Mount Saint Mary’s Holds Off Canisius

Emmitsburg Maryland

Canisius and Mount Saint Mary’s took the court Friday night in Knott Arena for the resumption of MAAC play. Both teams entered the night 1-1 in conference after playing a pair of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference games in early December.

Both teams traded the lead early on, but Mount Saint Mary’s settled into their offensive execution midway through the first half. Three pointers on three straight trips down the floor for Mount Saint Mary’s extended the Mountaineers lead to ten which was the largest of the night to date.

Canisius countered with a 7-2 run from the under eight to the under four media timeout. The Golden Griffins did the majority of their work from inside the arc and from the free throw line. Canisius scored 16 points in the paint and added eight free throws. At halftime Mount Saint Mary’s held a slim 37-34 lead.

The Mount kept a slim lead over the visitors from Buffalo for most of the beginning of the second half. Valparaiso transfer Cam Palessee tied up the game with a Golden Griffins three pointer at the 11:29 mark. Mount Saint Mary’s answered with a fast paced 9-2 run and forced a Reggie Witherspoon timeout.

Canisius kept hanging around as the second half progressed. When Canisius switched to a zone defensively in the final minutes Mount Saint Mary’s struggled to get the ball inside. The second time down the court facing the zone Dakota Leffew found Jedy Cordillia with a nice pass from the top of the key to the baseline. Mount Saint Mary’s coach Dan Engelstad said after the game they had not practiced against the one three one zone very much, but he was impressed with his guard’s play, and their passing in general against it.

The Dakota Leffew hot free throws in the closing seconds to secure the Mountaineers 74-69 victory. Both teams hit the road and will play games in the Garden State next. Mount Saint Mary’s heads to Jersey City to take on the Saint Peter’s Peacocks while Canisius continuities their weekend road trip at Rider.