By Andrew Nowel, Contributor
With many things to be grateful for, the Canisius men’s basketball team headed down to the Pittsburgh area to take on Robert Morris on Wednesday, Nov. 27. After a well-fought battle the Griffs dropped their eighth game of the season, falling to 0–8 this season.
The Griffs battled in the early part of the game and throughout the first half, ending with a 33–31 lead at halftime. Sophomore Dylan Godfrey led the team with 11 points in the first half, totaling 18 in the game. With Godfrey creating chances in the paint, and sophomore Anthony Benard putting up a career-high 11 points in the game, the Griffs controlled the first half. Head Coach Jim Christian was very happy with this as it was the first time this season the Griffs had the lead at the break.
In the first 2:20 of the second half, Robert Morris went on a 13–2 run to erase any hope that the Griffs had. With a comfortable 49–39 lead, the Colonials controlled the rest of the game, holding onto the lead until the final buzzer sounded. Canisius was able to get as close as within three, but the Colonials made their free throws to seal the 72–64 victory. The Griffs dropped to 0–8 on the season, their first victory still eluding them in the Jim Christian era. After the game, Coach Christian talked about the improved effort from his players despite the loss, and the growth that he and his coaching staff have been looking for.
“Huge progress today, especially defensively,” Coach Christian remarked postgame. “For about 36 minutes, we were tougher, grimier, and competed a little better on the backboard. [Going forward], the team realizes that effort isn’t enough, you have to execute and make plays.”
The Griffs struggled from beyond the arc as they shot 7–26 from three-point range. Senior guard Tana Kopa shot 3–11 from the field and 2–9 from three-point range, an off night for the veteran shooter.
Canisius has a long break in between games, but will return to the court this week to begin MAAC play against Merrimack and Siena at home, just their third and fourth home games of the season thus far. “The last couple of days we’ve had some good practices,” said Coach Christian. “They understand what is important here as we have two home games in the conference coming up and we have to get off to a good start [in conference play].”
With MAAC play finally here, the Griffs have a chance to start fresh with a 0–0 conference record. Tipoff against Merrimack on Friday is at 7 p.m. at the Koessler Athletic Center, while Sunday’s match against Siena is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
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