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Canisius University Athletics

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Ahamadou Fofana drives toward the basket in a game against Marist in Buffalo, N.Y., on Dec. 11, 2020.
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60
Saint Peter's SP 6-5,3-3 MAAC
63
Winner Canisius Canis 3-3,3-3 MAAC
Saint Peter's SP
6-5,3-3 MAAC
60
Final
63
Canisius Canis
3-3,3-3 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Saint Peter's SP 29 31 60
Canisius Canis 32 31 63

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Grinds Out a 63-60 Win Over Saint Peter’s

Game Recap
Canisius junior Ahamadou Fofana scored all of his game-high 17 points in the second half, and seven of those points came from the free-throw line in the game's final 36 seconds as the Golden Griffins defeated Saint Peter's 63-60 Saturday afternoon in MAAC men's basketball action at the Koessler Athletic Center.
 
The win, Canisius' second straight, moves the Blue and Gold to 3-3 overall and 3-3 in MAAC play, while the Peacocks fell to 6-5 overall and 3-3 in league action.
 
Fofana ended the game by going 9-for-10 from the free-throw line, with his lone miss coming on the back-end of a 1-and-1 opportunity with 36 seconds left to play. As a team, Canisius went 16-for-21 from the charity stripe in the victory, highlighted by a 15-of-19 effort from the line in the final contest's final 20 minutes. That proved to be pivotal in helping Canisius sweep Saint Peter's in the two-game MAAC series, as the Blue and Gold closed out the contest without a field goal over the final 7:25 of game action.
 
Junior Malek Green added 11 points, five rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal in the victory for Canisius, which saw nine players register at least two points on Saturday. Fellow junior Jordan Henderson chipped in eight points to go with four rebounds and three steals, while seniors Majesty Brandon and Scott Hitchon added seven points, apiece. Sophomore Jacco Fritz scored just two points in the win, but he was credited with a team-high seven boards and he dished out four assists, one of four Canisius players to distribute two-or more assists in the victory.
 
For Saint Peter's, redshirt-senior KC Ndefo was one of four Peacock players to post double-figures in the scoring column. He led the team with 15 points and he also grabbed six boards. Daryl Banks III had 12 points and six rebounds, while Hassan Drame posted eight points and 10 rebounds, highlighted by seven offensive pulls. For the game, Saint Peter's shot 38.9 percent from the field, 29.2 percent from 3-point range and 73.3 percent from the free-throw line.
 
After leading 32-29 at the break, Canisius scored the first four points of the second half to take a 36-29 lead with 18:40 left to play, which caused the Peacocks to take a 30-second timeout. The Griffs' lead remained around six points for the next six minutes, but the Peacocks went on a 13-3 run over the game's next 6:30 to take a 48-44 lead with 10:19 remaining. In that run, Ndefo accounted for 10 of Saint Peter's 13 points.
 
With the game tied at 48-48 with 8:48 left to play, Canisius took the lead for good with a 5-0 run over the next 2:20, with Fofana scoring four of the five Canisius points. The Griffs' lead would never get any larger than five points down the stretch however, but timely free-throw makes by Fofana, Henderson and sophomore Armon Harried helped seal the win for the Blue and Gold, moving Canisius to 3-1 at home on the year.
 
For the game, Canisius shot just 35.8 percent from the floor, but nine of the team's 19 field goal makes came from 3-point land, with Fofana, Henderson and Hitchon all drilling two triples, apiece.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"This was a tremendously hard-fought game. These back-to-backs take a lot out of you and especially when you're playing a team that takes a lot out of you anyway. [Saint Peter's] is a tremendous team. We've had a run here where our first six games are against really good basketball teams that are really well-coached. Teams like that hold you accountable. But credit to our guys for battling through that. I thought we had some guys who really put aside their individual thoughts for the greater good of the team."
 
"I hope this effort can propel us forward some more. One of things COVID has taught is that is as soon as you get done with today, you have to start to prepare for tomorrow. And you don't know what tomorrow is going to bring until you get there. So hopefully, these wins have shown us the necessary level of effort that we have to have collectively to just give ourselves the chance to win. I think our guys are starting to understand that winning takes a tremendous effort, not just an easy effort you're comfortable in giving."
 
Game Notes
• Saturday was the 85th all-time meeting between the Griffs and the Peacocks. Canisius has now won six of the last seven contests between the squads, dating back to 2017-18, and leads the overall series 49-36.
• Saturday's game marked the 36th time in series history a game between Canisius and Saint Peter's was decided by five-points or less. Both teams have won 18 games in that portion of the series.
• The Griffs improved to 17-5 since 2016-17 when holding teams under 40 percent shooting for the game.
• After allowing 97 points at Monmouth on Dec. 28, the Griffs held Saint Peter's to 60-or fewer points in back-to-back games. This weekend marks the first time Canisius has kept opponents to 60-or fewer points in two-straight contests since Feb. 8 and Feb. 15, 2015.
• Canisius has now had a different leading scorer in each of the team's last four contests.
• Fofana's nine makes at the free-throw line are the most for a Griff in a game since Takal Molson made 11 tosses from the stripe against Quinnipiac on Feb. 1, 2019.
• Green has recorded double-figures in the scoring column in four of his first six games with the program.
• Fritz's three assists on Saturday gives him multiple assists in five of the team's first six games of the year.

Up Next
Canisius will return to the road for a two-game MAAC series at Siena Jan. 8-9. Both games are scheduled to tip-off at 5 p.m. The Jan. 8 game will be broadcast live on ESPN3, and 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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