2017–18 Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball team

2017–18 Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball
MAAC Regular Season co-champion
CBI, First round
Conference	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Record	21–12 (15–3 MAAC)
Head coach	Reggie Witherspoon (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Chris Hawkins Larry Blunt Eddie Shannon
Home arena	Koessler Athletic Center

2017–18 MAAC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Rider	15	–	3		.833			22	–	10		.688
Canisius	15	–	3		.833			21	–	12		.636
Niagara	12	–	6		.667			19	–	14		.576
Iona †	11	–	7		.611			20	–	14		.588
Manhattan	9	–	9		.500			14	–	17		.452
Fairfield	9	–	9		.500			17	–	16		.515
Quinnipiac	7	–	11		.389			12	–	21		.364
Monmouth	7	–	11		.389			11	–	20		.355
Saint Peter's	6	–	12		.333			14	–	18		.438
Siena	4	–	14		.222			8	–	24		.250
Marist	4	–	14		.222			6	–	25		.194
† 2018 MAAC tournament winner

The 2017–18 Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball team represented Canisius College during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Griffins, led by second-year head coach Reggie Witherspoon, played their home games at the Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo, New York as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They finished the season 21–11, 15–3 in MAAC play to finish in a share for the MAAC regular season title with Rider. It was their first conference regular season title since 1994. As the No. 2 seed at the MAAC tournament, they were upset by in the quarterfinals by No. 7 seed Quinnipiac. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they lost in the first round to Jacksonville State.[1]

Previous season

The Golden Griffins finished the 2016–17 season 18–16, 10–10 in MAAC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. They defeated Marist in the first round of the MAAC tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Saint Peter's. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Samford.

Roster

2017–18 Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Malik Johnson 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 155 lb (70 kg) So Blue Ridge School Richmond, Virginia F 2 Jermaine Crumpton 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Niagara Falls Niagara Falls, New York G 3 Jonathan Sanks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Berkmar Spartanburg Methodist College Warner Robins, Georgia F 4 Jalanni White 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Notre Dame (CT) New Haven, Connecticut G 5 D.J. Heath 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School (AL) Anniston, Alabama C 10 Selvedin Planincic 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Orangeville Prep Indian Hills CC Sherbrooke, Quebec F 11 Marcale Lotts 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Akins Jacksonville College New Orleans, Louisiana G 13 Isaiah Reese 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So DME Academy Miami, Florida G 14 Spencer Foley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Uplift Community Commonwealth Academy (MA) Chicago, Illinois G 15 Takal Molson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr TAAG Academy Buffalo, New York F 21 Scott Hitchon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Thornlea Secondary School Whitby, Ontario F 22 Jibreel Faulkner 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Theodore Roosevelt Senior Washington, D.C. F 23 Dantai St. Louis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Orangeville Prep Brampton, Ontario G 25 Shaquille Evans 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 218 lb (99 kg) So Faith Baptist Christian Academy Atlanta Metro State Nassau, Bahamas G 32 Andrew Crombie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Maryvale (NY) Buffalo, New York G 34 Talmadge James 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Kenmore West Senior Buffalo, New York	Head coach Reggie Witherspoon (Wheeling) Assistant coach(es) Chris Hawkins (Radford) Larry Blunt (James Madison) Eddie Shannon (Florida) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 31, 2017

