Canisius University went on a big first half run on Saturday afternoon, and rolled past Maine 70-43 in non-conference men’s basketball action on Skip Chappelle Court at Memorial Gymnasium in Orono.
The Black Bears came out firing. A layup by Keelan Steele, a three-pointer by Logan Carey, and a tip-in by Mekhi Gray made it 7-0 just 1:33 into the first half. The Golden Griffins took over from there, scoring the next 15 points consecutively. Maine, who started 2-3 from the floor, went just 6-28 and 0-8 from the three-point arc the final 18:33 as Canisius outscored them 39-10 in that span to take a commanding 39-17 advantage at the break. The guests built their lead to as many as 29 in the second half in snapping a three game losing streak.
Canisius put four players in double figures, led by a game-high from Kahlil Singleton who had 20 points (6-11 three-pointers). Marcus Niblack had a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Bryan Ndjonga and Mike Evbagharu put in 11 points each. Ndjonga had eight rebounds and Evbagharu had six. The Griffins, out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, improve to 5-6. Steele was the only one in double figures for Maine with 12 points. Gray added nine points and five rebounds. The Black Bears were outrebounded 42-32, and ended up shooting 16-51 (31.4%). Ace Flagg played 18 minutes and had three points, three rebounds, two assists, and two blocked shots. Maine is now 1-12 (0-3 on their home floor) and will be back in action on the road at Drexel on Sunday, December 21.
