Men’s basketball falls in Battle of the Bridge, playoff chances cut slim

By Andrew Nowel, Sports Layout Editor & Assistant Copy Editor

A heartbreaking overtime loss last Friday and a frustrating defeat on Sunday for the men’s basketball team led into Tuesday’s Battle of the Bridge rematch with the Niagara Purple Eagles in Lewiston, N.Y. A run early in the second half by the Purple Eagles pushed them to the 65–56 victory over the Griffs. With only six games left and a tall mountain to climb, Canisius is slowly falling out of reach of playoff basketball.

The pressure building and losses piling up set the tone for Tuesday’s rematch of the Battle of the Bridge. A loss by five only three weeks earlier by the Griffs pushed them into a must-win scenario on the road in Lewiston. Niagara’s start of a 10–2 run to begin the game knocked the wind out of the Griffs and they never recovered. Even with tying the game in the second half at 45, Canisius fell apart and the Purple Eagles went on a 16–0 run, eventually taking the game by a nine-point margin. Defeated, head coach Jim Christian had few words about the second half collapse. “It’s been kind of the thing for us, we get to the point of its winning time and we break,” said Christian. 

With another loss added and time slipping away, the Griffs headed for Hamden, Conn. where the Quinnipiac Bobcats were waiting. However, the game slipped away early once again, and the Bobcats turned a 7–0 run into a 10-point halftime lead before pulling away for the victory. Even with the Griffs crawling back at the end, the buzzer sounded with a 75–60 win for the Bobcats. 

A ninth straight loss for Canisius has put the Griffs in a detrimental position for the MAAC. Now two games back of the Manhattan Jaspers with six remaining games for the final spot in the tournament, the deciding factor may come next week when the Jaspers come to Buffalo to face the Griffs. Time is running out, but Christian and his team aren’t ready to give up quite yet.

Photo courtesy of @Griffs_MBB