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Canisius University Athletics

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Ahamadou Fofana looks to find an open teammate in a game against Buffalo at KeyBank Center Dec. 18, 2021.
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58
Canisius Canis 5-10,1-3 MAAC
68
Winner Niagara Niag 7-7,2-3 MAAC
Canisius Canis
5-10,1-3 MAAC
58
Final
68
Niagara Niag
7-7,2-3 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius Canis 31 27 58
Niagara Niag 29 39 68

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Sees Win Streak End at Niagara

Niagara senior Marcus Hammond scored a game-high 28 points, with 15 of those coming in the game's second half, and his teammate Jordan Cintron earned a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds as the host Purple Eagles (7-7, 2-3 MAAC) ended Canisius' three-game win streak with a 68-58 victory Thursday night at the Gallagher Center in Lewiston, N.Y.
 
Four Golden Griffins posted double-figures in the scoring column in the loss, led by senior Jordan Henderson and his team-high 15 points. Senior Ahamadou Fofana and juniors Armon Harried and Jacco Fritz all chipped in 11 points for the Blue and Gold, who fell to 5-10 overall and 1-3 in MAAC play with the loss.
 
GAME RECAP
Canisius took a 47-44 lead with 12:51 remaining in the contest after Fritz made one-of-two free throws. From there, however, Niagara took over, using a 10-0 run over the game's next 2:58 to make the score 54-47 in favor of the home team. Five of Niagara's 10 points in the decisive run came from Hammond and junior Noah Thomasson added to the scoring spurt with a traditional three-point play with 10:10 left on the game clock.
 
A basket by senior Malek Green cut Niagara's cushion to five at 56-51 with 7:04 left in the contest, but that would be as close as the Griffs would get down the stretch, as the Blue and Gold shot just 31 percent from the field and 9.1 percent (1-for-11) from 3-point land in the contest's final 20 minutes of action. On the other side, Niagara shot 62.5 percent from the floor after intermission, going 15-for-24 from the field after halftime, while making 3-of-6 shots from 3-point range.
 
In the first half, Canisius led by the score of 26-19 with 5:17 left before the break after Fritz knocked down a pair from the free-throw line. Niagara made a push and eventually took a 29-28 lead with 2:10 left in the opening frame thanks to a 10-2 scoring run, but the Griffs went into the locker room at halftime up 31-29 after Fritz was able to strip the ball from Hammond at mid-court and race down the floor, where Fofana found him with a bounce pass for a lay-up as the horn sounded.
 
Henderson's 15 points came after he shot 6-for-10 from the field, and he also knocked down three free-throws. Fritz grabbed nine rebounds to go with four assists and a steal, and Fofana was credited with a game-high five assists against zero turnovers. He also tallied four boards and three steals. For the game, Canisius shot just 36.2 percent from the field and the team made just 2-of-20 3-point attempts in the losing effort.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"Give Niagara credit, they played a terrific game. I thought we looked sluggish and lethargic from the beginning. But give them credit, they had a lot to do with that."
 
"The pace of the game was slow, which is somewhat indicated by the score and the fact the winning team didn't score 70. I don't know if we're ready to amp it up and get it to a higher pace, but we certainly need to do a better job of moving the ball, and we need to quit trying to find an easy answer on offense. Anytime you come out and shoot 2-for-20 from 3, it's going to be hard to win."
 
"We have a real challenge in front of us, we are in a stretch where we are scheduled to play four games in a week after not playing for 20 days. So, we have a number of games in a short amount of time and we're traveling. And the travel probably makes it more challenging than anything. We're going to try and do as little as possible tomorrow, refocus on us, and keep moving forward."
 
GAME NOTES
• Thursday was the 188th all-time meeting between the two long-time rivals. Niagara leads the series 104-84.
• Canisius has now dropped three-straight to Niagara at the Gallagher Center.
• The 15-point effort by Henderson marks the eighth time this season where he's scored in double-figures.
• Since returning to the starting line-up Dec. 11 at Youngstown State, Fofana is averaging 12.6 points and 5.4 assists per game.
• The nine rebounds for Fritz were the most for the junior forward since he had 11 boards at St. Bonaventure on Nov. 14.
• Harried made his 25th consecutive start in the game Thursday night.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will return to the road on Sunday, when the Griffs play at Manhattan in Riverdale, N.Y. Tip-off in Draddy Gymnasium is set for 2 p.m., and the game will be broadcast 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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