Campus Watch

Game analysis: Billy Baron did allow a buzzer to decide his team's fate this time around. Billy the Kid had his stroke going early and often against rival Niagara to the tune of 33 points as Canisius avenged its last-second loss two weeks at home, 77-70, on Sunday.

How Canisius won: Showered with chants of, "Daddy's Boy," Baron made his father proud especially with all the pounding he took in a physical game. Baron missed out playing the full 40 minutes only because he sat out two after hurting his ankle. Niagara was able to dig out of a first-half hole but failed to come up with a key basket in the final minutes. Antoine Mason, the team's go-to scorer, sat out the game with an ankle injury.

Turning Point: Baron broke a tie at 64 with a layup and then Canisius ceased control of the game when Jordan Heath followed a Harold Washington miss with a two-handed jam.

Player of the Game: Can't say enough about Baron.

Unsung player of the game: Washington has been fighting a viral infection the last few days but came through with 18 points and four assists.

Key stat: The Griffs had 16 turnovers and just six assists.

Key stat II: Niagara shot just 12 of 23 from the charity stripe.

What It Means: Despite the loss, Niagara remains in first place in the MAAC at 10-4, while Canisius is in a three-way tie for second.

Long time coming: Canisius won at Niagara for the first time since Nov. 30, 2002.

Tough night: Marvin Jordan hit the winning shot to beat Canisius in their last matchup but was scoreless this time around.

Working overtime: Referee Jeff Anderson worked Sunday's game after officiating Saturday's five overtime marathon between Notre Dame-Louisville game in South Bend. When asked how much sleep he got Anderson said, "Four hours."

In the House: Green Bay Packers running back and Niagara Falls native James Stark and NU great Tyrone Lewis were among the capacity crowd of 2,400 at the Gallagher Center.

He said it: "He was leading the team and we followed." - Harold Washington on Billy Baron.

Up next: The Golden Griffins play at Loyola while the Purple Eagles travel to Marist, both on Thursday.

---Rodney McKissic

Canisius guard Isaac Sosa has been named to the Academic All-District 1 team, the only player in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference so honored. Sosa has a 3.48 gpa in finance and is the first Griff on the District team since Darren Fenn in 2000-01.

UB has put two players on the Academic All-Mid-American Conference team. They are receiver Alex Neutz, who has a 3.59 in management, and defensive end Colby Way, a 3.49 in computer engineering. Three Bulls -- receiver Rudy Johnson, tight end Matt Weiser and QB Alex Zordich, achieved honorable mention status.

-- Bob DiCesare

Niagara 66, Canisius 65

How Niagara Won: Marvin Jordan's three from the left corner with 2.9 seconds remaining stood as the winning points when Billy Baron's last-instant jumper was deemed to have come after time expired. Jordan's shot was set up by point guard Juan'ya Green, who raced up court, drove the lane and dished off as defenders converged.

Player of the Game: Jordan struck for a season-high 23 points on a night when leading scorers Antoine Mason and Green were limited by foul trouble. He played 34 minutes and went 9 of 18 from the floor with four rebounds and three steals.

Continue reading "Canisius-Niagara Game Wrap" »

Sunday afternoon's first seasonal meeting between Canisius and Niagara is a sellout, the Griffs just announced. All 2,000-plus tickets have been purchased. The day begins with the Canisius-Niagara women's game at 1 p.m. followed by the men at 4 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN3.

-- Bob DiCesare

Game analysis: Billy Baron and Harold Washington combined for 14 points but it didn't matter because defense was the fuel that drove Canisius to a 76-44 victory over struggling Siena.

How Canisius won: Canisius likes to run and gun with little regard for defense so the numbers against the Saints were staggering. They held Siena to 32.7 percent shooting, forced 20 turnovers and had 13 steals and six blocks. They also pressured Siena point guard Evan Hymes into nine turnovers. The Saints 44 points scored tied a Koessler Center record for fewest points by an opponent.

Turning Point: Seriously, Siena was never in this game. After Canisius took a 7-4 lead, it outscored the Saints 35-15 by halftime.

Player of the Game: At 6-6 Chris Manhertz may be undersized but it's undervalued: 12 points, 11 boards, two blocks.

Key stat: Canisius committed just four turnovers, one in the first half.

Welcome back: Alshwan Hymes returned to the lineup after serving a suspension for a violation of team rules scored 11 points on 5 of 8 from the floor in 24 minutes. He's apparently back in the good graces of coach Jim Baron.

"He gives us high energy off the bench and that's important," Baron said. "As we move forward, everyone needs to know their role. Whenever you take over a program, it's always balancing it out and it's a team effort. Everybody wins when we win. When you play in a league like this - and I'm coming from the Atlantic 10 - you need a good amount of players. You need a bench. And the way we play uptempo, pushing the ball and attacking, we need guys off the bench to give us quality minutes and that was important today."

What It Means: Canisius moves up to 12-7 overall and 5-2 in MAAC play.

In the House: 2,001 on Hall of Fame Day.

He said it: "It was one of our best defensive efforts with guys understanding what we needed to do with post position help defense and keeping guys in front. We have to carry it over because we have two games this week that are going to be very, very challenging, one on the road at Rider and coming back with Niagara so we have to take them one game at a time." - Canisius coach Jim Baron

Up next: The Golden Griffins hit the road against Rider for a 7 p.m. game Friday.

