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Majesty Brandon looks to get off a jump shot in a game againt Marist at the Koessler Athletic Center Dec. 11, 2020.
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76
Winner Canisius CANIS 7-5,7-5 MAAC
75
Siena SIE 12-4,12-4 MAAC
Winner
Canisius CANIS
7-5,7-5 MAAC
76
Final
75
Siena SIE
12-4,12-4 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius CANIS 37 39 76
Siena SIE 46 29 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Late Surge Lifts Men’s Basketball to Win at Siena

Game Recap
Majesty Brandon scored all 16 of his points in the game's second half, but the last two points were the biggest, as the senior guard's jumper with 11.9 seconds left proved to be the difference in Canisius' 76-75 road win at Siena Friday night at UHY Center in Loudonville, N.Y.
 
The win, which ended Canisius' two-game slide, moved the Blue and Gold to 7-5 on the year, while the Saints saw their four-game win streak come to an end. Siena, which will be the No. 1 seed in next week's 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championship, fell to 12-4 on the year with the loss.
 
Trailing 73-66 with 6:00 left to play, the Golden Griffins outscored the host Saints 10-2 in the game's closing segment to earn the victory. In the decisive run, Brandon scored seven points, including the game-winning bucket with 11.9 seconds left on the clock. Out of Canisius' final timeout, Brandon curled all the way around the top of the key and took a quick hand-off from junior Malek Green. Brandon dribbled twice into the lane before pulling up on taking an off-balance jumper that fell right through the hoop. Canisius made two stops in the final 8.9 seconds to seal the win, with junior Jordan Henderson recording a blocked shot that went out of bounds. Siena had one more attempt in the closing two seconds, but Siena forward Jackson Stormo's desperation 3-point heave as the horn sounded fell short.
 
The Griffs trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, and were down 65-52 with 14:12 left to play in the game. Brandon's first points of game came at the 13:57 mark of the second half when he knocked down a 3-pointer off an assist from senior Jalanni White. Brandon got things rolling in the closing 13:00 of the contest, as he scored six-straight points for the Blue and Gold to cut Siena's lead to 67-61 with 9:15 on the clock. With 2:52 remaining, Brandon hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to cut Siena's cushion to four at 75-71. Canisius got within one at 75-74 with 1:49 after sophomore Armon Harried stole the ball near mid-court and then completed a traditional three-point play with the ensuing lay-up and free-throw. The two teams traded missed chances to score over the game's next 1:38, setting up Brandon's game-winning jumper.
 
Brandon was one of four Canisius players to record double-figures in the scoring column in the victory, as junior guard Ahamadou Fofana added 16 points and five rebounds to the winning cause. Green pitched in 12 points and eight rebounds for the Blue and Gold, while Harried added 11 points, with seven of those coming after the halftime intermission. For the game, Canisius shot 491 percent from the field and made 13-of-14 chances from the free-throw line.
 
Siena's Jalen Pickett scored a game-high 23 points in the loss for the Saints, who will now share the MAAC regular-season championship with Monmouth. Senior Manny Camper added 18 points and eight boards, as Siena ended the night shooting 53.2 percent from the field, but the Saints hit on just 4-of-16 from 3-point land and 5-of-8 chances from the free-throw line.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"Our guys fought this entire series. And I am so proud of that. We came in here missing a starter, guys are knicked up, we haven't played a home game in over two months, and we just kept fighting. There was no backing down, no feeling sorry for ourselves. We just kept coming. That's a great quality to have in a team."
 
"This was a real gut-check win for us. I'm proud of the response. We got some guys in foul trouble in the first half and we found ourselves in another hole, but we were much better at the free-throw line tonight and we were much better defensively in the second half after we made some adjustments at halftime. The guys kept their composure and just kept working at both ends of the floor. This win secures a winning season for us, so that's a nice little tag we can carry with us."
 
"We don't want to get down by double-digits, trust me. That's not the plan at all, obviously, but our guys don't seem to get flustered by that. We work on being competitive in everything we do, and that spirit and passion that we practice with is really carrying this team. I love the passion, the enthusiasm, the fighting spirit. We just have a grinders' mindset. In a lot of ways, the things we've dealt with as far as COVID, and the pauses, and losing games, and playing all these road games, those things have just helped sculpt this group into a team that won't ever go away."
 
Game Notes
• This was the 106th meeting in series history, with Siena holding a 56-50 lead.
• The win at the UHY Center (formerly the ARC) on Friday is the just the second for the program, and the first for the Griffs since Jan. 8, 1986.
• Head coach Reggie Witherspoon, who moved past former Griffs' coach Joe Niland for eighth all-time on the school's career wins list, is just the second coach in program history to win 50 MAAC regular season games, joining former bench boss Mike MacDonald.
• Canisius' bench players outscored Siena's reserves by a 30-4 count for the game.
• The 11 points for Harried on Friday are a season-high for the sophomore guard.
• Brandon has scored 10-or more points in eight of the team's 12 games this season and in 30 games in his Canisius career.
• White was credited with a team-high four assists, which matches a career high.
• Senior Scott Hitchon made his first start of the season and scored five points.

Up Next
Canisius will next play in the opening round of the 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championship, which runs from March 8-13 in Atlantic City, N.J. A game date, an opponent and a start time will be posted as soon as the MAAC office officially announces the 2021 tournament seedings and bracket.
 

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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