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Devean Williams drives to the basket in the first half of Canisius' MAAC Tournament game against Mount St. Mary's on March 12, 2024 in Atlantic City, N.J.
Anthony Militello
77
Winner Canisius Canis 14-17,8-12 MAAC
61
Mount St. Mary's MSM 13-19,9-11 MAAC
Winner
Canisius Canis
14-17,8-12 MAAC
77
Final
61
Mount St. Mary's MSM
13-19,9-11 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius Canis 39 38 77
Mount St. Mary's MSM 29 32 61

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Controls Mount St. Mary’s in MAAC Tournament Victory

Canisius junior Tre Dinkins scored a team-high 24 points, sophomore Cam Palesse added a career-high 19 points and fellow sophomore Devean Williams chipped in 12 points to help lead the ninth-seeded Golden Griffins to a 77-61 win over No. 8 seed Mount St. Mary's Tuesday night in the opening round of the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men's Basketball Championship at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
 
The win, Canisius's second straight and the team's fifth win in its last seven outings, improved the Blue and Gold to 14-17 on the year. The victory also allows Canisius to advance to the quarterfinal round of the MAAC Tournament, where the Griffs will take on top-seed Quinnipiac Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. The loss ends Mount St. Mary's season. The Mountaineers went 13-19 on the year.
 
Dinkins scored his 24 points after he went 10-for-21 from the field, highlighted by four makes from 3-point land, and he also added four assists and three rebounds to his final stat line. Just days after scoring 16 points at Manhattan, Palesse came back and scored a career-high 19 in the win over the Mount, with 14 of those points coming after halftime. Williams extended his streak of games scoring in double-figures to six with his 12 points. He also added three assists to the winning cause, as the Griffs closed out the night with 15 assists on 34-made field goals. For the game, Canisius shot 58.8 percent from the field, made 5-of-18 tries from 3-point land and hit 4-of-7 tries from the free-throw line. Canisius also out-rebounded Mount St. Mary's by a 35-27 clip, highlighted by junior Frank Mitchell's game-high 16 rebounds, which ties the program record for rebounds by a Canisius player in a MAAC Tournament game
 
For the Mount, 2024 MAAC Rookie of the Year De'Shayne Montgomery scored a game-high 26 points, while All-MAAC First Team selection Dakota Laffew added 23 points, five rebounds and four assists to the Mountaineers' efforts. Those were the only two players on Mount St. Mary's roster that scored more than eight points on the night.
 
GAME RECAP
Dinkins, an All-MAAC Third Team selection, scored the game's first points on a 3-point field goal just 28 seconds into the contest, and the Griffs never looked back, as the Blue and Gold led the game wire-to-wire. Canisius took its first double-digit lead of the night at 24-14 midway through the opening half on a pull-up jumper in the paint by graduate student Davon Ware. Moments later, Dinkins' step-back jumper from just outside the lane pushed the Griffs' cushion to 14 points at 28-14 with 7:48 left before halftime.
 
Mount St. Mary's made a push and cut the Griffs' advantage to just six points with 2:32 left in the first half thanks to a 7-0 run over the span of 2:39, but a deep 3-pointer by Dinkins and a dunk from sophomore Youri Fritz in the closing seconds of the opening stanza sent the Blue and Gold into the locker room at halftime up 39-29.
 
In the second half, Mount St. Mary's was never able to trim the Griffs' lead into single-digits, as the Blue and Gold shot 50.0 percent (16-for-32) from the field in the game's final 20:00 of play. A bucket by Montgomery off a Canisius turnover with 8:46 remaining in the contest
 
HEAD COACH REGGIE WITHERPSPOON'S POSTGAME COMMENTS  
GAME NOTES
• Tuesday marked the seventh meeting between these two schools, and it was the sixth game between Canisius and Mount St. Mary's in the last 15 months. Mount St. Mary's leads the all-time series 5-2, but the Griffs have won two straight.
• Tuesday's 16-point win for the Griffs marks the first time a team in this series won a game by more than five points.
• Tuesday's win snapped Canisius' five game losing streak in the MAAC Tournament, which dated back to the semifinal round of the 2019 event in Albany, N.Y.
• Seven of the eight Griffs that played on Tuesday scored at least two points and had an assist.
• Canisius set a program record for best team field goal percentage in a MAAC Tournament game by shooting 54.8 percent from the floor on Tuesday. The previous record was 53.3 percent, set March 6, 2009 against Loyola (Md.).
• Dinkins, who has now scored in double-figures in a career-best nine consecutive games, went over the 20-point mark in a game for the sixth time this season.
• Palesse's 19-point performance gives him double-figures in the scoring column in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
• Fritz grabbed seven rebounds in the win – the most rebounds for him in a contest since he had seven boards at Marist Feb. 16.
• Mitchell's 16 rebounds tied the school record for rebounds in a MAAC Tournament game by a Griff. Mitchell now shares that record with former Griff Harry Seymour had 16 boards against Fairfield on March 1, 1991.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius returns to action on Wednesday night when the Griffs take part in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men's Basketball Championship tournament at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Canisius will square off against No. 1 seed Quinnipiac, with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and the Griffs' radio call can be heard for free through the Golden Griffin Broadcast Network on GoGriffs.com and the Varsity Network app.
 
Fans interested in purchasing tickets in the "Canisius fan block" are invited to CLICK HERE, or call the Canisius Ticket Office at (716) 888-TIXX.
 
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