By Colin Richey, Assistant Sports Editor
The men’s basketball team ended a three-game losing streak with a 73–69 win over Iona on Saturday.
Senior Siem Uijtendaal led the Griffs to the win over Iona, scoring a season-high 25 points. A 12–2 run by Canisius put them up 40–19, and the team entered halftime with a 42–23 lead. The Gaels had a run of their own in the second half, scoring 11 of 12 points to tie the game 69–69. A pair of freethrows from junior Tre Dinkins and sophomore Cam Palesse gave Canisius a four-point lead, which the Griffs were able to hold onto thanks to stellar defensive play in the remaining 1:39 of play.
Dinkins finished the contest with 21 points, while Palesse recorded his first career double-double, registering 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. In addition to his season-high in points, Uijtendaal made five three-pointers and grabbed six rebounds. As a team, the Griffs shot 46.3% from the floor and 45.5% from three. All of this was without the services of juniors TJ Gadsden (upper-body) and Frank Mitchell (illness), who missed the game and are listed as day-to-day with injuries.
Uijtendaal described the success of the offense, saying “the way we played, it gave us a lot of space to operate and a lot of freedom to shoot the ball. For me, if I see my first two go in, it just gives me a lot of confidence to stay aggressive throughout the game.”
On the amount of injuries the team has piled up this year, he described the roster as “a team where everyone just wants to compete. Now that other players have the chance to play, it makes for more enthusiasm and excitement on the floor.”
Canisius travels to Poughkeepsie to face Marist on Friday Feb. 16 at 7 p.m., then to Albany to take on Siena on Sunday Feb. 18 at 2 p.m.