Men’s Basketball’s turnovers prove costly in road defeat

By Ryan Patota, Sports Reporter

The Canisius men’s basketball team was riding a confidence boost after getting a close home victory against Mercyhurst 58–55 last Wednesday evening. This past Monday, the team hit the road for a non-conference matchup in North Carolina to face the High Point Panthers. Last season, the Panthers won the Big South conference title to secure a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. They had eight returning players from that team for this season. Canisius knew they would have their work cut out for them, entering a hostile environment on the road, and the flaws showed throughout the game. 

The turnovers would be the biggest flaw for the Griffs as Canisius turned the ball over 21 times in the game, even with 15 steals throughout the contest. High Point took advantage of the turnovers, scoring 23 points off the takeaways in the 93–50 loss. 

The Panthers took advantage of Canisius missed shots and went on a roll early in the first half, never looking back as they outscored the Griffs 46–17 in the first half. The Panthers also outscored the Griffs in points in the paint 22–2. Overall, Canisius struggled shooting the ball as they only converted 31% from the field while the Panthers shot well in the game, shooting 58% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc.  

The Griffs did have some positives to come out of the game as they continued to get contributions from their new incoming players. Freshman guard Chris Kumu led the team with nine points, four rebounds and two steals. The team did find some consistency from the rebounding aspect as they outrebounded High Point 35–34.  

Canisius Head Coach Jim Christian was visibly frustrated after the team’s performance against High Point, explaining, “It was incredibly disappointing for the team and myself that we didn't come out from the start and compete. We need to take this game to regroup and find a way to bounce back going forward with the next batch of games at home.” 

The Griffs fall to 2–3 with the loss, but the team will return to the Koessler Athletic Center where they have both wins this season. They start a three-game homestand beginning this weekend for the Queen City Classic as they will play against UMES on Friday evening, starting at 7 p.m., and then on Sunday with tip off beginning at 1 p.m. against Binghamton.