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Canisius University Athletics

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Takal Molson
www.tomwolf.smugmug.com
80
Canisius CAN 13-15, 10-6 MAAC
87
Winner Iona College ION 13-15, 11-6 MAAC
Canisius CAN
13-15, 10-6 MAAC
80
Final
87
Iona College ION
13-15, 11-6 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius CAN 33 47 80
Iona College ION 37 50 87

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Comes Up Short at Iona

Game Recap
Canisius sophomore Takal Molson posted his third career double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and senior Jonathan Sanks added 16 points, but it was not enough for the Golden Griffins, as the Blue and Gold lost at Iona 87-80 Sunday afternoon in New Rochelle, N.Y. Iona improved to 13-15 overall and 11-6 in MAAC play with its sixth-straight win, while the Griffs fell to 13-15 overall and 10-6 in conference action.
 
Iona used a 21-8 run in the opening stages of the second half to take an 11-point lead at 58-47 with 15:07 left to play in the game. Canisius, however, battled back, outscoring the Gaels 20-6 over the game's next 5:34 to take a 67-64 lead with 9:07 left on the clock. In that run, junior Malik Johnson scored 10 of the Griffs' points, including the final five points of the run after he drilled a 3-pointer and a pair of free-throws. A 3-pointer by Molson with 5:57 left in the contest put the Griffs up 73-70, but six-straight points by Iona, including three free-throw makes by senior Rickey McGill, put Iona in the driver's seat at 77-73 with 4:03 showing on the clock.
 
Two free-throws by senior Jibreel Faulkner with 1:49 left to play cut Iona's lead to one at 81-80, but after getting a defensive stop on the next possession, Canisius turned the ball over and the Gaels answered with a bucket by Tajuan Agee with 35.6 seconds left to make it a three-point game at 83-80. Following a missed 3-point chance, the Griffs were forced to foul E.J. Crawford, who sunk a pair from the charity stripe with 18.3 seconds left, and after another turnover, McGill sealed the win for Iona with two makes at the stripe with 0.7 seconds left on the clock.
 
Canisius came out on fire, as the Griffs led by as many as nine midway through the first half, but the Gaels fired right back at Canisius, outscoring the Blue and Gold by a 20-10 count over the span of 4:36, capped by a 3-point field goal by McGill. The Gaels led by as many as eight in the later stages of the opening frame, but five points in a row from Sanks got the Griffs within four at 37-33 at the intermission.
 
Molson's 21-point effort in the loss marked the seventh time this season he's scored 20-or more in a game, and the 10 rebounds are a season-high for the Buffalo, N.Y., native. He also matched a career-high with six assists in the losing effort. Sanks' 16 points came on the power of five field goals, including three 3-pointers, and he also dished out a career-high four assists on the day. Faulkner chipped in 13 points and two steals, while Johnson recorded 12 points and four assists for Canisius, which shot 51.7 percent from the field for the game, including 10 makes from 3-point range.
 
McGill scored 30 points and grabbed seven rebounds in his final home game in the Hynes Center to lead all scorers, while Agee chipped in 19 points, with 15 of those coming after halftime. Crawford recorded 18 points and three assists in the victory for Iona, which shot 51.9 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from 3-point range and 95.8 percent from the free-throw line, making 23-of-24 chances from the stripe.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"I thought we had a great start to the game, then we went into a little bit of a lull defensively. We fought our way back. We just didn't do a good enough job defensively or when we needed to rebound the basketball. We also didn't do a good enough job getting to the line, and that was the difference in the game."
 
"The biggest thing is, when it is time to get a stop, you can't give a team like Iona second shots and more chances. You have to anticipate and be alert. Those are the things we try to get our guys to understand. Those types of plays can get you some extra loose balls and some extra possessions. We didn't have enough of those today."
 
"We need to move forward from this and really stay locked in. At this time of the year, you have to stay together and start looking forward to the next one. Not what anyone else is doing, the focus must remain on ourselves."
 
Game Notes
• Sunday was the 75th all-time meeting between these two schools. Iona leads the series 42-33.
• After winning three-straight, including both games in the 2017-18 regular-season, Iona swept the regular-season series between the squads this year.
• The Griffs closed out the road portion of their 2018-19 campaign with nine victories, which is currently the most for any team in the MAAC.
• As a team, Canisius was charged with just eight turnovers for the game, which matched a season-low, but Iona turned those eight miscues into 16 points.
• Molson's 21 points on Sunday marked the 13th time in 61 career games where he's recorded 20-or more points. He has scored in double-figures 26 times this season.
• Sanks is averaging 9.1 points per game since joining the starting line-up Feb. 1. In those eight games, he's hit multiple 3-point field goals five times.
• Sophomore Jalanni White had a team-high two blocked shots in the loss, the fifth time this season he's posted multiple blocks in a game.

Up Next
Canisius will close out the regular-season at home with a pair of games at the Koessler Athletic Center, starting Feb. 27, when the team plays host to long-time rival Niagara in the backend of a basketball doubleheader. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The radio call will be available on WECK-Radio Buffalo, GoGriffs.com and the TuneIn app.
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