2012 Manhattan Cup Championship – Canisius 63, St. Mary's 46

Last year in the Manhattan Cup final, Canisius ran to the locker room at halftime trailing St. Joe's by 14 points.  Last night, the Crusaders headed to the locker room at halftime with a 24-point lead after holding St. Mary's to just 14 points,  prompting several spectators to run for the exits. 

Canisius became the first team since Turner/Carroll in 1999 & 2000 to win consecutive Manhattan Cups by routing the Lancers and spoiling their inagural appearance in the finals, 63-46.  The Crusaders will now travel to Long Island for the CHSAA state semifinal on Sunday at noon after winning their 13th Manhattan Cup in school history.

Just 16 seconds into the game, Matt Hart bombed in a 3-pointer on the same end of the court where he hit three straight during last year's final, and the Crusaders were off and running.  Next, a steal and assist from Adam Weir led to a fast break bucket from Matt MacDonald.  Some outstanding ball movement and back door cuts then led to baskets from Weir, MacDonald, Hart and Brandon Tenney.  With 2:03 left in the first quarter, MacDonald swished a '3' from the right side, and Canisius was in front, 16-1.

St. Mary's showed some signs of life to start the second quarter and following a three-point play from Devin Redden, closed the gap to 23-12.  However, Aaron White responded with a 3-pointer that seemed to spark another Crusader run.  Hart delivered a behind-the-back pass to Weir in transition and MacDonald scored six points over the final two minutes, as Canisius outscored the Lancers 15-2 to close out the half, making the score 38-14 at the break.

After scoring six points in the first half, Weir finished with a game-high 20 points for Canisius and was named tournament MVP.  MacDonald, who netted 15 of his 19 points during the decisive first half, was named to the All-Tournament team, along with Hart, who finished with 13 points after collecting 10 in the first half.

Paul Rath was the only Lancer to finish in double figures, scoring 15 points.

-centercourt