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Canisius University Athletics

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Scott Hitchon slams one home in Canisius' win over cross-town rival Buffalo at KeyBank Center Dec. 18, 2021.
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57
Canisius Canis 5-12,1-5 MAAC
65
Winner Saint Peter's SP 6-6,4-1 MAAC
Canisius Canis
5-12,1-5 MAAC
57
Final
65
Saint Peter's SP
6-6,4-1 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius Canis 27 30 57
Saint Peter's SP 28 37 65

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Falls on the Road to Saint Peter’s

Saint Peter's senior KC Ndefo scored a traditional three-point play with 1:01 left in the game and the host Peacocks closed out the contest by making six-straight free-throws to earn a 65-57 victory over Canisius in MAAC men's basketball action Tuesday afternoon at Run Baby Run Arena in Jersey City, N.J.
 
The win, Saint Peter's third straight, improved the Peacocks to 6-6 overall and 4-1 in MAAC play, while the Golden Griffins fell to 5-12 overall and 1-5 in league play with their third-straight loss.
 
GAME RECAP
A pair of free-throws by junior Armon Harried with 2:33 left to play made the score 56-54 in favor of Saint Peter's. After both teams traded empty possessions, Canisius was whistled for a foul to send Saint Peter's guard Matthew Lee to the free-throw line for a pair of shots. Lee missed both free-throws, but Ndefo was able to grab the offensive rebound and was promptly fouled as his put-back attempt bounced off the rim and into the hoop. Ndefo drained the ensuing charity toss to make the score 59-54 in favor of Saint Peter's with 1:01 left on the clock.
 
Canisius had a chance to cut into the Peacocks' cushion moments later, but the Griffs missed a pair of free-throws, and the Blue and Gold was forced to foul Lee again to stop the clock in an effort to extend the game. This time, however, Lee made both free-throws, putting Saint Peter's up 61-54 with 28 seconds left to play.
 
Canisius started out strong, jumping out to an early 13-3 lead just 7:49 into the contest after Akrum Ahemed scored off a feed by Harried. Saint Peter's battled back and cut the Griffs' hold to five at 27-22 with 3:35 left before intermission, and then the Peacocks used a 6-0 run over the closing 2:39 of the opening half to take a 28-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
In the second half, a 3-pointer by senior Jordan Henderson put the Blue and Gold up five at 41-36 with 12:32 left to play, forcing Saint Peter's to call a 30-second timeout. Out of that timeout, the Peacocks scored five-straight points in 40 seconds to knot the game at 41-41. From there, Saint Peter's used a 7-2 run to take a 48-43 lead. Canisius responded with a 7-2 run of its own, highlighted by five points from senior Malek Green, to knot the game at 50-50 with 5:52 remaining, but that would be as close as the Griffs would get the rest of the way, as the Peacocks scored the game's next four points to give themselves some breathing room.
 
Canisius graduate student Scott Hitchon led the Griffs with 14 points and eight rebounds in the loss, a loss that snapped the Griffs' four-game win streak in Saint Peter's home building, dating back to the 2016-17 season. Green added 12 points and Henderson scored nine points to go with four assists before fouling out of the contest. For the game, Canisius shot 36.2 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from 3-point land in the loss, while being charged with a season-high 17 turnovers.
 
Isiah Dasher came off the bench and scored 17 points for the Peacocks to lead all scorers, while Ndefo, the MAAC's Preseason Player of the Year, was good for eight points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. The Peacocks shot 33.3 percent from the floor in the winning effort, while turning Canisius' 17 turnovers into 16 points.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"It certainly wasn't a game of artistic beauty in terms of shooting, but both teams played hard. And at the end of the day, they played harder than we did. We need to continue to grind our way through this, but we also have a number of things that we need to do better to put ourselves in position to close out games."
 
"Scott [Hitchon] is a huge part of our team, and we need that from Scott. I really can't say enough about the turn-around in his attitude and his level of commitment."
 
GAME NOTES
• Tuesday was the 86th all-time meeting between the two Jesuit rivals. Canisius leads the series 49-36.
• Tuesday's game marked the first time Canisius played at Saint Peter's since Jan. 12, 2020 – a span of 737 days.
• Hitchon is averaging 11.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game since rejoining the starting line-up Dec. 18 vs. Buffalo.
• Junior Jacco Fritz had six rebounds in the loss, as the Griffs out-rebounded the Peacocks by a 41-35 count. Fritz has recorded multiple offensive rebounds in 31 games in his career.
• Green's 12 points gives him double-digits in the scoring column 10 times this season and 39 times in his career.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will return home for a pair of games, starting Friday, Jan. 21, when the team plays host to Rider at the Koessler Athletic Center. Game time is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
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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