Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Golden Griffs' guard Isaac Sosa scored a game-high 25 points as Canisius (11-7, 4-3 MAAC) held off Manhattan 64-60 Thursday at the Koessler Athletic Center. Michael Alvarado and Shane Richards led the Jaspers with 18 points apiece in the setback.
Manhattan (5-12, 3-4 MAAC) showed its resiliency battling back from 13 points with less than four minutes to play. The Jaspers scored 11 straight points to get within two with 36 seconds remaining. Richards hit his sixth three-pointer of the contest, and then junior forward Rhamel Brown converted a three-point play to get the Jaspers within 60-58. But that was as close as Manhattan could get with the Golden Griffs sinking all four free-throw attempts to put the game out of reach.
Brown was the third Jasper to post double-figures recording 10 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds and three blocks. Alvarado scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half to will the Jaspers back into the ballgame. He anchored the Manhattan bench that outscored Canisius 28-3.
The Jaspers' defense limited Golden Griffs' leading scorer Billy Baron (17.3 ppg) to 10 points. They forced the junior point guard who transferred from Rhode Island into seven turnovers.
Sosa picked up Canisius with his five three-pointers on an 8-for-13 shooting night. Canisius senior guard Harold Washington contributed 12 points and a game-high five assists, while teammate Jordan Heath went for nine points and eight rebounds.
Manhattan led by 10 points in the first half using a 17-3 run to open the double digit advantage halfway through the stanza. The Jaspers rolled out seven straight points, which featured a beautiful backdoor layup by Alvarado who was assisted by freshman guard CJ Jones. Richards buried his first three attempts from downtown as he capped the scoring surge with back-to-back treys that put the Jaspers up 21-11 at the 9:52 mark.
The Golden Griffs countered with a 17-4 run to take a 28-25 advantage into halftime. They did not relinquish their lead. Sosa scored six points of his nine first half points during this stretch.
Canisius jumped out of the gate in the second half scoring the first eight points to open a double-digit advantage (36-25) on Sosa's three-pointer at the 16:09 mark. Manhattan endured a 10 minute scoreless stretch that started at the end of the first half and lasted five minutes into the second stanza.
The Jaspers got as close as three points with nine minutes remaining before their final rally, but threes by Baron and Sosa during a 7-0 run quickly bumped the Golden Griffs lead back to double-digits. Canisius hit five of its eight three pointers in the second half and finished the game shooting 40% from beyond the arc.
Manhattan returns to action Saturday at 3 p.m. when the Jaspers complete the Western New York conference swing at Niagara.