Jan. 20, 2007
Final Stats
BUFFALO, N.Y.-Freshman point guard Frank Turner posted a career-high 24 points and seven assists to lead the Canisius men's basketball squad to an 84-74 victory over Marist Saturday afternoon. The win moved Canisius to 9-10 overall and 4-5 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, while Marist dropped to 14-5 overall and 6-2 in the league.
Darnell Wilson and Chuck Harris also posted 18 and 15 points, respectively, for Canisius. Menghe a'Nyam led the Golden Griffins with seven boards, but Canisius lost the team battle of the boards 43-38.
Marist was paced by senior point guard Jared Jordan (Hartford, Conn.) who had 17 points and 11 assists. Jordan is also one of just two players in the nation currently leading his team in points, rebounds and assists (Jamont Gordon-Mississippi State). He is bidding to become the first player in Division I history since Southern University's Avery Johnson to lead the nation in assists twice. Johnson averaged 10.74 during the 1986-87 season and 13.3 the following season.
Senior guard Will Whittington (Kingwood, Tx.) had 16 points, while junior forward Ben Farmer (Clinton, Conn.) had 11. Jordan and Whittington combined to go just 11-38 from the field and 6-23 from 3-point range.
Junior forward Shae McNamara (Milwaukee, Wisc.) had a career-high 10 rebounds in the loss, as well.
Canisius got out early in the contest with a 10-point advantage (18-8) at the 14:31 mark of the first half on a 3-pointer by Turner. However, Marist roared right back with an 11-0 run over the next four minutes, four seconds to take a 19-18 lead on a layup by Wilfred Benjamin.
Canisius continued to riddle the Marist defense, though, and went up by as much as 13 right before the half before Farmer nailed a 3-pointer with 50 seconds to play to make the halftime margin 44-34.
The Golden Griffins began to cruise in the second half after Marist got within four points (48-44) one last time at the 14:55 mark on a layup by redshirt junior Ryan Stilphen, who made his return after missing two games with a sprained left knee.
The margin grew to as many as 18 (74-56) at the 3:38 mark when a'Nyam converted a layup.
Marist shot just 38 percent (27-71) from the floor and a woeful 26.5 percent (9-34) from 3-point range. They also shot just 64.7 percent from the line (11-17). Canisius shot 54.9 percent (28-51) from the floor and 46.2 percent (6-13) from 3-point range. The Golden Griffins also had their struggles at the line, making just 56.4 percent (22-39).
Marist will now return home for a 7:30 p.m. game against Saint Peter's on Tuesday. The Peacocks are 3-15 overall and 1-7 in the MAAC. Marist defeated Saint Peter's 89-70 on Dec. 10 this season in the Yanitelli Center in Jersey City, N.J.
