With 2:04 on the clock in the second overtime, senior Andre Harris (Detroit, MI/Robichaud) (Detroit, MI) calmly sank two free throws and moments later Eric Hazard (Long Branch, NJ) had a key deflection as the clock wound down to lead the Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team (3-2) past visiting Canisius (2-4) , 85-83, on Saturday evening at the Rothman Center. Harris finished the game with a double-double, scoring team-highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds.
With the game knotted at 83 and the Griffs in possession of the ball with 2:18 on the clock, Manny Ubilla (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) (Freehold, NJ) had a steal on the defensive end of the court and fed it to Harris who was fouled as he went up for the shot. After Harris netted two from the line, Michael Peeples (Detroit, MI/Benedictine) (Detroit, MI) rejected a jumper that Canisius used to try and tie the game. Harris pulled down the rebound but a foul was called and Canisius regained the ball under its own basket. Hazard tapped away the ball to smother any chance of the Griffs getting a shot off. Despite the Golden Griffs calling a timeout with 1.5 seconds on the clock, the Knights' defense stifled any attempts to tie up the game and walked away with the win.
“It was a key defensive play by Eric at the right time,” said Fairleigh Dickinson Head Coach Tom Green. “You look for someone to step up and make a play at the right time and he did it.”
The Knights took an 8-2 lead to start the game on Peeples' three from the corner. The two teams then traded offensive surges as Canisius out-scored the Knights 7-2 over the next two minutes to get in the game, 12-10. FDU then staged a quick 7-2 run of its own in response, making it 19-12.
Canisius was able to creep back to within two, 22-20, but the Knights reeled off nine-straight unanswered points to take a commanding lead. Corey Herring (Buffalo, NY) had seven of the Griffs' next nine points to bring the Knights' lead down to four, 33-29 but Sean Baptiste (North Brunswick, NJ/St. Josephs of Metuchen) (North Brunswick, NJ) sank a three-pointer and Harris took the defensive rebound on the other end of the court and put it in on the other end to create another nine-point gap, 38-29. Frank Turner (Atlantic City, NJ) ended the half with a lay up and two free throws to send FDU into the break with only a five-point edge, 38-33.
The Knights started the second half with six-straight points out of the break, taking a double-digit lead, 44-33, but the Golden Griffs broke into a 13-3 run to bring the game down to a one-point contest, 47-46. Bernell Murray (Stillwater, OK) netted a three-pointer and Cameron Tyler (Jamaica, NY/Notre Dame Prep) (Jamaica, NY) followed it with a lay up to bring it to a six-point game.
But Canisius refused to go away as Turner and Jovan Robinson (Boston, MA) hit back-to-back lay ups, tying the score at 52-52. The Griffs took their first lead of the game, 53-52, with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation. The game saw three more ties over the next four minutes, but Canisius took a 70-66 lead with 3:37 left.
The Knights stepped it up to keep the game alive as Harris hit a lay up, Tyler connected on three clutch free throws, making it, 71-70, FDU. Darnell Wilson (Wayne, MI) drove in for a lay up, but Tyler hit the second of two free throws to tie the game and send it into overtime. In the second period, Canisius held the edge in second chance points, 12-5.
With the game tied at 72-72 to start the first overtime, Canisius forced a shot as the shot clock wound down and FDU got the rebound. The Knights were able to score six straight points, capped by a pair of free throws from Ubilla, to take the lead, 80-79. Menghe A'Nyam (Yaounde, Cameroon) made the back end of a pair of free throws to tie the game up at 80-80 and send it into a second overtime.
The Griffs held a slight edge on the board, 44-42. Entering the half, the Knights led in rebounding, 15-11, and had allowed no offensive rebounds. “We talked for two days about blocking them out offensively,” said Coach Green. “They only had 17 offensive rebounds in 50 minutes, when they usually average 18 per game. They were a very athletic team, they played hard and they crashed the boards. I feel very fortunate to come away with a victory.”
The Knights shot 52 percent in the first half, but only 37 percent in the second half, finishing the game shooting 43 percent from the floor. Tyler finished with 19 points, eight assists, two steals and six rebounds, while Ubilla shot 5-of-7 from the floor to also register 19 points. Peeples contributed 10 points.
Herring led Canisius with 26 points and nine rebounds. Tuner had 19 points and six rebounds, Wilson posted 15 points and Robinson registered 14 points.
The Knights and Griffs have met twice in two years, with both games resulting in double-overtime wins for Fairleigh Dickinson.
The Knights are back in action on the road when they play at Drexel on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
