Canisius scored the first bucket of the game and held that lead for the first four minutes and twenty seconds. The game was tight throughout the first half as junior guard Harold Washington scored 8 of Canisius’ first 10 points. With both teams in a zone defense, getting the ball inside was a struggle.
South Dakota went on a run after that as they increased their lead to six. After both teams traded buckets for the next few minutes, a one handed baseline slam by Washington and three straight Aslhwan Hymes three pointers got the Griffs to within one at 26-25. That did not last long as South Dakota’s Louie Krogman nailed a long three pointer with 6.0 seconds left to send the Coyotes into the break up four, 29-25.
Krogman, who finished just shy of a triple double with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists, hit three triples in the first and finished with five in the game.
The poor shooting of the Griffs continued in the second half as they say South Dakota stretch that four point lead into nine very quickly as they opened the second half with a 7-2 run. “We needed to prevent them from making shots” said Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta. “We weren’t able to do that.”
The Coyotes of South Dakota stretched their lead to as many as 15 before a Canisius run brought that lead down to just six. At this point, the small bench of the Griffs started to take its toll as they were forced to move into man to man defense which caused which caused forwards Chris Manhertz (8 points, 10 rebounds) and Josiah Heath to get into foul trouble.
The great shooting for South Dakota continued after that run as they were easily able to take advantage of the tired Canisius players and stretch their lead back up to 16. A fast break slam by Charlie Westbrook sealed the deal with 40 seconds left.
South Dakota came in shooting only 26% from long distance this year but improved that by shooting over 55% in this game. Krogman said after the game “I wanted to come out aggressive and try and find my shot. I got some open looks and was fortunate enough to knock them down.”
Getting off to good starts like the Coyotes were able to do in this one have not been so easy this season. Head coach Dave Boots said “We’ve had some poor starts… tonight we were able to get off to an ok start.” When asked about what his message was to his team as Canisius started to creep back into the game, Boots said his team was ready. “I told them they got to keep playing and make some defensive plays. I’m proud of our kids for answering.”
“Everything they shot went in unfortunately,” said Parrotta said. “They got momentum from making shots and I think that zapped our energy.”
The Golden Griffins were without standout guard Gabby Belardo. He is sidelined with a lower back injury that has been a problem for him over the past week. Coach Parrotta said that it was a coaching decision for him to sit and rest for not only this game but this upcoming game Saturday against Saint Bonaventure. “He has been to the doctor, acupuncture, chiropractor three times a day… every time we put him in when he’s not ready, it just sets him back a couple of days.” Coach Parrotta does expect Belardo to play after this weekend in Canisius’ next game when the team will travel to South Dakota to take on the Coyotes on their home floor.
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