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 11, 2017* 1:00 pm, ESPN3		at Buffalo	L 75–80	0–1	Alumni Arena (3,279) Amherst, NY
Nov 14, 2017* 7:00 pm		at Air Force Men Against Breast Cancer Showcase	L 79–93	0–2	Clune Arena (1,002) Colorado Springs, CO
Nov 18, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Youngstown State	W 104–84	1–2	Koessler Athletic Center (1,245) Buffalo, NY
Nov 21, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3		at Tennessee State	L 52–60	1–3	Gentry Complex (801) Nashville, TN
Nov 24, 2017* 11:30 pm		vs. Texas State Men Against Breast Cancer Showcase	W 68–62	2–3	Alex G. Spanos Center (1,349) Stockton, CA
Nov 25, 2017* 11:30 pm		vs. Arkansas–Pine Bluff Men Against Breast Cancer Showcase	W 81–58	3–3	Alex G. Spanos Center (1,325) Stockton, CA
Nov 26, 2017* 6:00 pm		at Pacific Men Against Breast Cancer Showcase	L 58–80	3–4	Alex G. Spanos Center (1,150) Stockton, CA
Dec 2, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPN3		Dartmouth	W 73–60	4–4	Koessler Athletic Center (906) Buffalo, NY
Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		St. Bonaventure	L 65–73	4–5	Koessler Athletic Center (2,196) Buffalo, NY
Dec 9, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3		at Evansville	L 58–65	4–6	Ford Center (3,363) Evansville, IN
Dec 16, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Albany	L 65–68	4–7	SEFCU Arena (2,441) Albany, NY
Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Elon	W 67–51	5–7	Koessler Athletic Center (805) Buffalo, NY
Dec 22, 2017* 7:00 pm		at Robert Morris	W 76–62	6–7	Palumbo Center (843) Pittsburgh, PA
MAAC regular season
Dec 29, 2017 4:30 pm, ESPN3		Rider	W 77–76	7–7 (1–0)	Koessler Athletic Center (1,049) Buffalo, NY
Dec 31, 2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3		Iona	W 85–78	8–7 (2–0)	Koessler Athletic Center (969) Buffalo, NY
Jan 5, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN3		at Quinnipiac	W 82–74	9–7 (3–0)	TD Bank Sports Center (1,355) Hamden, CT
Jan 7, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN3		at Siena	L 62–65	9–8 (3–1)	Times Union Center (6,114) Albany, NY
Jan 12, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Saint Peter's	W 70–58	10–8 (4–1)	Koessler Athletic Center (764) Buffalo, NY
Jan 14, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Monmouth	W 94–79	11–8 (5–1)	Koessler Athletic Center (1,136) Buffalo, NY
Jan 19, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPNU		at Manhattan	W 68–59	12–8 (6–1)	Draddy Gymnasium (1,344) Riverdale, NY
Jan 21, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3		at Iona	W 84–82	13–8 (7–1)	Hynes Athletic Center (1,567) New Rochelle, NY
Jan 27, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Niagara Battle of the Bridge	L 89–105	13–9 (7–2)	Koessler Athletic Center (2,196) Buffalo, NY
Feb 2, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Marist	W 73–67	14–9 (8–2)	McCann Field House (1,147) Poughkeepsie, NY
Feb 4, 2018 2:00 pm		at Saint Peter's	W 73–58	15–9 (9–2)	Yanitelli Center (454) Jersey City, NJ
Feb 8, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Siena	W 89–65	16–9 (10–2)	Koessler Athletic Center (1,512) Buffalo, NY
Feb 10, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Quinnipiac	W 71–64	17–9 (11–2)	Koessler Athletic Center (1,239) Buffalo, NY
Feb 12, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Fairfield	W 81–63	18–9 (12–2)	Koessler Athletic Center (1,011) Buffalo, NY
Feb 16, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Monmouth	W 78–60	19–9 (13–2)	OceanFirst Bank Center (2,854) West Long Branch, NJ
Feb 18, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3		at Rider	L 82–83	19–10 (13–3)	Alumni Gymnasium (1,650) Lawrenceville, NJ
Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm		at Niagara Battle of the Bridge	W 95–88	20–10 (14–3)	Gallagher Center (2,311) Lewiston, NY
Feb 25, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Marist	W 98–74	21–10 (15–3)	Koessler Athletic Center (2,033) Buffalo, NY
MAAC tournament
Mar 2, 2018 9:30 pm, ESPN3	(2)	vs. (7) Quinnipiac Quarterfinals	L 69–72	21–11	Times Union Center (2,096) Albany, NY
CBI
Mar 14, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Jacksonville State First round	L 78–80 ^OT	21–12	Koessler Athletic Center (870) Buffalo, NY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

1. "JSU edges Canisius in overtime 80-78". The Gadsden Times. March 14, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2024.