(Canisius' Stafford Trueheart finished this play for the game-winner)

 

Every season, the Crusaders put together one of the most challenging schedules you could logistically and realistically dream up.  The defending Class A Federation Champions are currently amidst a stretch of games that have them facing six state-ranked teams in 18 days. Last night, the Crusaders (#2 in NYS Class A) welcomed Aquinas to town, a team that plays up in Class AA and is ranked #6 in the state's largest classification.  What's even more impressive than the schedule the Crusaders play?  The fact that they keep winning.

 

Stafford Trueheart finished a spectacular reverse layup against two defenders with just five seconds remaining to lift Canisius past Aquinas, 56-55.  The victory is the 22nd consecutive win against competition from NYS, and the sixth against a state-ranked opponent already this season, with three more still upcoming.

 

"That's why we play these games, it was another great basketball game and hopefully we got better from it," Canisius coach Kyle Husband said.  "To make the play when it mattered makes it that much better."

 

The Crusaders had led the entire contest and took a 45-38 lead into the fourth quarter.  But just over two minutes into the final stanza, the Lil Irish tightened up defensively and strung together consecutive 3-pointers from David Vito and Earnest Edwards, to make it a one-point game, 47-46.

 

"We were over helping, which gave them a couple threes," said Husband.  "Once they started making a few threes, their defensive pressure picked up."

 

The teams traded two points back-and-forth over the ensuing, hotly contested possessions that followed.  After a pair of free throws from Aquinas' Jamir Jones to make it 51-50, the Lil Irish got a stop and went right back to their big man, who delivered inside for two more of his team-high 15 points and the first Aquinas lead of the evening, 52-51, with 2:17 to play.

 

After Trueheart scored to give Canisius the lead back, Jones added another free throw for Aquinas, followed by a bucket from Edwards that gave the Lil Irish a 55-53 edge.  

 

Canisius turned back to Trueheart, who was fouled and connected on one of two during a trip to the stripe with 30 seconds on the clock, to make it 55-54.  Aquinas then missed the front end of a '1 & 1' free throw situation, allowing Canisius to rebound and call timeout to set up a play with 17 seconds left.  The Crusaders called Trueheart's number once again, who threw the inbound pass and then moved to the far corner of the baseline, where Justin Jones fed him a pass just inside the 3-point arc.  From there, Trueheart did the rest.  The senior standout beat his man on the baseline and then beat two defenders that came to help with the game-winning reverse layup.

 

"In a tough environment on the road against a really, really good team, we made some plays in the fourth quarter to win the game," Aquinas coach Mike Grosodonia said.  "I didn't do a good job at the end preparing us to play defense and those last two possessions are on me after our guys did a good job getting back into it."

 

Canisius had built as much as an 11-point lead in the first half after a 13-3 run late in the first half made the score 33-22.  Aquinas, who went 7 of 15 from long range, had a stretch in the third quarter where it hit three consecutive treys in three straight possessions to get within three points.  Late in the third quarter, the Lil Irish made it a one-point game, before the Crusaders scored the last six of the stanza for the seven-point lead they took into the fourth quarter.

 

"Our guys did a good job fighting back, we didn't play the best in the first half," Grosodonia said. "Part of that is Canisius, and part of that is us."

 

It was definitely the type of game that should only benefit both teams, as they gave each other 32 minutes of intense, physical basketball, and each team had to respond to adversity during the game.

 

"It's always one of the toughest teams we play every year, their coach does a great job and their kids really respond to him," Husband said.

 

For Aquinas, who annually plays a brutal schedule similar to the one Canisius assembles, it hopes a tough road loss like this one can prevent one down the road in the postseason.

 

"These are the games that prepare you for sectionals moving forward," said Grosodonia.

 

Trueheart finished with a game-high 18 points, while grabbing seven rebounds.  Jones was fantastic on both ends of the floor, scoring 16 points, dishing eight assists, and recording five steals.  Madut Ayiy added 10 points and eight boards in the win.

 

Jamir Jones added eight rebounds to his team-high 15 points, while Jalen Pickett had seven assists to go with his 13 points for Aquinas.

 

Point Totals

Canisius:  Stafford Trueheart 18, Justin Jones 16, Madut Ayiy 10, Will Atkinson 8, Jayce Johnson 2, Jerimiah Wagstaff 2

Aquinas:  Jamir Jones 15, Jalen Pickett 13, Earnest Edwards 12, David Vito 9, Jason Hawkes 6

 

-centercourt