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TJ Gadsden giving Jacco Fritz a high five on Feb. 12, 2023 vs Quinnipiac at the Koessler Athletic Center.
Ken Morey
65
Quinnipiac QU 17-9,8-7 MAAC
85
Winner Canisius Canis 6-18,4-11 MAAC
Quinnipiac QU
17-9,8-7 MAAC
65
Final
85
Canisius Canis
6-18,4-11 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Quinnipiac QU 37 28 65
Canisius Canis 37 48 85

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Gadsden’s Career Day Leads Men’s Basketball Past Quinnipiac

Canisius sophomore TJ Gadsden came off the bench and scored a career-high 31 points after he went 11-for-16 from the field, 5-for-8 from 3-point land and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line to help lead the Golden Griffins to an 85-65 victory over Quinnipiac in MAAC men's basketball action Sunday afternoon at the Koessler Athletic Center.
 
The win snapped the Griffs' six-game losing skid and improved the team to 6-18 overall and 4-11 in MAAC play, while Quinnipiac fell to 17-9 overall and 8-7 in conference action with its third-straight loss.
 
Gadsden was one of three Canisius players to record double-figures in the scoring column, as graduate student Jordan Henderson added 20 points and senior Jacco Fritz posted 12 points. Gadsden started the day by making his first 10 shot attempts from the field, and his two free-throws with 9:16 remaining in the contest allowed him to become the 11th player in school history to score 30-or more points on the floor inside the Koessler Athletic Center. Henderson's 20 points, his fifth career game with 20-or more scored, came after he made 8-of-13 shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. Fritz added a game-high eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists to his final stat line as the Blue and Gold recorded their largest MAAC win of the season with the 20-point victory.
 
For Quinnipiac, three players scored in double-figures, led by Matt Balanc, who posted a team-high 14 points. Ike Nweke and Tymu Chenery each had 10 points in the losing effort for the Bobcats, who shot 39.3 percent from the field, 34.6 percent from 3-point land and 72.7 percent from the free-throw line in the losing effort. Nine of Quinnipiac's 26 field goals on the day came from behind the 3-point arc, but the Bobcats made just one of those treys in the game's second half.
 
Canisius trailed Quinnipiac 37-32 with 1:58 left before halftime, but the Griffs evened the score at the break by scoring the final five points of the opening stanza thanks to a 3-pointer by Henderson and a buzzer-beating jumper by Gadsden, who ended the first half with 16 points.
   
With 6:51 left to play in the game, Quinnipiac's Alexis Reyes scored a bucket off on offensive rebound to make the score 64-60 in favor of Canisius. From there, the Griffs' took the game over, outscoring the Bobcats 21-5 over the contest's final 6:35. In that stretch, Henderson accounted for 10 of Canisius' points, while redshirt-freshman Tahj Staveskie added seven points to the Blue and Gold's tally to seal the victory. Canisius ended the day by shooting 51.6 percent from the floor and 52.9 percent from 3-point land, highlighted by an 18-for-32 (56.3 percent) effort from the field in the game's closing 20 minutes.
 
The victory was the 90th career win for head coach Reggie Witherspoon, who passed former Canisius head coach and College Basketball Hall of Famer John Beilein for fifth all-time on the school's career coaching wins list.
   
GAME NOTES
• Sunday was the 21st all-time meeting between these two programs. The Griffs lead the series 14-7.
• Canisius improved to 33-6 under Witherspoon when shooting 50.0 percent or better from the floor as a team for the game.
• The Griffs were credited with 21 assists on 32-made field goals on Sunday. That marks the 21st time under Witherspoon where the Blue and Gold had 20-or more assists to their credit.
• Gadsden's 31 points are the most for a Canisius player at the Koessler Athletic Center since former Griff Jermaine Crumpton scored 32 points against Niagara on Jan. 27, 2018.
• With Siem Uijtendaal scoring 30 points versus Fredonia on Nov. 20, and Gadsden scoring 31 points Sunday, the 2022-23 edition of the Griffs are just the second team in program history to have multiple players score 30-or more points in a game at the Koessler Athletic Center in the same season. Crumpton and former Griff Isaiah Reese also had a pair of 30-plus point performances during the 2017-18 campaign.
• Three of Henderson's five career 20-plus point games have come this season.
• Henderson's two makes from behind the arc in the win allows him to become just the fifth player in school history to make 180-or more career 3-pointers.
• Fritz's eight assists are the most for a Canisius player this season. He has been credited with multiple assists in 11 of the Griffs' last 13 contests.
• Fritz also drew two offensive charges on Sunday to give him 10 for the season. He is the program's active career leader in offensive charges taken with 25.
• Canisius is now 8-5 all-time when playing on Super Bowl Sunday. The Griffs have now won five-straight games prior to the "big game", dating back to the 2010-11 season (Super Bowl XLV).
 
UP NEXT
The Griffs will head out on the road next weekend for their final two MAAC regular-season road games of the 2022-23 campaign, starting Friday, Feb. 17, when the team plays at Rider. Game time in Lawrenceville, N.J., is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The audio call will be available exclusively through GoGriffs.com.
 
For the most up-to-date information on Canisius men's basketball, follow @Griffs_MBB on Twitter and Instagram.
 
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