By: Andrew Nowel, Contributor
The Canisius Golden Griffins opened their 121st season of men’s basketball against the Arizona Wildcats this past Monday. The Wildcats entered the game ranked number 10 in the country; but with new Head Coach Jim Christian at the helm, the Griffs fought hard in the ranked battle, but came up short in the 93–64 loss.
It was a slow start for the Griffs, as the Wildcats jumped out to a quick 13–0 run before junior forward Gianni Thompson scored the first two points of the season for Canisius. Less than six minutes into the game, the Griffs were down 20–4 at the media timeout.
Simple mistakes were showing during the first half as turnovers led to Wildcat points, but Coach Christian anticipated a learning curve for the team going into the game. “Anytime you play a good team, they expose things. They exposed a lot of things for us. We’ll have to get better, and we will,” said Coach Christian in his postgame interview.
The Wildcats were running nearly a full court press on defense, forcing the Griffs to make quick decisions, and for a team that is still learning about each other, it created forced passes and kept the Griffs from gaining momentum. Arizona also utilized the height of sophomore center Motiejus Krivas with his seven foot two build to gain position inside the paint.
The result of a difficult first half for the Griffs was an Arizona lead of 52–30 at halftime. The Wildcats earned 23 rebounds, four steals, and shot 46% in the first half, while Canisius turned over the ball 10 times. The Griffs did shoot 40% from the field and shot six for eight from free throw range, but gave the Wildcats 18 free throw opportunities, 13 of which were knocked down.
The Griffs came out of the half with the momentum that they carried into the rest of the game, going on a 6–0 run that continued through the first media timeout. Fifth-year guard Caleb Love ended the Canisius run, scoring his 13th point of the game for the Wildcats. Love finished with 17 points, four rebounds, and added in six assists throughout the game as well. He helped the Wildcats to a 94–63 victory for Arizona. Griffs junior guard Paul McMillan IV shined in his Canisius debut with 20 points, four rebounds and three assists – a positive sign for the Griffs this season.
Canisius begins the season 0–1, and will return to the Koessler Athletic Center to open their home schedule on Saturday, Nov. 9, as they host Little Three rival Saint Bonaventure at 4 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Anthony Militello
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