The Canisius Crusaders will face off against the Bishop Timon-St. Jude Tigers at 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Canisius is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 66.8 points per game this season.
Canisius is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New York's top teams: St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, who was ranked 13th at the time (Canisius was ranked 23rd). Canisius fell 55-48 to St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute last Friday.
Patrick Enright
| 02/14/25 @ St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute | 14 |
| 12/27/24 vs Loyola Blakefield | 12 |
| 12/14/24 vs Cathedral Prep | 12 |
| 12/28/24 vs Regis | 11 |
| 02/07/25 @ Bishop Timon-St. Jude | 10 |
Defeat or not, Canisius got some senior leadership from Patrick Enright and Nicholas Purdie. Enright posted eight points and 14 boards, while Purdie earned 15 points and seven rebounds. Those 14 boards gave Enright a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jack Cullinan, who had seven points.
Even though they lost, Canisius smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in nine consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Bishop Timon-St. Jude had no trouble coming through when it counted. They claimed a resounding 97-64 victory over The Park School of Buffalo. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 contests by 20 points or more this season.
Bishop Timon-St. Jude had a senior duo take command as Nakyhi Harris dropped a triple-double with 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists and Aaron Hicks went 6-for-7 from beyond the arc en route to 29 points and three steals. Harris' afternoon made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 24 points. Another player making a difference was Joey Insera, who put up 11 points in addition to six boards and three steals.
Canisius' loss ended a 14-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 20-4. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.4 points over those games. As for Bishop Timon-St. Jude, the win (which was their sixth in a row) raised their record to 20-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Canisius has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Bishop Timon-St. Jude struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Canisius strolled past Bishop Timon-St. Jude in their previous meeting on February 7th by a score of 76-57. Does Canisius have another victory up their sleeve, or will Bishop Timon-St. Jude turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
