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Canisius University Athletics

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Tre Dinkins brings the ball up the floor in a road game at Rider Jan. 7, 2024.
Dave Schofield '71
76
Canisius Canis 6-8,1-3 MAAC
79
Winner Rider Rider 4-11,1-3 MAAC
Canisius Canis
6-8,1-3 MAAC
76
Final
79
Rider Rider
4-11,1-3 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Canisius Canis 25 40 11 76
Rider Rider 31 34 14 79

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Falls to Rider in Overtime

Despite a career-high 30 points from junior Tre Dinkins and a career-best 21 rebounds from junior Frank Mitchell, the Canisius men's basketball team fell to Rider in overtime by the score of 79-76 in MAAC men's basketball action Sunday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium in Lawrenceville, N.J.
 
The win snapped Rider's three-game losing skid and improved the Broncs to 4-11 overall and 1-3 in MAAC play, while the Golden Griffins fell to 6-8 overall and 1-3 in league action with their fourth-straight defeat.
 
Dinkins, who scored 26 of his 30 points in the second half and overtime, finished the day by going 11-for-21 from the field, with six of those makes coming from 3-point land. Mitchell recorded his MAAC-leading seventh double-double of the year by adding 12 points to his 21-rebound performance. He also had three assists and three steals in the losing effort. Senior Siem Uijtendaal had 15 points and a team-high five assists for the Griffs, who shot 42.4 percent from the floor and made 11 3-pointers, but connected on just 9-of-25 tosses from the free-throw line, with six of those misses coming in the final 6:24 of game action through the end of regulation and the overtime period.
 
MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Mervin James led five Rider players with double-figures in the scoring column with his team-high 21 points. Corey McKeithan scored 11 points and dished out six assists in the win for Rider, and his only 3-point field goal make of the day with 10.9 seconds left in regulation time tied the game at 65-65, forcing the overtime session.
 
GAME RECAP
The Griffs trailed Rider 31-25 at halftime after the Broncs made five 3-pointers in the game's opening half, and Canisius hit just 1-of-12 tries from behind the 3-point arc in the opening 20:00 of play. In the second half, a 3-point make by T.J. Weeks Jr., with 14:05 put the Broncs up a dozen at 42-30. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Uijtendaal and Dinkins cut the Rider lead to 42-36, but the Broncs were able to keep the Griffs at arm's-length for the next 5:00 of game action before the Blue and Gold was able to make a run and take its first lead of the game since the opening moments of the contest.
 
Trailing 50-43 with 8:38 left to on the clock, the Griffs outscored the Broncs 13-6 over the game's next 4:11 to knot the game at 56-56. The Griffs' scoring run continued, and back-to-back 3-point field goals in the span of 19 seconds by sophomore Cam Palesse put the Griffs up 64-58 with 2:25 left in regulation time. Canisius was up 65-62 with 29.4 seconds left to play but Rider tied the game with 10.9 seconds left on McKeithan's 3-pointer from the left-side of the floor. Canisius had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Dinkins' floater with less than two seconds remaining banged off the side of the rim, sending the game to an extra session.
 
In overtime, Rider jumped out to a 69-65 lead just 51 seconds into the stanza, but a three-ball and a made free-throw by Dinkins tied the game at 69-69 with 1:57 left on the clock. That was as close as the Griffs would get for the remainder of the contest, however, as the Broncs scored 10 of the game's final 14 points to secure the victory.
 
HEAD COACH REGGIE WITHERPSPOON'S POSTGAME COMMENTS
"This is an extremely frustrating loss for us here today. This one is tough to swallow. We had our chances, more than our fair share, honestly, but going 9-for-25 from the free-throw line is just not good enough, obviously."
 
"We wanted a quicker pace here today, but we ended up with two guys having the play the entire second half and overtime. I loved the looks we got on offense. We had lay-ups. We had wide-open threes. We made one three in the first half, but you have to keep taking those shots because if you start turning them down, then you're forcing bad shots and that's never a good recipe for succeed."
 
"We just need to keep fighting as a group. That's pretty much all we can do. We need to stick together and keep working to move on from this and move this thing forward."
 
GAME NOTES
• Sunday marked the 48th all-time meeting between these two programs in a series that dates back to the 1920-30 season. Rider leads the series by a count of 41-17.
• Sunday was the fourth overtime game in series history, with each team winning two of those overtime contests. It also stands as the 144th overtime game in program history.
• Nine of the last 12 games, and six of the last seven contests between the Griffs and the Broncs have been decided by three points or less.
• The 30-point effort by Dinkins stands as the first 30-point performance on the road for a Canisius player since Majesty Brandon scored 30 points in a road loss at Siena Dec. 23, 2019. He is the seventh player in the MAAC to score 30-or more points in a game this season.
• Mitchell's 21 rebounds are the most for a Canisius player since Chris Gadley had 25 rebounds at Maine on Dec. 30, 2008.
• Mitchell is just the eighth Division I player in the country to record 21-or more rebounds in a game this season. His 21 boards are the most for a MAAC player since former Quinnipiac forward Kevin Marfo grabbed 21 rebounds against Monmouth on Jan. 12, 2020.
• Uijtendaal extended his streak of scoring 10-or more points in a game to 13-straight games.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius, which has not played a home game since Dec. 6, will be back at the Koessler Athletic Center Jan. 12 when the Griffs play host to Siena on "Youth Basketball Night". Game time is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The Canisius radio will be available for free through the Golden Griffin Broadcast Network at GoGriffs.com, with the M&T Bank Pregame Show starting at 6:40 p.m.
 
For tickets to the Siena game, or for any other home Canisius basketball game, call the ticket office at (716) 888-TIXX, or buy online by clicking HERE.
 
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