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Canisius University Athletics

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2021-22 Men's Basketball Senior Day at the Koessler Athletic Center.
Lindy Feider
64
Siena Siena 15-13,12-8 MAAC
67
Winner Canisius Canis 11-20,7-13 MAAC
Siena Siena
15-13,12-8 MAAC
64
Final
67
Canisius Canis
11-20,7-13 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Siena Siena 29 35 64
Canisius Canis 31 36 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Takes Down Siena on Senior Day

Canisius senior Malek Green scored a team-high 16 points off the bench and fellow senior Ahamadou Fofana added 13 points, highlighted a late 3-pointer with 1:19 left on the game clock that gave Canisius the lead for good, as the Golden Griffins posted a 67-64 victory over Siena on Senior Day Saturday evening in the Koessler Athletic Center.
 
The win, Canisius' third straight, moves the Griffs to 11-20 overall and 7-13 in MAAC play. The victory, coupled with Quinnipiac's loss at Iona Saturday, makes the Griffs the 10th seed in next week's Hercules Tires MAAC Men's Basketball Championship in Atlantic City, N.J. In the tournament's opening round on March 8, the Blue and Gold will meet No. 7 seed Fairfield, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
 
GAME RECAP
Canisius came out of the gates on fire, jumping out to a 20-9 lead just 7:56 into the contest. A dunk by Green off a pass from Fofana with 7:40 left before halftime put Canisius up 16 points at 28-12, but Siena answered with a 13-0 run over the span of the next 4:58 to cut the Griffs' lead to three at 28-25. The Blue and Gold went into the locker room up 31-29 after the Griffs shot 41.9 percent from the floor and turned 10 Siena turnovers into eight points in the opening 20 minutes of play.
 
Out of halftime, Siena hung tough, trailing by just three points at 43-40, before the Green scored six-straight points for Canisius in the span of 55 seconds to give the home team a 49-40 lead with 14:37 left to play. However, Siena hung tough, and the Saints (15-13, 12-8 MAAC) eventually took their first lead of the game with 8:48 remaining on a 3-point field goal by Colby Rogers. That 3-pointer was part of a 9-0 Siena run over the game's next 2:25 that actually put the Saints in the lead at 60-53 with 7:03 left on the clock.
 
With Siena leading 62-57 with 4:38 left to play, Fofana and Green led the Griffs' rally to victory, as the two seniors scored the Blue and Gold's next five points, capped by the 3-ball from Fofana with 1:19 remaining that pushed the score in favor of Canisius at 65-62. Siena made it a one-point game with 55.2 seconds remaining on a bucket by Anthony Gaines, and after the two teams traded misses, Canisius junior Armon Harried grabbed a rebound, and then was fouled to stop the clock. Harried made both ends of the 1-and-1 free-throw opportunity, and with 4.6 seconds left to play, Fofana was able to steal the ball from Gaines at mid-court and then dribbled out the remaining time as the final horn sounded.
 
For the game, Canisius shot 43.8 percent from the field and made 6-of-9 charity tosses from the free-throw line, while out-rebounding the Saints 32-30. The biggest difference in the contest was Canisius' ability to turn Siena's 20 turnovers into 22 points, and Canisius also posted 19 assists off 28 made field goals.
 
Green's 16 points came after he went 7-for-13 from the field, and he also knocked down a pair of free-throws. Fofana dished out four assists and was credited with a career-high six steals in addition to his 13-point effort, and Harried tallied 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in 35:40 of game action. Freshman Xzavier Long grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, the most boards for him in a game this season.
 
Siena's Jackson Stormo led all scorers 18 points and he also grabbed 11 boards for the Saints, who shot 52.2 percent from the floor in the game, highlighted by a 59.1 percent (13-for-22) shooting effort in the game's second half. Rogers ended the day with 17 points, fueled by five makes from 3-point land.
 
Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon's Postgame Comments
"The usual hard-fought MAAC game here today. We got a big lead and [Siena} made a couple of really hard charges at us, so credit to them. And give credit to our guys. We were up and when it looked like it swung the other way, our guys just kept fighting. Just like they've been fighting all year long. I am also proud of the great situational execution down the stretch. It was really, really good. It was textbook."
 
"Late in the game when they took the lead, we were turning the ball over against their 1-3-1 zone. We just needed to get our deployment right, and we needed to refocus on where we wanted the ball to go and where the open shots were. I think they were going to stay in it, but once we got settled in against that zone, and we were able to get some good looks at the basket, they had to switch back to man-to-man from there."
 
"We know we are playing again Tuesday, that's a quick turnaround for sure, but that's the way it's been all year. We'll start preparation for Fairfield in the morning. We will practice here and then get on the road in the early afternoon so we can get to Atlantic City and get situated."
 
GAME NOTES
• Saturday was the 108th all-time meeting between Canisius and Siena. The Saints lead the series 58-51.
• Canisius and Siena split the regular-season series for the third-straight season.
• The Griffs are now 5-0 at home against Siena under head coach Reggie Witherspoon.
• Fofana's career-high six steals on Saturday ties him with Manhattan's Elijah Buchanan and Monmouth's George Papas for most steals in a game by a MAAC player this season.
• Fofana's six steals are the most for a Canisius player in a game since Malik Johnson had seven steals against Holy Cross on Dec. 14, 2019.
• The 16 points for Green marks the 15th time this season and the 44th time in his college career, where he's scored in double-figures.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will travel to take on No. 7 seed Fairfield in the opening round of the 2022 Hercules Tires MAAC Men's Basketball Championship in Atlantic City, N.J., on Tuesday, March 8. Tipoff 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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