(Stafford Tureheart was the difference for Canisius in its win at Park on Saturday / Photo by Elliott Jerge)
As the big game was unfolding, giving those lucky enough to be in attendance the type of game experience that will be forever burned in their minds, one player's performance became the story line. As I was tweeting updates from the sold out gymnasium at Park, questions were flying at me about the game – most of which I ignored so I could actually watch what was going on. But one question I remembered being asked while the game was still on – what has been the difference? When the game was over, I answered that question as part of my final score tweet: "Stafford Trueheart was unbelievable all game, especially down the stretch. He was the difference."
Trueheart scored 28 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, and blocked three shots, to lead Canisius to an exciting 56-53 win at Park, in the first battle of the top two teams in WNY. The victory improves the Crusaders' mark to 12-1, extends their winning streak against area teams to 25 games, and confirms something that no one on Delaware Ave ever doubted – Canisius is still #1.
"This is why they they play, right?" Canisius coach Kyle Husband asked. "For atmospheres like this, for games like this, for this type of competition."
The atmosphere was intense at Park, with fans bunched into bleachers & chairs, lining the baselines, and packed like sardines behind me between the court and front door entrance. Both teams took the court for an extended shoot around and treated fans to a slam dunk show before the official 15-minute, referee-supervised warm-ups began. A tomahawk dunk from Trueheart about a half an hour before the game began was my personal favorite.
Canisius led throughout most of the opening quarter, after scoring the first points on a 3-pointer from Justin Jones. Five minutes into the contest, Park took its only lead of the first stanza when Kyle Harris (team-high 18 points) connected from long range to make it 9-8. On the ensuing possession, the Crusaders regained their advantage when Trueheart responded to Harris' trey with one of his own. He added another score to finish the first quarter and Canisius was on top, 13-9, after one.
The atmosphere at Park reached its fever pitch in the second quarter when the Pioneers embarked on an 18-1 run, that included 13 unanswered to begin the frame. The surge from Park included treys from Harris and Noah Hutchins (10 points), and a breakaway slam from Jordan Nwora(13 points). By the midway point of the second quarter, the Pioneers' lead had reached 27-14, the largest advantage either team would enjoy all game.
"You can see how talented they are and how easily they can score in bunches," said Husband. "I think during that stretch, we didn't finish possessions. We let them get to the offensive glass, we lost our focus a little bit for a few minutes."
Canisius got its focus back when Trueheart got everyone in the gym to focus on him. The returning First Team All-Centercourt selection silenced the home faithful at Park with back-to-back dunks to get the Crusaders back within single digits. During the series that followed, Charles Hart rejected a shot in his own end and then scored on the other end to make it a seven-point game. A 3-pointer from Will Atkinson, followed by a basket from Justin Jones to end the half had nearly erased the 13-point deficit Canisius had fallen behind by just 3:30 earlier. The Crusaders took all the game's momentum into the locker room, despite trailing 27-25 at the break.
"We've been in this environment before and when we got down 13, we didn't lose our cool, we just kept battling back one possession at a time," said Husband.
A back-and-forth third quarter ended with the Crusaders on a 10-2 run, scoring the final six points to take a 39-35 lead into the final stanza. Nwora struck from long range to start the fourth quarter, met by a dunk from Trueheart that earned him the 'And 1' on the other end, before scoring again to put Canisius up six, 44-38. The Crusaders were winning the battle of the boards, limiting Park possessions, while keeping their own alive long enough to finish. With Park making a frenzied attempt to pull even late in the game and the score 54-50 with under one minute to play, Canisius swung the ball to an open Atkinson in the corner, who launched what looked to be the dagger. However the shot missed – a big break for the Pioneers, except that Trueheart came soaring in to collect the miss, and put it back for the score before he even came down, to make it 56-50.
"In the second half we really rebounded well, 'Staff' was amazing on the glass," Husband said. "I think we just focused a little bit more in that second half."
For good measure, Trueheart hustled back in the final minute to earn a rejection in transition, a play that basically sealed the victory and epitomized the incredible effort put forth by the Crusader standout all game.
"I knew playing Park, they weren't going to go away, whether it was a minute left or ten seconds left, we had to keep playing to the buzzer," said Trueheart following the game.
"He's our backbone and when he plays like that, we're really good," said Husband. "He's got heart, number one. He's long, he's athletic, he's skilled – he's got the whole package. Today, he wanted this one bad and you could see it throughout the entire game."
Park coach Michael Battaglia was gracious in defeat. He remarked about how far the program had come in just a few years, from last place in the IAC, to competing for first in the Monsignor Martin. He saw the loss as a chance to grow as a team and looked forward to how his players would respond in the coming days. He also gave Canisius its due.
"They were the better team and deserved to win," Battaglia said. "We didn't have an answer for 'Staff', which surprised me. I think we lost focus and allowed him to dominate the offensive glass, and that was the difference."
Point Totals
Canisius: Stafford Trueheart 28, Justin Jones 13, Madut Ayiy 6, Will Atkinson 5, Charles Hart 2, Colby Moultrie 2
Park: Kyle Harris 18, Jordan Nwora 13, Noah Hutchins 10, Joe Jones 7, Hunter Anderson 5
-centercourt
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