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Jordan Henderson looks over the defense in the Griffs' MAAC Men's Basketball Championship game against Fairfield in Atlantic City, N.J.
Stockton Photo, Inc.
74
Canisius Canis 7-19,5-12 MAAC
75
Winner Mount St. Mary's MSM 10-18,6-11 MAAC
Canisius Canis
7-19,5-12 MAAC
74
Final
75
Mount St. Mary's MSM
10-18,6-11 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius Canis 33 41 74
Mount St. Mary's MSM 29 46 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Sees Win Streak End at Mount St. Mary’s

Canisius graduate student Jordan Henderson scored a career-high 28 points and redshirt-freshman Tahj Staveskie added 17 points and six assists, but it was not enough for the Golden Griffins, as Mount St. Mary's posted a 75-74 victory Sunday afternoon at Knott Arena in Emmitsburg, Md.
 
The loss ended Canisius' two-game win streak and dropped the Blue and Gold to 7-19 overall and 5-12 in MAAC play, while Mount St. Mary's improved to 10-18 overall and 6-11 in league action with its second straight win.
 
Henderson's 28 points came after he went 11-for-18 from the field and 5-for-8 from 3-point land in 31 minutes of action. His fourth 3-point field goal of the game, which came with 30.8 seconds left to play, moved him into fourth place on the school's career 3-point makes list. Staveskie followed his 21-point performance at Rider on Friday night with 17 points after he went 7-for-13 from the field, 1-for-2 from 3-point land and 2-for-2 from the foul line. His six assists matched a season-high, and he also grabbed two rebounds in the losing effort.
 
In a game that featured 13 lead changes and 11 ties, the Griffs took a 55-53 lead with 10:20 left to play after graduate student George Maslennikov hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key, one of the Griffs' nine 3-point field goals on the day. That field goal would end up being the Blue and Gold's last bucket for 5:27, a stretch where the host Mountaineers outscored the Griffs by a 5-2 clip to take a 58-57 led with 5:29 left to play in the game. A back-door lay-up by senior Jacco Fritz off a pass from Staveskie put Canisius back up 59-58 with 4:53 remaining, but the Mount regained the lead for good moments later after Jalen Benjamin hit a pair from the free-throw line with 4:43 showing on the clock to give the home team a 60-59 advantage.
 
Trailing 66-61, Fritz scored a bucket in the paint off a feed from Staveskie with 2:01 remaining to trim the Mountaineers' lead to three points, but Mount St. Mary's gave itself some breathing room on the next possession as Dakota Leffew knocked down a 3-point field goal from the right wing as the shot clock ticked down to push the home team's cushion to six points at 69-63 with 1:34 remaining.
 
A 3-pointer by Henderson with 30.4 seconds left to play got Canisius within two at 71-69, but out of a timeout, Mount St. Mary's was able to break the Griffs' full-court press, and Jedy Cordilia slammed one home to make the score 73-69 in favor of the Mountaineers with 21.4 seconds remaining. The Mount's Deandre Thomas made 2-of-4 free-throws in the final 12 seconds to give the Mount a 75-71 lead before Henderson drilled a final 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining in the game to cap the game's scoring.
 
For the game, Canisius shot 52.7 percent as a team, fueled by a 58.6 percent effort in the game's second half. Canisius made 9-of-19 3-point tries and shot 7-for-11 from the free-throw line, and the Griffs ended the contest with 17 assists on 29-made field goals. Mount St. Mary's shot 47.5 percent from the field, highlighted by a 54.8 percent effort from the floor in the second half, and the Mountaineers ended the afternoon by connecting on a season-high 11 3-pointers.
 
Leffew scored a team-high 22 points in the win for Mount St. Mary's, which swept the regular-season series from Canisius in its first year in the MAAC. Malik Jefferson had nine rebounds for the Mount, which ended the day by out-rebounding Canisius 33-27 while holding a 30-22 advantage in points scored in the paint.
   
GAME NOTES
• Sunday's game was the third all-time meeting between Canisius and Mount St. Mary's. Mount St. Mary's has won all three games by four points or less.
• Prior to Sunday's game, the only other time the Griffs played at Mount St. Mary's was Feb. 19, 1934 – exactly 89 years to the day.
• The Griffs have shot 50.0 percent or better from the field in three-straight games. In that stretch, the team is shooting a combined 52.4 percent (87-for-166).
• Eight of the Griffs' 17 MAAC games this season have been decided by five-points or less. Canisius is 2-6 in those eight contests.
• Henderson's 28-point performance gives Canisius at least one player with 20-or more points scored in four-straight games.
• Henderson passed former Griff and Canisius Sports Hall of Famer Kevin Downey for fourth on the school's career 3-point field goals made chart. He's now made multiple 3-pointers in 48 career games.
• Since scoring a season-low three points at Marist Feb. 5, Staveskie is averaging 18.3 points per game in the last four games.
• Fritz ended the day with 12 points, his 30th career game with 10-or more points scored.
• Maslennikov made multiple 3-point field goals in a game for the first time in his career with two makes from behind the arc on Sunday.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will close out the 2022-23 regular season at home with three-straight games at the Koessler Athletic Center, starting Friday, Feb. 24, when the Griffs play host to Saint Peter's. That contest, which is presented by Anderson's, will tip-off at 7 p.m., and will be broadcast live on ESPN3. Tickets for next Friday's game, and the other two remaining home dates, can be purchased in person at the Canisius ticket office, by phone by calling (716) 888-TIXX, or online 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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