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Malek Green puts up a shot in the lane against Marist at the Koessler Atheltic Center in Buffalo, N.Y., Dec. 11, 2020
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72
Marist Marist 2-1,0-1 MAAC
81
Winner Canisius Canis 1-0,1-0 MAAC
Marist Marist
2-1,0-1 MAAC
72
Final
81
Canisius Canis
1-0,1-0 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Marist Marist 30 42 72
Canisius Canis 36 45 81

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Starts the Season with a Win Over Marist

Game Recap
Five Canisius players scored eight-or more points, led by junior Malek Green who scored a game-high 18, as the Golden Griffins opened the 2020-21 season with an 81-72 win over Marist Friday night at the Koessler Athletic Center.
 
The win allows the Blue and Gold to start the season 1-0 for the second time in three seasons, and the victory over the Red Foxes also gives the Blue and Gold a win in their MAAC opener for the eighth time in the last nine campaigns, dating back to 2012-13 season. Marist fell to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in league play with the loss.
 
Green came off the bench and tallied his 18 points after he went 8-for-13 from the field, with two of those makes coming from 3-point land. He also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and was credited with two steals in his first game since March 7, 2019 – a span of 645 days. Green sat out the 2019-20 season after transferring to Canisius from Morehead State.
 
Senior guard Majesty Brandon and junior Jordan Henderson added 16 and 15 points, respectively in the win for the Griffs, who shot 55.2 percent from the field while making nine 3-pointers as a team. Brandon also grabbed four boards to go with two assists in the winning effort, while Henderson finished the night by hitting on 6-of-8 field goal tires, with two of those buckets coming from behind the arc.
 
With the game tied at 21-21 midway through the first half, the Griffs outscored Marist 15-9 to close the opening frame to take a 36-30 lead into the locker room at intermission. In that run, Henderson scored seven of the Blue and Gold's points. In the second half, Canisius stretched its lead to as many as 11 at 43-32 with 17:23 left in the contest after freshman Siem Uijtendaal hit a trey in transition.
 
Canisius' lead remained around seven points for the better part of the second half before Marist made a push and cut the Griffs' cushion four at 76-72 with 2:00 remaining. But that would be as close as the Red Foxes would get on the night, as Henderson, Green and Brandon combined to score the Griffs' final five points over the closing 1:47 to seal the win.
 
Sophomore Jacco Fritz scored eight points, grabbed six rebounds and matched a career-high with five assists in the win for Canisius, while fellow sophomore Armon Harried added eight points and two blocked shots. Canisius played nine players in the game and every player scored at least three points.
 
For Marist, freshman Hakim Byrd scored 17 points off the bench, while redshirt-senior Michael Cubbage added 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. The Red Foxes shot 48.2 percent from the field, but turned the ball over 15 times, which the Griffs were able to turn into 10 points.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"This was a hard-fought game, and I think both teams did a great job given the circumstances of what we're dealing with here. For this to be a conference game to start, it was a hard-fought game and I didn't think it got to be overly sloppy at any point. That can happen at this early point in the year."
 
"I'm proud of our guys. We've been through a lot. When you're playing early season games with limited practice like we've had, things tend to be sloppy, but our guys fought through that tonight."
 
Game Notes
• This was the 53rd all-time meeting between the two schools. Canisius leads the series 34-19.
• Friday's game marked the first time since 1973-74 where the Griffs opened the season in the month of December.
• Canisius is now 16-10 in December games under fifth-year head coach Reggie Witherspoon.
• Dating back to last season, Henderson is averaging 10.7 points per game in his last 10 contests.
• Brandon now has scored 10-or more points in 23 of his 33 career games as a Griff.
• Fritz has been credited with five assists in three different games, with two of those occasions coming against MAAC opponents.
 
Up Next
Canisius will close out its two-game weekend set against Marist on Saturday night, with game time set for 7 p.m. The contest can be seen live on ESPN3, with the radio call available through WECK Buffalo Radio (1230-AM, 100.5-FM and 102.9-FM) and GoGriffs.com.
 

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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