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Jacco Fritz
www.tomwolf.smugmug.com
81
Bucknell BUCK 2-2
83
Winner Canisius CAN 1-2
Bucknell BUCK
2-2
81
Final
83
Canisius CAN
1-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Bucknell BUCK 39 42 81
Canisius CAN 38 45 83

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Fritz’s Late Bucket Lifts Men’s Basketball Over Bucknell

Game Recap
Canisius freshman Jacco Fritz scored the game-winning bucket off an assist from senior Malik Johnson with 0.8 seconds left on the clock, as the Golden Griffins posted an 83-81 victory over Bucknell Saturday night in the Koessler Athletic Center.
 
The win moves Canisius to 1-2 on the year, while the Bison slipped to 2-2 with the loss.
 
Johnson tied the game at 81-81 with 33 seconds left in regulation time when he hit a jumper from the top of the key for two of his career-high 27 points on the night. Out of a timeout, Bucknell turned the ball over with 5.6 seconds left in the game, giving Canisius a chance to win in regulation. After the Griffs took their final timeout, Johnson drove down the left-hand side of the lane and found a streaking Fritz on the baseline – and the Tiel, Netherlands native laid the ball into the hoop to put the Blue and Gold up 83-81 with less than a full second left in the contest. Bucknell tried to inbound the ball quickly, but Johnson was able to get a hand on the ensuing in-bound pass and the clock expired to seal the victory for the Blue and Gold.
 
Johnson's 27 points came after he went 11-for-17 from the field, 2-for-5 from 3-point land and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line. He also added a game-high six assists to go with four rebounds and four steals in 37 minutes of action. Sophomore Jordan Henderson scored a career-high 17 points in his first starting assignment of the season, while Fritz ended the night with 12 points, four boards and a steal. Canisius ended the night by shooting 59.6 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent (6-for-14) from 3-point range, and the Griffs were able to turn 24 Bucknell turnovers into 27 points.
 
For the Bison, Avi Toomer scored a team-high 20 points, while Andrew Funk chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds in the losing effort. Bucknell shot 49.1 percent from the field, and the Bison hit 15 3-point field goals on the night, one make shy of tying the Koessler Athletic Center record for 3-point field goal makes by a visiting team. Bucknell held a 38-21 advantage on the glass, with 17 of those 38 rebounds coming on the offensive side of the floor.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"I thought coming into tonight's game, we needed to get organized both offensively and defensively. We had some guys who were tired and we needed to reorganize our thoughts.
Bucknell is a really, really good basketball team. They challenged us everywhere, especially in transition. If we didn't get back on defense, we knew they were going to score, and we knew they were going to hit threes. I think we moved the ball better, and we took care of the basketball better. And although we didn't rebound it well, [Bucknell] really rebounds it old-school style, I think we may have made up for it in the turnovers we forced and the turnovers we didn't commit."
 
"The crowd here tonight was great. The energy and the intensity in the building was great and it was a real boost to our guys, especially late when the game was really close down the stretch."
 
Game Notes
• Saturday was the eighth all-time meeting between Canisius and Bucknell, and the Griffs have been victorious in all eight games.
• Canisius improved to 17-11 all-time when playing its home opener in the Koessler Athletic Center.
• Johnson's 27 points tops his previous career-high of 24 points, set just seven days ago in the season-opening loss at Brown.
• Johnson's six assists gives him five-or-more assists in 52 career games, and his four steals moved him into 10th place on the school's all-time steals list.
• Canisius started just its 13th different starting line-up in 102 games under head coach Reggie Witherspoon.
• Seniors Corey Brown and Dantai St. Louis both made their first career starts in a Canisius uniform on Saturday night.
• For the third-straight game, Canisius' bench outscored its opponents' reserves.  

Up Next
Canisius will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 23, when the Golden Griffins take on long-time rival St. Bonaventure in KeyBank Center, with tipoff scheduled for 2:30 p.m.  That game will be broadcast live through the Golden Griffin Broadcast Network online at GoGriffs.com, with the radio call available through WECK Buffalo Radio (1230-AM, 100.5-FM and 102.9-FM).
 
For complete coverage of Canisius men's basketball, please follow the Griffs on social media at @Griffs_MBB on Twitter and Instagram.
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