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Canisius University Athletics

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Jordan Henderson pulls up to shoot a 3-pointer against Monmouth at the Koessler Athletic Center on Dec. 5, 2021.
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70
Canisius Canis 8-17,4-10 MAAC
71
Winner Marist Marist 10-13,5-9 MAAC
Canisius Canis
8-17,4-10 MAAC
70
Final
71
Marist Marist
10-13,5-9 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius Canis 32 38 70
Marist Marist 29 42 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Comes Up Short at Marist

Canisius scored the game's final four points and had a good look the basket in the closing five seconds of regulation time, but that shot came up short, as the Golden Griffins lost to Marist 71-70 Saturday night at McCann Arena in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
 
A 3-point field goal by Marist guard Noah Harris with 2:28 left to play put the host Red Foxes up 71-66. The Griffs were able to cut the Marist cushion to 71-68 with 2:05 remaining after freshman Xzavier Long made a pair of free-throws, and after getting two defensive stops, senior Jordan Henderson got the Blue and Gold within one at 71-70 with 39.6 seconds left to play thanks to a pair of makes from the stripe.
 
Marist came up empty on its next trip down the floor, setting up a chance for the Griffs to win the game in regulation. However, Henderson's floater in the lane with 4.3 seconds left on the clock bounced in-and-out of the rim and Canisius was not able to get another shot off before the final horn sounded.
 
The win moved Marist to 10-13 overall and 5-9 in MAAC play, while Canisius slipped to 8-17 overall and 4-10 in league action.
 
GAME RECAP
Canisius took a 32-29 lead into the locker room at halftime after the Griffs shot 41.9 percent from the floor and knocked down three 3-pointers in the game's opening 20 minutes of play. Out of the intermission, the Griffs stretched their lead to 10 points at 41-31 thanks to a 9-2 run in the opening 3:53 of the second stanza. In that run, which was capped by a lay-up by junior Armon Harried, graduate student Scott Hitchon scored five points for the Blue and Gold. Marist was able to swing back at Canisius and got the score to 46-45 in favor of the Blue and Gold on the power of a 6-0 run over the span of 1:45, with four of those points coming from freshman guard Jao Ituka. Canisius pushed its cushion back to as many as six moments later, but Marist once again answered the ball and eventually took its first lead since the 16:10 mark of the first half after guard Ricardo Wright slashed to the basket for two of his 13 points on the night.
 
Marist would push its lead to 68-62 with 4:17 left to play thanks to a bucket from Ituka, who led all scorers on the night with 22 points. Four-straight points by Canisius senior Ahamadou Fofana in the span of 1:54 got the Griffs within two at 68-66, but Marist made the margin too large for the Griffs on its next trip down the floor after Harris got free and knocked down the corner-triple to make the score 71-66 in favor of the home team.
 
Henderson finished the night with a team-high 19 points for Canisius, which second-straight game with 19 points scored. He went 7-for-13 from the field, 3-for-6 from 3-point land and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line in the loss, while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists. Fofana had 16 points, 14 of which came after halftime, and Hitchon tallied eight points and two rebounds. For the game, Canisius shot 40.6 percent from the field, 34.8 percent (8-for-23) from behind the arc and just 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from the free-throw line. Canisius out-rebounded Marist by a 39-37 clip, and the Blue and Gold turned the ball over just seven times in the losing effort.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"I thought we did some things well tonight, however, free-throw shooting and closing out defensively on their 3-point shooters were not among them. The way we defended the 3-point shot tonight was well-below our standard. We did not close out very well in the second half, and I can't figure out why. We talked about it all week. We looked at video. We worked on it in practice. We knew we had to get out on them, but at the end of the night, give them credit. They found open shooters and they made shots."
 
"We had the play we wanted to run at the end of the game. From where I was standing, I thought for sure that ball was going to go into the basket. It just hit the back of the rim, and bounced out."
 
"After the game, we talked about our poise, especially in the second half offensively. We just need to have more of it, especially when we are the team that is in the lead. I thought as the game sped up, we settled on some shots, and they were tough shots, and it led to [Marist] getting easy rebounds. We just need to settle down in those situations, move the ball, and do what we want to do on offense."
 
GAME NOTES
• Saturday was the 55th all-time meeting between Canisius and Marist. The Griffs leads the series 34-21.
• The win for Marist gives the Red Foxes their first two-game win streak over the Griffs since the 2007-08 season. Marist defeated Canisius 56-52 on Dec. 12, 2020, the last previous meeting between the two squads.
• This was the 18th time in series history where the final score has been decided by five-points or less. Both teams have nine wins in that portion of the series.
• Henderson's 19-point effort on Saturday marks the third time this year where he's scored 19 points in a game. In the team's last five games, he is averaging 14.4 points per game.
• Senior George Maslennikov came off the bench and scored six points, all in the first half. That ties his career-high for scoring in a MAAC game, as he also had six points in the 2020-21 season-opener at home against Marist.
• Long grabbed five rebounds in the game for Canisius, the 20th time this season where he's recorded multiple boards in a contest. In the last five games, the Washington, D.C., native is averaging 6.0 rebounds per contest.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will close out its two-game road swing on Monday night, as the Griffs travel to play at Fairfield. Tip-off in Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn., is set for 7 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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