By Colin Richey, Assistant Sports Editor
The Canisius men’s basketball team won their third game in a row when they defeated Mount St. Mary’s on Friday 61–56, but began a two game losing streak after falling to Rider 65–61 on Sunday and Fairfield 74–62 on Thursday,
Canisius led Mount St. Mary’s until 8:47 in the second half, when a 9–0 run gave the Mountaineers a 51–48 lead. Down by three points with just under five minutes to play, the Griffs outscored the Mountaineers 10–2 to secure the victory. Sophomore Devean Williams dropped a career-high 20 points, while adding five rebounds and three assists. Junior Tre Dinkins scored 16 points and a game-high six assists, while junior Frank Mitchell added a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. This was the program’s first ever in against Mount St. Mary’s.
Rider notched their sixth straight win, defeating Canisius 65–61. Canisius was held to a shooting percentage of just 35.5% in the first half, trailing 34–28 at halftime. They tied the game at 47–47 thanks to a 16–8 run in the second half. The Broncs used an 11-2 run to pull away from the Griffs to earn the win.. Junior TJ Gadsden scored a game-high 16 points, while adding seven rebounds and a season-high three blocked shots. Williams contributed 14 points and four assists, while Dinkins generated 11 points and four assists.
The Stags led by just three points with 3:16 left in the first half, but that would be as close as the Griffs came to tying the game. Canisius was outscored 31–22 in the first half, and 43–40 in the second half. Mitchell registered a team-high 12 points and added 11 rebounds, his MAAC-leading 14th double-double of the season. This is the most for a Canisius player in a single-season since Darren Fenn recorded 18 during the 1999–00 season. Mitchell now sits at 316 rebounds for the season, which ranks fifth most in a single season in program history.
The Griffs close out their regular season traveling to Riverdale, New York to take on Manhattan on Sat. March 9 at 4 p.m.