Box Score BUFFALO, N.Y. – Canisius scored 16 of the final 18 points in overtime to down Saint Peter's 77-65 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball action on Thursday.
Yvon Raymond (Maplewood, N.J./Nia Prep) tied the game at 61 with a 19.2 seconds left in regulation and the Peacocks had a chance to win the game at the buzzer. A Golden Griffins' (18-11, 11-6 MAAC) turnover in the final five seconds was caused by senior Blaise Ffrench (Springfield Gardens, N.Y./UTEP), who then drove the court and had his jumper bounce off the front of the rim and out to send the game to overtime. Raymond scored the opening basket in the extra session at 4:30 for the Peacocks (9-19, 3-14 MAAC), but Canisius scored the next six points and 16 of the final 18 points to earn the victory.
Desi Washington (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) fueled Saint Peter's with 18 points. Raymond added 16 points and eight rebounds while Darius Conley (Newport News, Va./Warick) added 14 points in the loss.
"It was a great basketball game and competitive spirit by both teams," said head coach
John Dunne. "We had a great fight by our guys tonight."
Billy Baron powered the Golden Griffins with 23 points while Harold Washington added 22 points. Chris Manhertz and Isaac Sosa each chipped in 12 points in the winning effort.
In a seesaw battle between the two teams where neither team could take more than a two-possession lead, the Golden Griffins hit-back-to-back 3-balls in the first 90 seconds of overtime and went on to earn the season sweep against the Peacocks.
Raymond, who sent the game to overtime on a 3-pointer with 19.2 seconds left, gave Saint Peter's its only lead in the extra session on a layup 30 seconds in the overtime.
Harold Washington and Sosa then drained consecutive treys at 4:11 and 3:29 to give Canisius the lead for good at 67-63. After Raymond answered for the Peacocks with a basket in the paint at 3:07 to trim the margin to 67-65, the Golden Griffins scored the final 10 points of the night powered by eight points from Baron.
Saint Peter's started the game in the first half with a 7-2 run in the first four minutes thanks to five points from Conley. Canisius used a 6-0 run to tie the game at 8.
With the score tied at 11, Raymond and Elias Desport (Stockholm, Sweden/Solna Gymnasium) each scored four points in an 8-2 spurt to give the Peacocks a 19-13 edge with 11:15 left in the first stanza only to see the Golden Griffins answer with seven unanswered points to take a 20-19 edge with 6:38 left in the first half.
The two teams traded points over the next six minutes and it appeared that Baron would give Canisius the lead at halftime on a jumper with 15 seconds left, but Desi Washington had other ideas and drained a 3-ball with two seconds left to give Saint Peter's a 29-28 edge going into the locker room.
The second half was a seesaw battle with the two teams trading the advantage. Canisius grabbed a 38-34 lead with 16:38 left, but a pair of Conley layups tied the game at 38.
With the score tied at 44, the Peacocks scored eight of the next 12 points to grab a 52-48 lead with 10:24 left. Raymond momentarily gave Saint Peter's a 46-44 lead on a layup, but Harold Washington reclaimed the edge for the Golden Griffins with a trey 26 seconds later. Desi Washington returned the favor with a 3-ball of his own at 11:11 for a two-point edge. After Baron hit the backend of two free throws at 10:51, Chazz Patterson (Brown Mill, N.J./Trenton Catholic) nailed a triple at 10:24 for the 52-48 lead.
Canisius again came back to even the score at 52 before the Peacocks went on a 6-1 run to take a 58-53 edge. Desi Washington started this spurt with a steal and fast-break layup at 7:45. After Manhertz hit 1 of 2 at the line, Conley converted the front end of two charity tosses at 5:37 and Ffrench nailed a 3-ball at 5:08 for the five-point advantage.
The Golden Griffins then scored the next eight points to take a 61-58 lead with 1:21left. Manhetz started the rally with a traditional 3-point play at 4:47 before Baron made two at the line to tie the game at 58 with 4:15 on the clock. After Chris Burke (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro)had a 3-pointer rim in and out with 1:43 left, Baron gave Canisius a 61-58 edge on a trey with 81 seconds remaining. Raymond then sent the game to OT with a trey at 19.2, but Canisius came away with the victory.
"Niagara will be a hard fought and a hard played game and we will be up for the challenge on Saturday," said Dunne.
Conley moved into second place in program history in career games played (120) and can move into fourth place in games started if he starts on Saturday with 109 starts.
Saint Peter's returns to action on Saturday in the regular season finale at Niagara. Game time is 3 p.m.
