Five Things to Know - Men's Basketball Returns to Action Friday at Monmouth

Game No. 15
Canisius (5-9, 0-3 MAAC) at Monmouth (7-6, 1-1 MAAC)
Date: Friday, Jan. 10, 2020
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: West Long Branch, N.J. | OceanFirst Bank Center
Video Broadcast: ESPN+
Talent: Eddy Occhipinti (p-x-p) and Steve Bazaz (color)
Live Audio: WECK-Radio Buffalo; Golden Griffin Broadcast Network
Talent: Andy Helwig (p-x-p)
Live Stats: Through MonmouthHawks.com
Twitter: @Griffs_MBB | #Griffs; #DefendMainStreet

Five Things to Know - Presented by Salvatore's
1. Canisius Opens Two-Game Swing through New Jersey
• The Canisius men's basketball team returns to action Friday night when the Golden Griffins play at Monmouth. Game time at OceanFirst Bank Center is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Friday's game marks the first time Canisius and Monmouth have met since the Hawks ended the Griffs' 2018-19 campaign in the semifinal round of the MAAC Men's Basketball Championship last March.

2. Old School Success
• This season, 55.0 percent of Canisius' points have come from the traditional two-point scoring area, which ranks the team 60th in the nation in that category, according to kenpom.com. In the team's last outing, 24 of the Griffs' 42 points were scored in the two-point section of the floor.

3. Still Helping, Even After the Holidays
• Canisius enters Friday's game as the MAAC's leader in assists per game, as the Blue and Gold dish out 14.4 assists per game as a team. That ranks Canisius 113th in the nation, and according to kenpom.com, 57.6 percent of all of Canisius' field goals come off an assist, which ranks 56th in the nation.

4. Malik Among MAAC, National Leaders
• Senior Malik Johnson enters Friday's game as the MAAC active leader in three different categories - consecutive career starts (113), career assists (536) and career steals (177). The Richmond, Va., native ranks in the top-15 nationally in all three of those categories as well among all active Division I players. He also ranks first in the MAAC and fifth in the nation with his 38.0 minutes per game average.

5. Hot-Handed Hitchon
• Canisius junior Scott Hitchon had a game-high 19 points in the loss to Fairfield last Sunday, and he enters the game at Monmouth boasting a 15.2 points per game scoring average over the team's last five outings. In those five games, he's shooting 53.8 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from 3-point land.

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Players Mentioned

#21 Scott Hitchon: F; 6' 8"; Junior

#1 Malik Johnson: G; 5' 10"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#21 Scott Hitchon
: 6' 8"; Junior
: F

#1 Malik Johnson
: 5' 10"; Senior
: G

Players Mentioned

#21 Scott Hitchon

#1 Malik Johnson

Players Mentioned

#21 Scott Hitchon

#1 Malik Johnson