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Canisius University Athletics

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Malek Green scores two of his game-high 19 points in the Griffs' road loss at Youngstown State Dec. 11, 2021.
Ken Morey
76
Canisius Canis 8-18,4-11 MAAC
80
Winner Fairfield Fairf 12-13,6-8 MAAC
Canisius Canis
8-18,4-11 MAAC
76
Final
80
Fairfield Fairf
12-13,6-8 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Canisius Canis 33 39 4 76
Fairfield Fairf 40 32 8 80

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Fairfield Stings Men’s Basketball in Overtime

Fairfield's Taj Benning forced overtime with a basket as the final horn in regulation time sounded, and the host Stags outscored Canisius 8-4 in the overtime period en route to an 80-76 win Monday night in MAAC men's basketball action at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn.
 
The win, Fairfield's second straight, moved the Stags to 12-13 overall and 6-8 in MAAC play, while the Golden Griffins slipped to 8-18 overall and 4-11 with the loss.
 
Three Griffs scored in double-figures in the losing effort, led by senior Malek Green, who posted 19 points, three rebounds and an assist in 23:36 of game action. Senior Jordan Henderson and freshman Xzavier Long each tallied 15 points, as Canisius ended the night shooting 47.5 percent from the floor, despite a 4-for-17 effort from 3-point land.
 
GAME RECAP
Canisius struggled to take care of the basketball in the game's first half, and went into the locker room at halftime trailing 40-33 despite shooting 57.1 percent from the floor in the contest's opening 20 minutes of play. The Stags were able to take that seven-point lead in large part because the Griffs turned the ball over nine times in the first half, which Fairfield turned into 17 points.
 
Out of the intermission, Fairfield stretched its lead to 10 points at 48-38 with 16:49 left to play, but Canisius fought back and eventually tied the game at 53-53 on the power of a 15-5 run that spanned 6:21. In that run, Henderson scored six points for the Griffs, while Long's four-points to the effort kick-started the Blue and Gold's offense. Moments later, Canisius took its first lead since the scoreboard read 4-3 when junior Akrum Ahemed drove baseline and scored with 8:21 left to play to put the Griffs up 55-53.
 
Fairfield would regain the lead at 60-56 with 5:56 left to play, but that would serve as the largest lead for either team down the stretch in regulation time. A one-handed put-back slam by Green with 46 seconds left to play gave Canisius a 69-68 lead, but Fairfield's Jesus Cruz pushed his team back in front moments later with a bucket with 34 ticks remaining. Green made the score 71-70 in favor of the Blue and Gold on the Griffs' next trip down the floor, and a defensive stop that forced a held ball with 7.6 seconds left gave the Griffs the ball back up one. Senior Ahamadou Fofana was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play, but he made just one-of-two free-throw chances. That gave Fairfield one last chance to tie or win the game in regulation time.
 
On the final play of regulation, Benning turned the corner at the free-throw line and drove toward the hoop, where he was able to bounce the ball off the side-rim and through the bucket as the final horn sounded in regulation time, sending the game to overtime.
 
In overtime, Canisius scored the first points of the extra frame when Long drilled a 3-pointer from in front of the Canisius bench, but that would end up being the Blue and Gold's final field goal of the contest, as Fairfield outscored the Griffs 8-4 in the extra session to secure the win. Canisius had the ball trailing Fairfield 78-76 with 13 seconds left to play, and out of a timeout, the Griffs got a good look at the basket, but Henderson's 3-point shot from the right wing clanged off the back-iron and the Stags were able to secure the rebound, forcing Canisius to foul in an effort to extend the game. Fairfield sophomore Jalen Leach hit both charity tosses, however, as the Stags ended the night by going 17-for-18 from the free-throw line as a team.
 
Green scored his 19 points after he went 8-for-10 from the field, 1-for-2 from 3-point land and 2-for-3 from the free-throw line. Long was 5-for-9 from the field, including his 3-point make in overtime, and he also made 4-of-6 from the charity stripe, while Henderson went 6-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-7 from behind the arc to go with two assists and four steals. For the game, Canisius out-rebounded Fairfield 32-27 and the Griffs turned the ball over just three times after halftime.
 
Cruz scored a game-high 25 points for the Stags, who shot 50.9 percent from the floor and made 9-of-22 3-point tries. Benning had 17, while sophomore Supreme Cook added 10 points and eight rebounds to the winning effort.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"I don't know if I've ever seen a team that's had more rebounds and less turnovers than their opponents two games in a row and come up short like that. You can obviously point to the 3-point shooting, we were just 4-for-17, but I thought we did a lot of things right tonight. In the first half, we coughed it up and had a bunch of turnovers that gave them free points. Our effort picked up as the game went on, but unfortunately, we will all go to sleep tonight being six seconds away from being able to salt this one away. Certainly, a lot of good things to take away, but at the end of the night, we did not get it done."
 
"I said to the guys after the game in the locker room that this is supposed to hurt. If you're not having any pain after this one, that means we were not close enough to taste it. This is supposed to hurt. But we are getting better. We need to use this pain as fertilizer for progress."
 
GAME NOTES
• This was the 92nd all-time meeting between these two Jesuit schools. Fairfield has won three straight over Canisius and now leads the series 52-40.
• This game marked the fifth time in series history where Canisius and Fairfield played an overtime contest. The Stags are 3-2 in that portion of the series.
• Canisius is now 4-4 in games decided by five points or less this season.
• The Griffs scored a season-high 44 points in the paint.
• Green's 19 points marked the 40th time in his career where he's scored in double figures, He's had 10-plus points in 11 games this season.
• Henderson's 15 points gives him double-digits in the scoring column in three straight and four of the team's last five outings.
• Henderson's two makes from 3-point land gives him multiple treys in six-straight contests.
• Long has now scored 15-or more points in two of the team's last three games.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will return home on Saturday, Feb. 19, when the team plays host to long-time rival Niagara. Game time at the Koessler Athletic Center is set for 1 p.m., and the game 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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