ALBANY -- The Canisius men ought to be good in the MAAC Tournament play-in game. They've been in it 10 years in a row. The seventh-seeded Golden Griffins looked like old hands Friday night, cruising past a very bad Marist team, 72-54, to advance to Saturday's quarterfinals against Fairfield.
Canisius led by eight at the half and gradually pulled away in the second half against Marist,which was seeded 10th and finished a ghastly 1-29 for the season. The Griffs beat the Red Foxes three times -- by 15, 15 and 18 points. After settling for 18 shots from three-point land in the opening half, Canisius took the ball inside early in the second half and wound up shooting 52 percent from two-point territory.
Elton Frazier led the Griffs (15-16) with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting, all from inside the arc. The rest of the team combined to make six two-point shots. Greg Logins and Alshwan Hymes had 11 points apiece for the Griffs. Thomas Vazquez-Simmons, Frank Turner and Robert Goldsberry all had eight in a well-balanced attack.
Canisius and Fairfield meet at 7:30 p.m. in Saturday's quarterfinal round. Niagara plays Iona at 10 p.m. in the final quarterfinal of the day.
--- Jerry Sullivan
