Buffalo,
N.Y. ? Rishawn Johnson scored the go-ahead basket with 23 seconds remaining as
Canisius rallied for a 64-60 non-conference victory over UAlbany on Saturday
evening at Koessler Athletic Center. The
Golden Griffins snapped a five-game losing streak.
Elton Frazier, who led all scorers
with 20 points, gave Canisius (5-22) a 60-58 lead with a short bank shot from
right of the lane. UAlbany (13-14) drew
even when Brent Wilson followed up Brian Lillis' miss in the lane with 43
seconds to play. After Johnson gave his
team the lead from a driving Frank Turner, Wilson misfired on a three-point field goal
attempt from the top of the arc. Bob
Bevilacqua sealed the outcome by making both ends of a one-and-one free throw
opportunity with seven seconds left.
The Golden Griffins, who trailed by
as much as 18 in the first half, went ahead for the first time, 54-53, when
Bevilacqua banked in a 3-pointer.
Lillis, who totaled 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, canned
two free throws and Jon Iati drilled a 16-foot jumper to put their team back in
front. However, Greg Logins, who had 12
points and 10 rebounds, scored on the left baseline and Bevilacqua made a
17-footer in the circle, and Canisius was ahead again.
"It was a bad loss,” said UAlbany head coach Will Brown,
whose team was playing in a matchup of squads from the BracketBuster's pool. “But give Canisius credit because they made
plays down the stretch. We missed easy
opportunities and they got into a rhythm.
They play a helter-skelter style and we played like they wanted us to,
especially in the second half."
The Great Danes used a string
of nine unanswered to take a 15-3 lead in the opening five-plus minutes. Wilson
made an 18-footer in transition and later sank a three-point field goal to
finish off that outburst. UAlbany
extended the margin to 23-5 midway through the period when Tim Ambrose hit a
layup. However, Canisius tallied nine
straight points, including three baskets by Turner, to get back into the
contest. The Golden Griffins closed the
gap to 30-24 at the break, as the visitors went scoreless for nearly four
minutes toward the end of the half.
Wilson finished with 15 points and nine
rebounds for the Great Danes, who had 10 of their 15 turnovers after
halftime. Brian Connelly was third
UAlbany player in double figures with 12.
Turner, last year's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the
Year, added 10 points and seven assists.
"They outplayed
us the last thirty minutes,” said Wilson, who scored in double figures for the
16th time this season. “They were not
going away because this is Division I basketball. When you let a 4-22 team hang around they
eventually will think they are going to win."
Canisius 64, UAlbany 60 (02-23-08 at Koessler Athletic Center (Buffalo, N.Y.))
Box Score
Official Basketball Box Score
Official Basketball Box Score
Albany vs Canisius
02-23-08 7:35 PM at Koessler Athletic Center (Buffalo, N.Y.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Albany 13-14
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 Hastings, Jerel..... f 0-3 0-0 0-1 2 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 17
33 Connelly, Brian..... f 5-9 0-1 2-3 0 2 2 1 12 1 2 0 0 33
34 Wilson, Brent....... f 7-15 1-5 0-0 4 5 9 1 15 0 2 1 2 36
55 Turley, Al.......... c 1-1 0-0 2-2 1 4 5 2 4 3 1 0 1 28
21 Lillis, Brian....... g 5-9 0-0 5-6 0 5 5 2 15 5 5 0 2 35
03 Martin, Josh........ 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 5
14 Iati, Jon........... 2-8 1-6 1-2 0 2 2 1 6 2 1 0 0 24
23 Ambrose, Tim........ 4-10 0-2 0-0 2 1 3 2 8 0 0 0 0 12
54 Gifford, Brett...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 4 0 1 2 0 0 10
TEAM................ 2 1 3
Totals.............. 24-56 2-15 10-14 11 22 33 13 60 13 15 1 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-30 43.3% 2nd Half: 11-26 42.3% Game: 42.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-7 14.3% 2nd Half: 1-8 12.5% Game: 13.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-6 50.0% 2nd Half: 7-8 87.5% Game: 71.4% 1
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HOME TEAM: Canisius 5-22
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
00 Logins, Greg........ f 5-8 2-3 0-0 2 8 10 3 12 0 2 0 0 29
33 Malesa, Pawel....... f 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 2 3 1 1 0 0 7
03 Turner, Frank....... g 5-10 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 10 7 3 1 2 32
10 Bevilacqua, Bob..... g 3-7 1-5 2-2 0 2 2 2 9 3 3 0 1 28
24 Frazier, Elton...... g 7-17 4-10 2-2 3 1 4 1 20 3 2 0 1 38
02 Goldsberry, Robert.. 0-2 0-1 0-0 1 3 4 4 0 2 0 0 1 12
20 Hassell, Willie..... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
21 Robinson, Jovan..... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 7
25 Johnson, Rishawn.... 3-5 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 2 8 1 1 0 3 25
42 Vazquez-Simmons, T.. 0-1 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 1 2 0 2 0 0 19
TEAM................ 1 3 4
Totals.............. 24-55 8-25 8-8 9 22 31 17 64 17 15 1 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-27 33.3% 2nd Half: 15-28 53.6% Game: 43.6% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-11 18.2% 2nd Half: 6-14 42.9% Game: 32.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-4 100 % 2nd Half: 4-4 100 % Game: 100 % 0,2
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Officials: Michael Pilla, Tim O'Brien, Rich Antonelli
Technical fouls: Albany-None. Canisius-None.
Attendance: 989
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Albany........................ 30 30 - 60
Canisius...................... 24 40 - 64
2008 O'Reilly ESPNU Bracket Buster Game
