On Friday, we saw one of the better rivalries in basketball take place as Niagara took on Canisius. The game is the best rivalry among all of the Buffalo area Big 4 schools. Unlike the past decade when Niagara has dominated the rivalry and been a team to contend with, Canisius entered Friday night's contest as the favorite.
Friday
Buffalo Big 4 Rivalry Game:
Niagara 54, Canisius 69- When these two teams play one another, you can throw out their records. Both teams always show up and put forth their best effort. It was no different on Friday night as Canisius defeated Niagara in front of a sold out Koessler Center and espnU audience. The game remained close until late in the second half when Canisius pulled away. Canisius won the game because of their stifling defense. They held Niagara to 31.9% shooting from the field. Another reason why the Golden Griffins won was due to the great play of Julius Coles as he scored 20 points.
With the win, Canisius moves to 10-10 (4-6) and next plays January 31st at Fairfield.
Niagara played again on Sunday losing against Siena. With both losses, Niagara falls to 4-19 (1-10) and next plays February 4th vs. St. Peter's.
On Saturday, Ohio, St. Bonaventure, Syracuse, and Buffalo were all in action.
Saturday Games
Ohio 61, Ball State 60- DeVaughn Washington put together another good effort as he scored 16 points and led Ohio to the nice conference win over MAC West leader Ball State. The game was close throughout with Ohio being more clutch towards the end. Nick Kellogg scored five consecutive points late in the game to give Ohio a four point lead and they went on to win by one.
With the win, Ohio moves to 10-11 (3-4) and next plays February 2nd at Central Michigan.
St. Bonaventure 69, Fordham 60- Andrew Nicholson had a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds as he led the Bonnies to another Atlantic 10 win. The win comes over lowly Fordham which has yet to win an Atlantic 10 conference game on the year. Also having a good game for St. Bonaventure was Michael Davenport as he nearly had a double-double with 10 points and 8 rebounds.
With the win, St. Bonaventure moves to 11-9 (3-4) and next plays February 2nd at Dayton.
#10 Syracuse 70, Marquette 76- Well, to say Syracuse is struggling right now would be an understatement. Syracuse lost their 4th consecutive game on Saturday afternoon as Marquette defeated them. The main key to the game was that Marquette got to the free throw line 19 times more than Syracuse did. This gave Marquette more free baskets which was the key to their victory. Despite the loss, Scoop Jardine had a good game as he had a double-double with 13 point and 13 rebounds.
With the loss, Syracuse falls to 18-4 (5-4) and next plays February 2nd at #5 UCONN.
Northern Illinois 52, Buffalo 63- Buffalo continues to show us why they should be taken seriously in the MAC. With their win over Northern Illinois, they moved into a tie for 1st place overall in the Mid American Conference. Zach Filzen and Byron Mulkey both had good games on the afternoon as they combined for 40 points.
With the win, Buffalo moves 13-6 (5-2) and next plays February 2nd against Toledo.
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