By Aidan Joly, Editor-in-Chief
The Griffs’ road woes continued as they fell to Siena in Albany on Tuesday night, 73–65.
Things looked good at the beginning as the Griffs scored eight of the game’s first 10 points, but that was followed by a 10–0 Siena run that gave the Saints a 12–8 lead six minutes in. Canisius never got the lead back after that, only tying the game on one occasion in the early parts of the second half.
The theme was that each time the Griffs got close, Siena went on a run to pull away. That’s what they did after Canisius tied the game less than three minutes into the second half after they trailed by five (32–27) at the break. To that run, Siena went on a 7–1 run that lasted just under a minute to give themselves the lead again.
The Griffs cut it to three with 10 minutes left, but they were never able to get any closer. The defense struggled as Siena shot an even 50% from the field on the night, highlighted by a 24-point, 13-rebound performance from Anthony Gaines, both of which were game highs.
The Griffs also struggled from the freethrow line, going just 7–14 on the night and missing some easy shots in general.
“We missed too many layups. We had at least three turnovers on layup opportunities,” Canisius head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “Add in the fact we were 7–14 from the foul line, we probably gave away close to 30 points tonight. When you give away points and have a bunch of empty possessions, you’re just providing your opponent with a cushion.”
Despite the loss, the Griffs only turned the ball over seven times to Siena’s 16, while they also won the rebounding battle 37–30, but it was the empty possessions that did them in.
“I think we were more mentally fatigued than anything,” Witherspoon said.
Jordan Henderson had 18 points to lead the Griffs, while Armon Harried scored 11. Xzavier Long chipped eight points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
Following the loss, the Griffs fell to 3–8 in MAAC play and 7–15 overall ahead of a two-game homestand this weekend against league-leading Iona on Friday, who sits at 10–0 in league play, followed by Manhattan on Sunday. It will be a brief respite from the road, in which the Griffs have gone 0–12 in games away from home this season.
“We’ll watch this film and get back to work,” Witherspoon said. “That’s what we need to do.”
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