The final chapter in Reggie Witherspoon’s first year as head coach of the Canisius College Golden Griffins may not yet be written, but their run toward a MAAC title is. Continue reading “Canisius Hopeful For Postseason Opportunity”
In the opening round of last year’s MAAC tournament, then-junior Phil Valenti poured in a career-high 33 points as the Golden Griffins survived a triple-overtime marathon against local rival Niagara. This time around, it was again Valenti who keyed the Griffs’ opening-round victory, a 77-73 win over Marist. Continue reading “Locked-In Valenti Leads Canisius Into Quarterfinal Clash With Saint Peter’s”
The Canisius Golden Griffins held control of a MAAC tournament first round bye up until the final day of the regular season, but a three-game slide capped by a 72-65 loss to Saint Peter’s on the final day of the regular season culminated in first-year head coach Reggie Witherspoon’s squad falling into Thursday’s slate of games. Continue reading “MAAC Tournament Primer: Canisius”
Tom Moore stood in front of the podium after Friday night’s 95-90 win over Canisius with a smile on his face. Yes, winning is a lot more fun than losing (expert analysis), and the Bobcats are threatening to move into the top half of the MAAC with a 5-4 record, but there was more to it than that.
Quinnipiac shot 58.9% from the field and posted a 66.7 eFG% (8-13 from three-point range), and while there is plenty to work on defensively and 19 turnovers is a bit alarming, having a team that can make shots makes a coach’s life so much less stressful. Moore, of course, could attest to that as much as anyone, because there were many, many nights last season where he stood in front of that same podium and tried to explain why his offense wasn’t working and how hard he and his staff were going to try to fix it.
It was painful to watch, and Moore’s words couldn’t hide how difficult to coach it was on a daily basis, which isn’t meant to disrespect his team, which obviously included talented senior Gio McLean, but it just wasn’t working.
Continue reading “Quinnipiac 95, Canisius 90: Life Easier When Shots Go In”
Canisius could have been forgiven for being blown out by Iona. They weren’t the first, and surely aren’t the last – even if the Gaels do not quite look like their dominant selves this season – to be buried in a flurry of three-pointers at the Hynes Center.
First-year coach, team picked closer to the bottom of the MAAC than the top. Not that big a deal, right?
But Reggie Witherspoon and the Golden Griffins left New Rochelle Sunday night with a bad taste in their mouths. Despite the coaching change, they’re a largely veteran outfit and despite what the experts or anybody else thinks, feel they’re a contender for the MAAC title.
Tuesday night, they set out to prove it, and – despite digging an early 8-0 hole – were dominant in almost facet in rolling to a 86-72 victory at Webster Bank Arena.
Continue reading “Canisius 86, Fairfield 72: Griffs Might Have Staying Power”
Canisius erased a 15 point second half deficit to edge Manhattan 77-76 Friday night at Draddy Gymnasium in Riverdale, NY. Continue reading “Canisius Stuns Manhattan In MAAC Opener”
Only five of the 16 players named to the All-MAAC teams at the end of last season will not make a return to the court. With plenty of young talent yet to reach their full potential, along with some fresh new faces by way of recruits and transfers, and there is sure to be a fight to secure those limited all-conference spots come March. Continue reading “MAAC 2016-17 Season Preview: All-MAAC Teams”
This season may very well be a big one for the MAAC. Many of the league’s most talented players return, including the reigning Player of the Year, Monmouth’s Justin Robinson. Continue reading “MAAC 2016-17 Season Preview: Team Rankings”
ALBANY, N.Y. – Canisius probably was extremely fortunate in the end, playing sporadic defense and failing to put away an undermanned Niagara team on numerous occasions, but deserve’s got nothing to do with it in March, and it will be the No. 7 Griffins that advance to play second-seeded Iona Friday night, as they survived No. 10 Niagara 102-97 in triple overtime.
Phil Valenti scored 33 points and added nine rebounds, including going 14-18 at the line, but he missed two free throws that might have given the Griffins (14-18) the win in the second overtime.
Continue reading “Canisius 102, Niagara 97 (3OT): Griffins Survive In Thriller”
HAMDEN, Conn. – Tom Moore threw everything, including the kitchen sink in the form of a 1-3-1 at Canisius Sunday afternoon, but in the end, the story was the same, lots of missed shots in a frustrating 63-53 defeat, the Bobcats’ third straight defeat and sixth in seven games.
“We’re stuck in it,” Moore said. “More stuck in it than any other Quinnipiac team I’ve had here. We have resilient, tough kids, who are hurt and bruised by this offensive funk. But we have to keep working at it and we’ll eventually find ways to put a better offensive team on the floor.”
Continue reading “Canisius 63, Quinnipiac 53: Shooting Woes Continue For Bobcats”
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