By Mike Ferraro
BUFFALO – For the third time in program history, the Marist men’s basketball team has swept the western New York trip against Niagara and Canisius. The Red Foxes pulled away for a 70-47 victory over Canisius at the Koessler Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.
FIRST HALF
Marist took its first lead on a driving layup by Trace Salton, which put the Red Foxes up 6-5 at the 15:23 mark.
Canisius took a six-point lead thanks to a 9-0 run, which put the Golden Griffins up 16-10 and led to a Marist timeout at the 11:28 mark. However, the Red Foxes tied the game with back-to-back threes by Travis Roberts and Martin Kawa.
Marist took a five-point lead thanks to a 7-0 run, but Canisius countered with a 7-0 run of its own.
Marist held Canisius to two points in the final 4:46, and the Red Foxes led 30-27 after 20 minutes.
SECOND HALF
With 18:44 left, Jadin Collins-Roberts’ tip-in gave Marist a seven-point lead, its largest to that point.
Kawa’s three staked Marist to its first double-digit lead at 40-30, and led to a Canisius timeout with 14:09 left.
Josh Pascarelli hit a pair of threes 1:03 apart, which staked Marist to a 54-40 advantage with 7:57 left.
Jackson Price’s layup put Marist up 20 with 2:04 remaining.
Antoni Vlogianitis’ first collegiate field goal, a three-pointer, closed out the scoring with 56 seconds remaining.