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Majesty Brandon scores on the drive against Manhattan at Draddy Gymnasium Feb. 23, 2020
Dave Schofield '71
57
Winner Canisius CAN 10-17, 5-11 MAAC
56
Manhattan MAN 11-14, 7-9 MAAC
Winner
Canisius CAN
10-17, 5-11 MAAC
57
Final
56
Manhattan MAN
11-14, 7-9 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius CAN 18 39 57
Manhattan MAN 34 22 56

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Brandon’s Late Free-Throws Lift Men’s Basketball Over Manhattan

Game Recap
Canisius junior guard Majesty Brandon scored all 20 of his points in the game's second half, highlighted by a pair of free-throws with 13.3 seconds left to play, as the Golden Griffins came back from 18-points down to post a 57-56 win over Manhattan in MAAC men's basketball action at Draddy Gymnasium in Riverdale, N.Y., Sunday afternoon.
 
The win snapped Canisius' four-game losing skid and improved the Blue and Gold to 10-17 overall and 5-11 in MAAC play, while the Jaspers fell to 11-14 overall and 7-9 in conference action with their fourth-straight defeat.
 
Trailing 56-55 with less than 20 seconds left to play, Brandon jumped into the passing lane and stole the ball away from Manhattan at the top of the key, allowing him start to push down the floor toward the Canisius basket. He was fouled at the mid-court stripe, and promptly hit both free-throws in the 1-and-1 situation to give the Griffs the one-point lead. Manhattan had a chance to win the game in regulation, but the Jaspers' last second 3-point shot banged off the back-iron, allowing Canisius to score its fourth-straight road win over Manhattan in the series, dating back to 2015-16.
 
Manhattan used a 25-4 run over the span of 8:56 in the first half to take a 32-14 lead with 2:14 left before halftime, and the Jaspers went into the locker room at the break up 34-18 after the home team shot 56.0 percent from the field, despite going just 1-for-6 from 3-point land. In the second half, Manhattan's lead remained in double-digits until Brandon drilled a 3-pointer from the wing with 8:37 left to play to make the score 46-39 in favor of the Jaspers. Manhattan led by seven at 51-44 with 7:07 left to play before the Griffs scored seven-straight points to tie the game at 51-51. In that run, Brandon scored five points and junior Scott Hitchon, who ended the game with 11 points, knocked down a pair from the charity stripe. After Manhattan made a free-throw on its next possession, Canisius came right back down the floor and took its first lead since the 11:28 mark of the first half when senior Malik Johnson knifed through the Manhattan defense and drilled a jumper from just inside the lane to make the score 53-52 in favor of the Blue and Gold with 4:06 remaining.
 
In the game's closing 4:00, neither team led by more than a point, and Canisius took a 55-54 lead with 3:31 left to play after junior Jalanni White hit two free-throws. Manhattan regained the lead at 56-54 on a jumper by Christian Hinckson with 1:42 left to play. Neither team would score the rest of the way until Brandon drilled his two free-throws to seal the victory.
 
Brandon ended the day by shooting 6-for-13 from the floor, 3-for-5 from 3-point land and 5-for-7 from the free-throw line. Hitchon went 4-for-8 from the field and added three rebounds and two blocks to the winning effort for Canisius, while Johnson was credited with six points, six assists and three rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Jordan Henderson added nine points and four rebounds to the winning cause for the Griffs, who shot 36.7 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from 3-point land for the game, while making all 11 free-throws after halftime.
 
Warren Williams came off the bench to score 13 points for Manhattan, which shot 42.9 percent from the field for the game despite making just 7-of-24 field goal chances in the second stanza. Pauly Paulicap had 11 points and five rebounds for the Jaspers, who ended the game with a 28-18 advantage on points in the paint while out-rebounding the Griffs by a 34-32 clip.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"I am so proud of the fight and the sustained effort our guys gave today, particularly in the second half. We talked at halftime about how we were going to respond. We talked about keeping our composure and being mindful of our body language. Our guys certainly responded. They kept grinding and they didn't waiver when we gave up a basket or an offensive rebound, or missed a shot."
 
"They key to the second half was how well we handled the basketball. We only had three turnovers after halftime. We talked about how important it was to try and get a shot on every offensive possession. I said there are no 16-point shots, we just need to go out and keep working at both ends of the floor. Our guys communicated well and they kept their focus on just trying to make the next play."
 
Game Notes
• Sunday was the 95th all-time meeting between Canisius and Manhattan, with the Jaspers leading the all-time series 56-39.
• Canisius has now won four-straight games at the Draddy Gymnasium for the first time in program history, and head coach Reggie Witherspoon is the first Canisius coach to win in that building three times in his career.
• The 18-point deficit is the largest deficit the Griffs have overcome this season.
• Canisius is now 5-8 in games decided by five points-or-less this season.
• The 57 points scored in the win are the fewest for the Blue and Gold in a victory since the team defeated Maine on the road by a score of 56-43 on Dec. 30, 2008.
• Brandon is the first Canisius player to score 20-or more points in a half since former Griff Takal Molson scored 20 in the second half against Niagara on Feb. 27, 2019.
• Johnson has now been credited with five-or-more assists in 18 games this year and 68 games in his career. He now has 615 career assists, leaving him two shy of passing Frank Turner for the program's career assist record.

Up Next
Canisius returns home for a pair of MAAC games next week, starting Thursday, Feb. 27, when the team plays host to Iona at the Koessler Athletic Center. That game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m., and it will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The 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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