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Canisius University Athletics

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Ahamadou Fofana pushed the ball up the floor against St. Bonaventure in the Reilly Center on Nov. 14, 2021.
Chris Rolfing
60
Canisius Canis 0-3,0-0 MAAC
69
Winner St. Bonaventure SBU 2-0,0-0 Atlantic 10
Canisius Canis
0-3,0-0 MAAC
60
Final
69
St. Bonaventure SBU
2-0,0-0 Atlantic 10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius Canis 31 29 60
St. Bonaventure SBU 26 43 69

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball’s Upset Bid at St. Bonaventure Falls Short

St. Bonaventure shot 51.9 percent from the field in the game's second half and turned nine Canisius second-half turnovers into 15 points as the No. 23/24 Bonnies battled back to record a 69-60 win over the Golden Griffins in men's college basketball action Sunday evening at the Reilly Center in Olean, N.Y.
 
St. Bonaventure senior Kyle Lofton scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half to help the Bonnies (2-0) erase an 11-point second half deficit. Jaren Holmes added 17 points and nine rebounds to the winning cause for St. Bonaventure, while Jalen Adaway chipped in 16 points, six boards and two assists.
 
For Canisius (0-3), senior Malek Green scored a team-high 14 points to go with eight rebounds and two steals, while junior Jacco Fritz recorded a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Senior Ahamadou Fofana added 10 points and four assists to the Griffs' effort.
 
GAME RECAP
Canisius took a 31-26 lead into the locker room at halftime after the Blue and Gold held St. Bonaventure to a 34.6 percent (9-for-26) shooting clip in the opening 20 minutes of play. Out of the intermission, Armon Harried and Jordan Henderson knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers for Canisius to push the Griffs' lead to nine at 37-28 with 19:04 left to play. Canisius took its largest lead of the night moments later at 41-30 after Fritz drove the lane and slammed one down, forcing the Bonnies to call a timeout.
 
A driving lay-up by Fofana with 6:54 left to play in the game pushed Canisius' lead to 57-50, but from there, the Bonnies mounted their charge, using an 8-0 run over the next 2:01 to take a 58-57 lead with 5:15 left on the game clock. Fritz knotted the score at 58-58 a short time later when he made one of two free-throws, but St. Bonaventure pulled away in the game's final 4:01, outscoring the Blue and Gold 11-2 to secure the win.
 
Canisius shot 31.8 percent from the field, 25.0 percent from 3-point land and 91.7 percent from the charity stripe in the loss, while the Bonnies ended the night by shooting 43.4 percent from the field, highlighted by the 51.9 percent clip in the game's final 20 minutes of play. The Bonnies held a 37-36 advantage on the boards, but Canisius grabbed 15 offensive rebounds in the loss, with Fritz accounting for six of those boards.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"This was a hard-fought game, a rivalry game in a great setting. I thought we got too loose with the ball, especially down the stretch. Nine turnovers in the second half are just way too many. That put us on our heels at both ends of the floor, and to their credit, they took advantage of it."
 
"St. Bonaventure is a really good basketball team. They are strong, and they are led by seniors who have played together for a long time. We knew at some point Kyle Lofton was going to score. He's just too good of a player to assume he's not going to contribute offensively. As it got louder in the building, they were able to take advantage of some mistakes we made defensively by not rotating properly. To win on the road in an environment like this, you have to be locked in all the way, for a full 40 minutes."
 
GAME NOTES
• This was the 169th all-time meeting between the two schools. St. Bonaventure leads the series 102-67.
• Canisius has now played a ranked St. Bonaventure team 12 times in series history. The lone win came back on Feb. 23, 1956.
• Canisius and St. Bonaventure met for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Due to COVID-19, the two teams did not play in 2020-21, marking just the second time since 1946-47 where these two long-time rivals did not meet on the hardwood.
• Fritz's double-double was the fourth of his career, with two of those double-double performances coming against St. Bonaventure.
• Green now has recorded double-digits in the scoring column in 31 career games, including 12 times as a Griff.
• Henderson's two 3-point makes gives him multiple 3-pointers in 22 career contests.
• The game featured seven lead changes and six ties.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will close its four-game road swing to start the 2021-22 season on Nov. 20, when the Blue and Gold travels to play at Cleveland State in the first game of the Cerebro Sports Lake Erie Challenge. Game time is set for 2 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
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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