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Malik Johnson drive to the hoop in a home game against Quinnipiac Jan. 31, 2020 at the Koessler Athletic Center
Dean Bogart
85
Winner Monmouth MON 14-10, 8-5 MAAC
71
Canisius CAN 9-16, 4-10 MAAC
Winner
Monmouth MON
14-10, 8-5 MAAC
85
Final
71
Canisius CAN
9-16, 4-10 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Monmouth MON 30 55 85
Canisius CAN 36 35 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Monmouth Shoots Past Men’s Basketball, 85-71

Game Recap
Monmouth junior George Papas scored 20 of his career-high 32 points in the second half, and the visiting Hawks shot 61.3 percent from the field and 50.0 percent (6-for-12) from 3-point land in the game's final 20 minutes en route to an 85-71 win over Canisius Friday night in MAAC men's basketball action at the Koessler Athletic Center.
 
The win for Monmouth snapped the Hawks' two-game losing skid and improved the team to 14-10 overall and 8-5 in MAAC play, while the Golden Griffins fell to 9-16 overall and 4-10 in league action with their third-straight loss.
 
Canisius led 36-30 at the halftime break and took a 38-30 lead just 11 seconds into the second half and a basket by senior Malik Johnson, but a 19-6 run by Monmouth over the game's next 3:57 put the Hawks in front 49-44 with 15:16 left to play. In that run, Monmouth drilled four 3-pointers, with Papas knocking down three of those on his own. Another 3-pointer by Papas with 13:19 left gave Monmouth a seven-point cushion at 56-49 before a 7-2 scoring spurt by the Griffs made it a two-point contest at 58-56 with 10:50 left to play in the game.
 
Two points, however, would be as close as the Blue and Gold would get for the rest of the night, as the Hawks went back to a seven-point lead with 6:56 remaining after sophomore Samuel Chaput hit a pair of free-throws to make the score 65-58. A bucket by redshirt-junior Ray Salnave put Monmouth up 73-62 with 4:13 left, and Papas followed that with a 3-pointer moments later to make the score 76-64 in favor of the visiting team with less than 4:00 showing on the game clock.
 
Papas finished the night with seven 3-point makes, while also adding nine free-throws toward his 32 points, the most points scored by a Monmouth player this season. Salnave chipped in 14 points while junior Deion Hammond scored 11 points to go with four rebounds. For the game, Monmouth shot 49.1 percent from the field, 39.1 percent from 3-point land and 73.3 percent from the free-throw line.
 
Johnson led Canisius with 18 points to go with seven assists, six rebounds and two steals, while junior Majesty Brandon came off the bench to record 17 points, four rebounds and an assist. Sophomore Jordan Henderson contributed 11 points to the losing effort for the Griffs, who shot 40.3 percent from the field, 32.0 percent from 3-point range and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line for the night.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"I think our energy was bad, particularly in the second half. We got in foul trouble in the first half, but our energy was just terrible."
 
"Our energy wasn't anywhere close to where it needs to be. [Monmouth] did a great job taking advantage of that. That's a credit to them."
 
"I thought early on, we had some possessions where the ball moved well and we got good shots. But there were several possessions where we got good shots and missed, or we made it, and then we jumped around and celebrated and didn't get back [on defense]. Again, our energy wasn't where it needed to be. We played a good team and credit to them. But this is not something that I am going to tolerate."
 
Game Notes
• This was the 16th meeting between these two schools, with Monmouth now leading the all-time series 10-6.
• The win on Friday gives Monmouth a sweep of the regular-season series between the Hawks and the Griffs for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign.
• For the second-straight game, Canisius out-rebounded its opponent. The Griffs held a 37-36 advantage on the glass.
• Freshman Jacco Fritz added eight points and eight rebounds to the Griffs' cause on Friday. He's averaging 13 points and 10 rebounds in two games since returning from an upper-body injury.
• Johnson's third assist of the night was the 600th in his career, making him just the second player in school history to reach that milestone. Former Griffs guard Frank Turner recorded 616 career assists during his time at Canisius from 2006-10.
 
Up Next
Canisius will be off for a week before returning to the road for a MAAC game at Quinnipiac on Friday, Feb. 21. The contest will be broadcast live to a national TV audience on ESPNU, with tip-off set for 7 p.m., in Hamden, Conn. Canisius' 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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