Offense Struggles in Canisius Loss

In a game where the defense of the Canisius Golden Griffins played lock down defense, the offense couldn't much to fall as they were held to only 45 points in their loss to Loyola Thursday night.

Canisius came into the game trying to continue their momentum from their previous win at South Dakota. In that game they put up 90 points but were only to get half of that against Loyola.

The first half was highlighted by poor shooting and strong inside defensive presence. Canisius for most of the half but trailed 20-18 at the break. Forward Chris Manhertz had 8 rebounds in the first half for the Griffs and ended with 13 total for the game. While Canisius was only able to muster 38% from the floor in the first half, they held Loyola to 31%.

Midway through the second half, junior guard Gabby Belardo hit a three to give the Griffs a four point lead at 36-32 but that was quickly answered by a 10-0 run by Loyola. "We couldn't get separation during that time" said head coach Tom Parrotta. "Had we made some shots... we could have had a 6 or 8 point lead at the half... We were getting good shots."

Loyola's defense was very active during this game as they switched defenses quite often but primarily used the 1-3-1 zone. It was tough for Canisius to get the ball inside as they were outscored in the paint 30-20.

Another telling stat was the points off of turnovers. The Griffs turned the ball over 10 times in the first half and finished with 14. They forced 12 turnover but were only able to cash in with 5 points while Loyola created 18 points off of turnovers.

Belardo, along with fellow guard Harold Washington both had 10 points to lead the Griffs. Belardo is still coming off of his back injury and Parrotta said that he was only at about "60 or 65 percent." When I asked Gabby how he felt getting acclimated back into the rotation he told me that whether he plays 10 or 40 minutes he's always going to feel comfortable with his game. "My role has changed right now but whenever coach puts me in the game I'm going to play as hard as I can for as long as I can."

Belardo, early in the second half missed three straight three pointers in a ten second span which seemed to really zap the energy from the team and diminish any possibility of a comeback that they had left.

Ben Averkamp led Loyola with 22 points on 10-18 from the floor. Walt Gibler also added 12 rebounds (6 offensive) for the Ramblers. "Canisius was playing extremely hard, especially with theur guard play," said, head coach Porter Moser. "I was really proud of my guys."

Moser also said of Canisius forward Chris Manhertz, "He's as physical as we've seen this year, and we've played Illinois, Kansas State, and DePaul. He's extremely physical."

The Griffs will play next Wednesday the 28th at the Koessler Athletic Center against Binghamton. They drop to 2-9 on the season and must get their game in shape soon if they expect to compete at a high level in the MAAC.