One week after claiming the top spot in the Monsignor Martin standings, the Canisius Crusaders were taken down by the two-time defending champion Bishop Timon-St. Jude Tigers 74-50 on Saturday afternoon.
It was a team win through and through, according to coach Jason Rowe. But while a win like Saturday’s was nice for them, Rowe believed that regular season standings don’t mean that much at the end of the day.
“Today’s game was about playing excellent team defense,” Rowe said. “I thought we were giving up too many points to other teams, so we decided to bunker down and play some defense. Canisius is an excellent team, and I thought we did a great job of making them work for baskets.
“But honestly, being number one in January doesn't mean anything to us. That's been something I've been preaching the entire time that I've been fortunate enough to be a coach. What matters is at the end of the season, when you get a chance to play in a championship game. So for us, it's just another hard-fought game against Canisius.”
On the other hand, the Crusaders realized they needed to go back to the drawing board.
“We were just clearly outplayed from start to finish,” coach Kyle Husband said. “They had more energy. They were tougher, executed better and they beat us in every facet of the game. We haven't been able to get off to a fast start all year. Something's got to change, but we can't dig ourselves 10-point holes every time we play a good team.”
Which is exactly what happened. Taking an 11-point lead in the first quarter behind 12 points from Aaron Hicks and seven from Nakyhi Harris, the Tigers took charge of the contest right from the get-go and never looked back.
“We talked in the locker room about how the first four minutes of the game were going to be important,” Rowe said. “We knew Canisius was going to come out aggressively and try to trap us. We just didn't want to make life easy for them.”
The second quarter was more of the same for the Tigers, as they got contributions from Hicks, Harris, Malak Bontzolakes, Patience Niyonzima and Joey Insera. Taking a 10-point lead into the third, Insera, Mike Gibson and Damien Johnson helped spark a run for Bishop Timon to increase their lead by 21 in a three-minute span – with Johnson collecting nine of his game-high 21 points and Insera and Gibson each having four in the stanza.
“Once we got on that run, it was smooth sailing from there,” Rowe said. “Harris had a great game and Hicks kept us going. Damien hit some big shots. Patience came off the bench and gave us great minutes. Joey Insera and Mike Gibson did their jobs… even the guys who didn't play, the bench was involved by cheering those guys on.
“It really was a great team effort and a great team win today.”
Johnson scored another 10 points in the fourth to cap off his game, while Jack Cullinan paced the Crusaders with 12 points of his own.
While the victory creates a three-way tie at the top of the Monsignor Martin standings, Rowe wasn’t about to rest on his laurels going forward.
“We’ve got to continue to get better. That's the name of the game – keep getting better,” Rowe said. “We can't be satisfied. Our league is the toughest league by far, so on any given night you can get yourself in trouble.
“We’ve got a 24-hour rule – be excited, but then we’ve got another game coming up soon, so you’ve got to be ready to go.”
Photo Gallery Credit Shawn Turri/WNYAthletics
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