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Canisius University Athletics

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Armon Harried vs. McMaster on Nov. 2, 2019
Dean Bogart
71
McMaster MCM 2-1
81
Winner Canisius CAN 0-0,0-0 MAAC
McMaster MCM
2-1
71
Final
81
Canisius CAN
0-0,0-0 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
McMaster MCM 34 37 71
Canisius CAN 40 41 81

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Defeats McMaster in Exhibition Action

Game Recap
Nine different Golden Griffins scored four-or-more points, led by junior Majesty Brandon and his game-high 22, as the Canisius men's basketball team defeated McMaster 81-71 in exhibition action Saturday afternoon in the Koessler Athletic Center.
 
Brandon was one of three Griffs in double-figures in the win, and he also added six assists, five rebounds and three steals to his final line for the day. Freshman Armon Harried added 13 points and three steals, while fellow freshman Akrum Ahemed chipped in 10 points and eight boards in the victory. For the game, Canisius shot 50 percent from the field (32-for-64) despite going just 4-for-20 from 3-point land.
 
Senior Malik Johnson had eight points, five steals and four assists for the Griffs, while freshman Jacco Fritz added eight points, four rebounds and three assists to the winning cause. As a team, Canisius had 20 assists on 32 makes from the floor, and the Griffs forced McMaster into 32 turnovers, which the Blue and Gold turned into 31 points.
 
McMaster led by as many as seven points through the opening 10 minutes of the game, but an 8-0 run by the Griffs put the home team up 20-19 with 9:05 left in the opening stanza. A bucket by junior Jalanni White tied the game at 29-29 with 3:26 left in the first half, and a jumper in the lane by Johnson on the Griffs' next possession gave the home team a 31-29 lead, a lead the Griffs would not give up the rest of the day.
 
In the second half, McMaster was able to trim Canisius' lead to just six points at 50-44, but the Griffs put the peddle down and pushed their lead to as many as 17 points at 71-54 with 7:09 left on the game clock. The Blue and Gold shot 51.7 percent from the field in the second half and out-rebounded the Marauders by an 18-13 count after the break, highlighted by a 7-2 advantage on the offensive glass.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"I thought today was good for us to get a dress rehearsal in before we get started for real next week at Brown. At the start, we had some guys who were a little anxious and they tried to do too much, and we had too many turnovers. You play these exhibition games to get guys on the floor and get them on film so we can go back and show them where mistakes were made. All-in-all, I thought we did some good things, and there are some things that we'll need to look at and correct moving forward."

"This game today was like an NFL preseason game. We know what we have in guys like Malik [Johnson], and Scott [Hitchon] and Jalanni [White]. McMaster is a well-coached team and they gave us a good challenge today. The nice thing about this atmosphere is that we can get guys on the floor and out of their comfort zone a bit so when they are called on, they've already experienced playing against another team's top group."
 
Game Notes
• Canisius improved to 11-1 all-time against McMaster. The last eight games between the two programs have been exhibition games.
• The Griffs are 14-1 in their last 15 exhibition games and 2-0 in exhibition action under Reggie Witherspoon.
• Saturday's game counted as an exhibition game for both schools. McMaster is 2-1 on the regular season after the Marauders beat Brock Oct. 30.
• Sophomores Jordan Henderson (lower body) and Sam Rautins (lower body) did not dress because of injury.

Up Next
Canisius will officially open the 116th season in program history on Saturday, Nov. 9, when the Griffs play at Brown. Game time is set for 4:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The radio call will also be 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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