(Canisius' Stafford Trueheart is defended by Hunter Anderson of Park / Photo by James McCoy)

 

At the end of the third quarter of the 'Game of the Week' with Canisius leading Park, 30-21, I received a text message from a friend – "First to forty wins?"  If anyone reaches 40 I thought.  It wasn't from lack of effort on either side – both teams were getting after it.  And it definitely wasn't because they lack the firepower on either side, most nights I'm asking people around me who just scored because the pace is so fast.  The regular season rematch played out like a 'No blood, no foul' type of battle.  Canisius & Park played a 'Man's Game', and it just so happened that the Crusaders were the first team to score forty. They were also the only team to score forty.

 

With crowded bleachers and fans watching from the overlook at the Bernard J. Kennedy Field House, Canisius was able to prevail in a physical battle of the two biggest rosters in WNY, defeating Park, 45-37.  The Crusaders remain undefeated in the MMA, while Park slips to 6-2 in league play.

 

Unlike the first meeting between the two which saw both teams make big runs, Canisius never trailed in the rematch, and the game was only tied twice.  After Canisius took an 11-9 after the opening quarter, Park tied the game at 13-13 early in the second quarter, and then the 'Man's Game' was on.  As the rest of the first half played out, shots from the perimeter were met with unkind iron rims and getting the ball into the paint on either end resulted in blocked shots, missed shots, and physical scrums for rebounds and loose balls.  There were no easy baskets.  Over the final six minutes of the second quarter, Canisius outscored Park, 6-1, getting four points from Charles Hart during that span.  With the way the game was taking shape, that 6-1 spurt that gave the Crusaders a 19-14 advantage at halftime after holding Park to just four points in the frame would be significant.

 

"We're both big teams and we're both very physical, so we knew right off the bat it was going to be a game like that,"  said Canisius' Justin Jones.  "It was pretty much who can man up and who can make baskets."

 

Jones, who signed a letter of intent to play football for Robert Morris earlier that day, wasn't even sure if he would get to play after turning his ankle and leaving the game in the third quarter of the Crusaders' loss to Greece Athena on Saturday and sitting out the team's win over Cardinal O'Hara on Monday.

 

"I didn't think he was going to play," said Canisius coach Kyle Husband.  "He couldn't really do much yesterday – he was hobbling around."

 

But about 30 minutes before game time, Jones decided he would play and then went out and scored 10 points for Canisius, along with four assists and some great hustle plays at both ends.  Four of his points came in the middle of the third quarter, as the Crusaders used an 8-1 run to take a 27-18 lead.  

 

"He's such a great athlete and makes so many smart, tough plays, to have him out there was a huge bonus for us," said Husband.

 

Stafford Trueheart, who had a 28 point/18 rebound performance in the first meeting at Park, was held in check by the Pioneers for the first three quarters.  He had managed just two points and had no rebounds through the first 23 minutes of the game, as his teammates were forced to pick up some slack on the interior while Park focused heavily on limiting him.  But with 56 seconds left in the third quarter, Trueheart drained a 3-pointer to give Canisius its first double figure lead of the game, 30-20.

 

"They were really trying to deny him, they weren't helping off at all," Husband said.  "I don't know if Stafford has seen that yet to that extent, so it took a half to kind of get his bearings – I think you saw a much better player in the second half."

 

What we saw in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter, was Trueheart finding a way to be a difference maker in crunch time.  As the Pioneers tried desperately to mount a comeback and string together a run to threaten the Canisius lead, Trueheart was there with an answer.  He scored 10 of his team-high 15 points in the final stanza, and also found some angles to get the glass better, as he grabbed all eight of his rebounds over the final eight minutes.  After Kyle Harris had scored to cut the Canisius lead to just six points, Trueheart responded by converting a three-point play the traditional way to make it 42-33 with just 1:23 remaining.

 

"I knew they weren't just going to let me fly to the rim,"  Trueheart said.  "They did a great job defensively in the first half.  As the game progressed, I started to find ways to keep attacking and I had the help of Madut (Ayiy) & Chuck (Charles Hart) to take the pressure off of me."

 

While fans weren't treated to an offensive showcase on Wednesday night, they did get a glimpse of just how imposing this Crusader defense can be, with a long front line in Trueheart, Ayiy, & Hart, along with relentlessly aggressive effort from Jones, Colby Moultrie, Will Atkinson, and Jayce Johnson.  I don't think there's another team in WNY that can score with Park, but I'm positive there isn't another team around here that can hold the Pioneers to just 21 points through three quarters.

 

"When we have focus and energy at that end, we're really tough," said Husband.  "I don't know if we have the guns night in and night out to win a game in the 70's, but I do think we have the guns to hold people in the 30's, 40's, & 50's."

 

Jordan Nwora led Park with a game-high 16 points in the loss.

 

Canisius is at St. Francis on Friday night, while Park visits Timon.  Both teams have just five league games remaining.

 

Point Totals

Canisius:  Stafford Trueheart 15, Justin Jones 10, Will Atkinson 9, Charles Hart 4, Madut Ayiy 3, Colby Moultrie 2, Jayce Johnson 2

Park:  Jordan Nwora 16, Joe Jones 6, Noah Hutchins 6, Kyle Harris 4, Hunter Anderson 4, Chris Efreteui 1

 

-centercourt