Dec. 7, 2002
Box Score
Prosper Karangwa led all scorers with 25 points and keyed a 12-0 second half run to lead Siena (4-1/1-0 MAAC) to a 71-63 victory over Canisius (3-2/1-1 MAAC) in the Saints MAAC opener in front of 6,638 fans at Pepsi Arena Saturday evening.
Siena dominated play through most of the first half, but held just a six-point advantage at the intermission. The Griffs scored 12 of the half's final 17 points to cut into Siena's lead which bulged to as many as 13 points twice before the break.
Karangwa who was held scoreless earlier this week at Toledo, got the Saints started on the right foot with a fast-break lay-up off the opening tip. He scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds in the first half. However, the 6-7 senior's vice was four of the Saints' costly 11 turnovers that helped keep Canisius in the game.
Brian Dux who also had four first half turnovers, led all scorers with 11 of his team-high 14 points at the break.
Canisius began the second half on a 15-0 run, taking their first lead of the game following a Yaku Motun-Spruill lay-up with 16:45 remaining.
The Saints answered with a spurt of their own, scoring the game's next 12 points to recapture the lead. Karangwa capped off the sequence with a three-pointer from the left wing with 10:25 remaining. The three, which followed Canisius' second technical foul of the game, gave Siena a 44-43 lead.
The lead changed hands five times over the next four minutes before Karangwa's three with 6:33 left gave Siena the lead for good. The Griffins tied the game on their ensuing possession, but the Saints scored the next six points to build an insurmountable advantage. Tommy Mitchell hit a key three over the and freshman Michael Haddix, who scored 14 points converted a layup off a feed from classmate Paul Williams to put the Saints up eight with just over two minutes remaining.
Siena grabbed 19 offensive rebounds and held a commanding 15-10 edge in second chance points.
The Saints return to MAAC action on Monday evening at Saint Peter's. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
