Men’s basketball eliminated from tournament contention

By Jase May, Sports Reporter

With the 2025-26 men’s basketball season coming to a close, the Golden Griffins stare down another season without an appearance in the MAAC Championships.

Canisius was eliminated on Feb. 15 as a consequence of a loss to Manhattan and the Rider Broncs losing to Sacred Heart, a game which also eliminated Rider from contention. This marks Canisius’ second consecutive year without a tournament appearance.

The Golden Griffins began their season on Nov. 3 and were having an average season until midway through January. Beginning with a loss to Iona on Jan. 11, Canisius slid into a 10-game losing streak, turning their 3–3 conference record into a 3–13 conference record.  

As it stands now, Canisius sits at a record of 9–20, with a 4–14 record in conference play. With half of the losses coming in one tough stretch of season, the question lingers: what happened in that 10-game stretch that sent the Griffs from .500 to eliminated before season's end?

One important factor was the team’s injuries, the most prevalent being that of junior guard Anthony Benard. Benard suffered a shoulder injury in practice on Jan. 21 and has yet to return to the court.

However, the main culprit appears to be the team’s struggle to maintain leads during this stretch. Although Canisius lost 10 straight games, they took each game to the limit. Of the 10 games, Canisius had a second quarter tie or lead in seven of them, keeping the matchups very close. In some instances, Canisius clawed their way back from a significant deficit and took the lead only to lose the game by a few points.  

The game against Manhattan is a prime example of this. The second half saw Canisius go on a 27–5 run, changing the score from 43–27 Manhattan to 54–48 Canisius with 8:30 left.

Following the loss to the Jaspers, Head Coach Jim Christian identified the pattern. “We battle back every time, we’ve gotta stop digging those holes for ourselves.”  

Canisius will play their final game of the season at the Koessler Athletic Center on Sunday March 1 against Quinnipiac.

Photo courtesy of Madi Burton