Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) -- A career night for Isaac Sosa, and a dominant second half shooting helped propel the Canisius Golden Griffins to an 82-54 win over the Longwood Lancers at Koessler Athletic Center on Monday night.
Sosa picked up right where he left off Saturday. The senior guard made four three-pointers in the first half to help pace the Griffs. Sosa had 15 points on five three-pointers against Syracuse over the weekend. His 12 points led the team in the opening half, while Chris Manhertz contributed 10 as well. Bench scoring was a key to the first half, with 13 of the team’s 39 points coming from the group. Alshwan Hymes scored 6 of the 13, thanks to 2-4 shooting from behind the three-point line.
The Griffs were outrebounded by Longwood 24-21 in the first half, with the Lancers also controlling the offensive boards 10-5. Guard Nik Brown led Longwood in scoring, with 9 points in the first half. Eight different Griffs scored in the half, compared to just five for Longwood. Billy Baron and Harold Washington each had just 2 points in the first.
Canisius dominated the second half, thanks in part to better than 50% shooting from the field. The team was 14-26 (53.8%), and overall for the game the Griffs shot 30-60 (50%). The Golden Griffins lead by 10-or more points for all of just three minutes in the half, and led by 30 with under a minute to go in the game. Sosa netted four more three-pointers in the half for a career high eight, and 24 points. Manhertz finished the game with 13 points and 9 rebounds in 29 minutes.
Off the bench Hymes added 18 points in 25 minutes to lead all bench players in the game. Washington finished the night with just 4 points, but led the team in assists with 7. Longwood held the edge in rebounding, 40-34, and doubled up Canisius on the offensive glass 16-8 in the game. Jeylani Dublin contributed a double-double in the loss with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Brown added 11 points in 26 minutes for the visitors.
The Griffs head out on the road for a pair of games before the Christmas holiday. Temple welcomes Canisius for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday, and then it is off to Nevada for a meeting with No. 20/17 UNLV on Saturday. Canisius and the Rebels tip-off at 10 o’clock. You can hear both games on our sister station, AM-1400 WWWS.