---Rodney McKissic

Canisius 64, Manhattan 60

Game Analysis: The Griffs struggled with Manhattan's extended defense in the early going but made 16 of their final 30 field goal attempts, built a 13-point advantage and held on. Give a lot of credit to Jaspers coach Steve Masiello. He's had to retool the offense after losing top scorer George Beamon to a severe ankle sprain four games into the season. Freshman gunner Shane Richards stepped up with 18 points (six treys) and junior guard Michael Alvarado (18 points) challenged the Griffs inside.

Player of the Game: When Isaac Sosa's on, good things come in threes. He went 8 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 10 from behind the arc, in scoring a season-high 25 points (one off his career high). He also had four rebounds, two assists and just one of Canisius's 16 turnovers.

Best Supporting Role: Center Jordan Heath chipped in with nine points, eight boards, two steals and a block and helped loosen up the Manhattan defense in the first half.

Stat Check: Put it's two drought together and Manhattan didn't score a field goal for 18 of the 40 minutes.

Stat Check II: The Jaspers won the battle of the benches, 28-3.

Sighting: Canisius guard Alshwan Hymes was back in uniform after his indefinite suspension but did not play for the fourth straight game.

Deceptive: At 6-foot-5, 185 pounds, Shane Richards looks non-threatening. But the freshman from New York is the reigning MAAC Rookie of the Week and dumped six treys on the Griffs. He was 6 of 9 from beyond the arc.

What It Means: The Griffs are back above .500 in the MAAC (4-3) while Manhattan dropped to 3-4.

In the House: Coach Jim Baron said he feels like a Fuller Brush salesman as he tries to generate attendance. The skeptics aren't giving in easily. There were only 1,370 on hand and student representation was lean.

They Said It

Billy Baron on his father's 400th win: "I feel very, very fortunate to be in this spot, to grow up in a basketball family. It's meant a lot to me. I've understood what it is to work hard from him. I've understood what that work ethic is through my mother. And my brother has paved the way for me and guided me along the way along with my parents. I'm very blessed and I know my brother would say the same."

Jim Baron: "Manhattan's a scrappy team. That's the league we're in. Everybody's very, very scrappy, coming back at you, just like Siena down in Albany playing in front of 5,000 fans."

Manhattan coach Steve Masiello on his players: "There's no quit in them. They fight. They understand that our best days are ahead of us. We're going to return almost 90 percent of this team. Some very good players sitting out. Some very good players coming in. They know that."

Next Up: The Griffs get their rematch with Siena at 2 Saturday afternoon in the KAC. Manhattan heads up the road to Niagara.

-- Bob DiCesare

Game analysis: This was a little more like the Canisius team we've seen over the last month or so. They shot 56 percent in the first half and built a 16-point lead in the second. While Marist whittled the advantage down to six in the last few minutes, the Golden Griffins held on for a 73-64 win on Saturday.

How Canisius won: The offensive punch missing from Thursday's loss against Fairfield returned against Marist. Isaac Sosa was 5 of 11 from 3-point range and finished with a team-high 22 points while Billy Baron added 17 points and 10 assists. The Griffs were 10 of 23 from beyond the arc.

Turning Point: The 9-0 run to start the game was huge for Canisius, who struggled to find anything positive offensively from the Fairfield blow out. Baron set the tone by nailing his first two threes and everything fell into place.

Player of the Game: Sosa's stretch of four consecutive 3-pointers gave the Griffs enough breathing room to hold back hard-charging Marist at the end.

Unsung player of the game: Chris Manhertz. You'll be hard pressed to find someone who works the boards harder than the 6-6 glass master from the Bronx. He grabbed 14 rebounds and when you factor in his 18-rebound effort against the Red Foxes on Dec. 9, he averaged 16 boards in two games against Marist. He also averaged 6.5 offensive rebounds.

Key stat: Marist's bench went scoreless.

Key stat II: Canisius had 17 assists AND 17 turnovers. Not good.

Suspended: Senior guard Alshwan Hymes was been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. A source said Hymes got into an argument with an assistant coach. Hymes seemed to be working his way out of the guard rotation recently and in his last five games he was just 3 of 9 and hadn't attempted a 3-pointer in the last two. He played just three minutes on Thursday against Fairfield.

"It's a team issue, that's what it is," coach Jim Baron said. "We'll see, we're taking it day to day. It's my decision."

What It Means: Canisius and rival Niagara are tied for first place in the MAAC at 3-1. Way too early to get excited.

In the House: 1,401 at the KAC.

He said it: "He's got a will. It's hard when a kid has will. He's not excepting a box out." - Marist Chuck Martin coach on Manherz.

Up next: Canisius hits the road for last place Siena at 7 p.m. on Friday.

---Rodney McKissic

Senior guard Alshwan Hymes has been suspended indefinitely from the Canisius men's basketball team for a violation of team rules, the school announced during tonight's game against Marist.

According to a source Hymes got into an argument with an assistant coach on Saturday. Hymes wasn't on the bench for the game.

Hymes is averaging 6.3 points this season, but his playing time had been limited over the last five games. He played only three minutes of last Thursday's loss against Fairfield.

---Rodney McKissic