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Majesty Brandon drives to the basket in a home game against Marist on Dec. 11, 2020.
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66
Canisius CANIS 6-5,6-5 MAAC
73
Winner Siena SIE 12-3,12-3 MAAC
Canisius CANIS
6-5,6-5 MAAC
66
Final
73
Siena SIE
12-3,12-3 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius CANIS 25 41 66
Siena SIE 36 37 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Comes Up Short at Siena

Game Recap
Trailing by as many as 17 points in the opening stages of the second half, the Canisius men's basketball team battled back to get within one point with 3:42 left to play, but the Golden Griffins could not get over the hump, as the team lost to Siena 73-66 Thursday night in the UHY Center in Loudonville, N.Y.
 
The win moves the Saints to 12-3 on the season and allowed Siena to claim the MAAC regular-season title. The Griffs slipped to 6-5 with the loss.
 
For Canisius, junior Malek Green led all scorers with a game-high 21 points, 19 of which came after the intermission. He was also credited with six rebounds, two assists and a steal. Senior Majesty Brandon came off the bench and scored 12 points on a 6-for-11 night from the field to go with two assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Junior Ahamadou Fofana chipped in nine points and three assists while senior Scott Hitchon scored eight points to go with two assists and two steals, as the Blue and Gold ended the night shooting 44.4 percent from the floor, 28 percent from 3-point land and just 33.3 (3-for-9) from the free-throw line.
 
Siena had four players score in double-figures in the win, led by junior Jackson Stormo, who posted a team-leading 18 points. Senior Manny Camper was credited with a double-double after he scored 17 points and grabbed 11 boards, while Jalen Pickett and Jordan King each tallied 15 points in the winning effort for the Saints.
 
Siena took a 36-25 lead into the locker room at halftime after the Saints outscored the Griffs 19-9 over the final 8:00 of the opening frame. Of those 19 Siena points, 15 came from the efforts of Pickett (nine points) and Stormo (six points. To start the second half, Siena used an 8-2 run over the first 3:11 out of halftime to take a 44-27 lead with 16:49 left in the game.
 
Canisius began to mount its comeback attempt on its next trip down the floor, as Fofana knocked down a jumper from the top of the key to kickstart a 12-1 run that saw the Griffs get within six points at 45-39 with 12:58 remaining. Siena was able to keep the Blue and Gold at arm's length, claiming a 53-46 cushion with 8:03 left on the clock before the Griffs posted a 12-3 run over the next 2:32 to make the score 59-58 with 4:46 left. In that run, which was capped by a bucket by Brandon, junior Jordan Henderson scored five points for Canisius.
 
A driving score by Brandon with 3:24 on the clock made the score 61-60 in favor of the Saints, but Siena would not let the Griffs get any closer on the night, as the home team outscored Canisius 7-2 in the closing moments of the game, with four of those seven points coming from the free-throw line. For the game, Siena shot 43.6 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point land and 73.9 percent from the charity stripe, making 17-of-23 chances from the line.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"We didn't have the best start tonight. We were a little sluggish to start after being off for a while. We just didn't do the little things well enough. But let me say this, I am proud that our guys battled until the end. Here we are on the road, on their Senior Night when we haven't played a home game in over two months, and we just kept working."
 
"Overall, this was a decent effort tonight, but to beat the No. 1 team in the league's preseason poll in their building, you have to be just a little bit better. And tomorrow, we're going to try and be better. We came in here tonight and played without a guy who averages 28 minutes a game and we didn't back down, we just kept fighting. This time of year, you have to execute around the basket and you need to take advantage at the free-throw line, especially when you don't get a lot of chances."
 
Game Notes
• Thursday's game marked the 105th all-time meeting between the two schools. Siena leads the series 56-49.
• The Griffs' nine steals in the game matched a season-high, set previously on Dec. 12 against Marist.
• Canisius' bench accounted for 41 points on Thursday, the sixth time this season the Griffs' reserves have combined to score 40-or more points in a game.
• Canisius turned 16 Siena turnovers into 20 points and held a 32-28 advantage on points scored in the paint.
• Green's 21-point effort gives him 20-or more points in two of the team's last three games and in three games in his career.
• Henderson's team-high seven rebounds Thursday pushes his rebounding average to 5.8 points per game over the Griffs' last five contests.
• Canisius was without the services of sophomore Jacco Fritz, who missed the game with an upper-body injury. He is listed as day-to-day.

Up Next
Canisius will close out the 2020-21 regular season Friday night when the Griffs play Siena. Game time is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on either ESPN3. 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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