this season and in 14-straight games, dating back to last year.
• Four of Hitchon's career-high eight rebounds came off the offensive glass. He is averaging 11.0 points per game in the team's last five contests.
• Faulkner has been credited with two steals in each of the team's last two games, which matches his career high.

Up Next
Canisius will take nine days off for the Christmas break before returning to action Dec. 29 against cross-town rival Buffalo at the Koessler Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The game, which is sold-out, will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with the radio call available on WECK-Radio Buffalo, GoGriffs.com and the TuneIn app.
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