(Stafford Trueheart dropped this #BOOM & completed the 'And 1')

 

When the Crusaders invaded Nichols on January 6th, the first meeting between the two since last season's stunning semifinal upset that led to the Vikings winning the 2014 Manhattan Cup, they no doubt had revenge on their minds.  That night saw Canisius make quick work of Nichols, putting the game away by halftime, as they had built a 47-20 lead.  For the second regular season meeting between Canisius & Nichols, with the emotion of last season no longer the motivating factor, the Crusaders simply had winning on their minds, and this time around, it wouldn't come quite so easy.

 

Canisius overcame a 26-point effort from Nichols' Cam Lewis and once again finished a game strong to earn a 57-50 win.  The victory keeps the Crusaders in first place in the Monsignor Martin Association with a unbeaten mark of 9-0.

 

After Canisius jumped out to a 12-2 advantage in the game's first five minutes, Cam Lewis began to command to ball for Nichols and scored the game's next six points.  The Vikings trailed 16-10 after the first quarter and were behind, 23-18, midway through the second quarter, when Lewis once again stepped up for the Vikings.  The 6-8 combo forward was winning battles in the post by finding mismatches and using his ability to move with the ball to find scoring angles in the lane.  Lewis scored a pair of buckets inside over the last four minutes of the half and then buried a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to cap a 9-2 run by the Vikings that gave them their first lead of the game heading into the break, 27-25.

 

Lewis would score the first five points of the second half, making it 12 straight for Nichols, and stretching their lead to 32-25 over the Crusaders.  LaTerrance Reed stopped the bleeding for Canisius with a 3-pointer midway through the quarter.  Will Johnson of Nichols answered that with a long pull-up in transition, before Josh Huffman hit another trey for the Crusaders.   With its lead cut to 3 points, Nichols looked to Lewis again, who delivered another '3' from straight away, giving the Vikings a 37-31 lead.  Canisius would get a pair of free throws and a bucket before the third quarter expired, and we were back to a two-point Vikings lead, 37-35, heading into the final quarter.

 

Stafford Trueheart scored in the first minute of the final stanza for Canisius and on its next possession, took the lead back thanks to Dave Thomas sinking a pair from the stripe.  After a basket from Nichols' Chris Miner a minute later, Andrew Schake scored to give the Crusaders the lead for good.  

 

Canisius was able to build a lead over the final minutes thanks to the scoring of Reed & Josh Huffman, but they maintained that lead thanks to a concerted effort on the defensive end from everyone and Trueheart playing huge inside against the immensely talented front line of the Vikings.  Trueheart seemed to secure every caroom in his vicinity, and swatted away multiple attempts in the lane from the Nichols' bigs.  

 

The moment that spelled the end for the Vikings and all but ensured another Canisius victory came with under three minutes left in the game and Canisius holding a 48-44 lead.  Coming out of a timeout, the Crusaders held the ball and spread the floor.  Junior Will Atkinson took the ball in the corner and made a move to the basket.  Trueheart, who had come out to set a screen, rolled to the basket as Atkinson drove.  The moment the defense turned its back on Trueheart, Atkinson dished it to him, and he rose up to deliver a thunderous two-handed slam in traffic, drawing contact.  Truheart sank the free throw to convert the 'And 1', giving his team a 51-44 lead.

 

"Stafford's a great player and in a game where we definitely needed him, he stepped up and played his best game of the year", Canisius coach Kyle Husband said.

 

While Trueheart's performance stood out last night, the collaborative effort of the team in the game's stretch run once again showed why the Crusaders have been at the top of the MMA standings and the large school poll all season long.

 

 "That last quarter, our guys just really executed", Husband said.  "We made a few more, we made the extra pass, and they competed like I've never seen on the defensive end tonight" said Husband.

 

"Everyone that went in there played their tails off on 'D' - I've said all year, when we do that, we're going to be really good".

 

Reed finished with a team-high 21 points that included five 3-pointers.  Trueheart had seven blocks to go with his 17 points, and two big dunks.  Huffman added 10 points, six boards, and three assists.

 

Miner scored 13 points for the Vikings, the only player besides Lewis, who had a game-high effort, to reach double figures.

 

-centercourt