Albany, NY (Sports Network) - Rakeem Brookins came up in the clutch as he
knocked down a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to lift the Siena Saints to a
57-54 victory over the Canisius Golden Griffins in a Metro Atlantic Athletic
Conference thriller at the Times Union Center.
Evan Hymes led Siena (3-13, 1-4 MAAC) with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from
the field while Brookins finished with 13 points. O.D. Anosike also got into
the mix by scoring nine points and grabbing seven rebounds for the Saints, who
finally ended their 11-game losing slide.
Isaac Sosa netted 13 points for Canisius (10-6, 4-1) as it lost for the third
time in four outings. Harold Washington and Billy Baron contributed 12 points
apiece, but Washington went just 5-of-15 from the floor and Baron committed a
game-high five turnovers in the setback.
The Golden Griffins looked to be in control early on as they took a 17-7 lead
at the 13:25 mark of the opening half after Sosa put in a layup. Siena rallied
to cut the deficit to three points with just over five minutes left before the
intermission, but Canisius managed to hit 5-of-14 from 3-point range to take a
34-27 advantage into the break.
Canisius appeared to coasting towards a lopsided victory in the second half as
Washington sank an attempt from beyond the arc to put his team on top, 45-32.
The Saints refused to go away and came all the way back to tie the score at 47
with just under seven minutes showing on the clock. Siena trailed, 54-53 with
1:07 left to play as Brookins went to the free throw line with a chance to put
his squad ahead. He only drained the front end of his trip, but his second
free throw try was off the mark and Baron grabbed the board. Jordan Heath and
Baron both missed 3-point attempts in the final minute before Brookins
provided late game heroics for Siena.
The Saints pulled out the win despite trailing 36-31 in the rebounding battle
and converting only 10-of-19 attempts at the free throw line in the contest.
GAME NOTES:
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