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Tre Dinkins looks to make a pass as the Canisius men's basketball team plays at Manhattan Jan. 6, 2023.
Anthony Militello
73
Winner Canisius Canis 13-17,8-12 MAAC
70
Manhattan MC 7-22,4-16 MAAC
Winner
Canisius Canis
13-17,8-12 MAAC
73
Final
70
Manhattan MC
7-22,4-16 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Canisius Canis 37 25 11 73
Manhattan MC 29 33 8 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Dinkins’ Buzzer-Beater Lifts Men’s Basketball over Manhattan

Canisius junior guard Tre Dinkins hit a game-winning 3-pointer from mid-court as the final horn sounded to help lift the Golden Griffins to a 73-70 road victory over Manhattan in MAAC men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Draddy Gymnasium in Riverdale, N.Y.
 
With 20.1 seconds remaining in overtime, Manhattan had the ball and took its 30-second timeout to draw up a play. After letting the clock wind down, Manhattan guard Jaden Winston drove to the basket, but missed his lay-up, and Canisius senior Bryce Okpoh grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 2.1 seconds remaining. Out of Canisius' timeout, sophomore Devean Williams in-bounded the ball to Dinkins, who caught the ball at the free-throw line, took two dribbles toward mid-court and then let go of the shot that hit nothing-but-net as the final horn sounded, propelling Canisius to the victory.
   
The win, Canisius' fourth in its last six outings, improved the Golden Griffins to 13-17 overall and 8-12 in MAAC play, while the Jaspers fell to 7-22 overall and 4-16 in conference action.  
 
Dinkins led four Canisius players in double-figures with his game-high 19 points. He also added four rebounds, four assists, three steals and a blocked shot to his final stat line after he played 44:35. Junior Frank Mitchell posted his 15th double-double in the win, as he scored 13 points to go with a career-high 22 rebounds. He also had four blocked shots in the victory. Sophomore Cam Palesse added 16 points, eight of which came in the overtime period, while Williams recorded 13 points, a career-high eight assists and five steals for the Blue and Gold, who extended their regular-season finale win streak to seven straight with the road victory.
 
Three Jaspers scored in double-figures, led by Seydou Traore, who posted a team-high 19 points to go with rebounds and five steals. Shaquil Bender added 15 points and Daniel Rouzan chipped in 11 points and nine boards for Manhattan, which shot 44.8 percent from the field, 25.0 percent (4-for-16) from 3-point land and 73.7 percent from the free-throw line.
 
GAME RECAP
In a game that featured five ties and eight lead changes, Canisius held a 37-29 lead at the intermission after the Blue and Gold shot 55.2 percent from the field in the game's opening 20:00 of play. In the second half, the Griffs stretched their lead to as many as 14 points at 43-29 with 16:51 left on the clock after Dinkins made 1-of-2 free-throws. The Griffs' lead never dipped below five points until 1:43 left in regulation time, when Manhattan's Perry Cowan drilled a 3-pointer to make the score 61-59 in favor of Canisius. Moments later, with Canisius leading by three, a second make from 3-point land by Cowan, this time with 1:25 left on the game clock, tied the contest at 62-62. That marked the first time the game was tied since the scoreboard read 2-2 just 1:54 into the ball game.
 
Cowan's 3-pointer would end up being the last points scored of regulation time. In the overtime period, Canisius' second overtime game of the season, the Griffs jumped out to a 65-62 lead thanks to a 3-pointer from Palesse. Manhattan erased that three-point advantage and took a 66-65 lead with 2:50 left after scoring four-straight points, but another bucket by Palesse, this time a jumper in the lane, pushed the Griffs back into the lead at 67-66 with 2:35 left to play.
 
A second overtime 3-pointer from Palesse gave Canisius a 70-68 advantage with 1:37 left in the extra session, but Manhattan answered right back, as Traore knocked down a 12-footer from the baseline with 1:04 showing on the clock to knot the game at 70-70. The Griffs went empty on their next possession, setting up one final chance for the Jaspers to win the game late in overtime, but Winston's lay-up try with less than three seconds remaining banged off the rim, setting up Dinkins' late-game heroics.
 
HEAD COACH REGGIE WITHERPSPOON'S POSTGAME COMMENTS
   
GAME NOTES
• Saturday was the 101st all-time meeting between these two schools, and despite Canisius sweeping the regular-season series, Manhattan holds a 58-43 advantage all-time.
• Saturday was the sixth overtime game in series history, and it marks the second-straight year where the Griffs and the Jaspers played an extra session. Canisius is 4-2 all-time against Manhattan in overtime games.
• Dinkins' buzzer-beater is the Griffs' first since former Griff Malik Johnson's lay-up at the horn to beat Saint Peter's 72-70 back on Feb. 6, 2017. His game-winning 3-pointer also serves as the program's first overtime buzzer beater since Billy Baron hit a 3-pointer at the final horn in a double-overtime win over Rider on Jan. 10, 2014.
• Canisius improved to 82-47 under head coach Reggie Witherspoon when scoring 70-or more points in a game.
• Dinkins has now scored 10-or more points in seven-straight contests.
• Mitchell's 22 rebounds on Saturday makes him just the third player in the nation to grab 20-or more rebounds in multiple games this season. He also had 21 rebounds at Rider back on Jan. 7 in an overtime loss.
• Mitchell ends the regular season with 338 total rebounds. He is just the fourth Griff in school history to grab 330-or more rebounds in a single-season, and he is the first to do it since Larry Fogle in 1973-74.
• Mitchell is the second Canisius player to record 22 rebounds in a game against Manhattan in school history. The first was former Griff Darren Fenn, who had 22 rebounds against the Jaspers in a four-overtime win for the Blue and Gold back on Jan. 31, 2000.
• Williams' eight assists are tied for the most by a Canisius player this season. Tre Dinkins has dished out eight assists on three occasions this year, with the last coming Jan. 26 against Manhattan at home.
• Palesse's four makes from 3-point land tie a career high, set earlier this season against Western Kentucky.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius returns to action on Tuesday night when the Griffs take part in the opening round of the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men's Basketball Championship tournament at Jim Whalen Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Canisius will square off against No. 8 seed Mount St. Mary's, with tip-off set for 5:15 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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