Canisius is 9-1 against Cardinal O'Hara since December of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Canisius Crusaders will be playing in front of their home fans against the Cardinal O'Hara Hawks at 6:00 p.m. Canisius is coming into the game hot, having won their last 11 games.
In what's become a running theme this season, Canisius gave their fans yet another huge win on Tuesday. They claimed a resounding 74-41 victory over St. Francis at home. With Canisius ahead 38-18 at the half, the match was all but over already.
Patrick Cullinan was his usual excellent self, scoring 16 points along with five rebounds and four steals. He hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Patrick Enright, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Cardinal O'Hara pushed their score all the way to 56 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. The game between them and St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute wasn't particularly close, with Cardinal O'Hara falling 70-56. While losing is never fun, Cardinal O'Hara can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 458th, while St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute is ranked 99th).
The losing side was boosted by Kels Ivey, who scored 21 points along with seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Cannon Dotson, who scored 14 points along with two blocks.
Canisius pushed their record up to 16-2 with that victory, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.0 points per game. As for Cardinal O'Hara, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-11 record this season.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Canisius and Cardinal O'Hara are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Canisius hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 65.1 points per game. However, it's not like Cardinal O'Hara struggles in that department as they've been averaging 61.1 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Everything went Canisius' way against Cardinal O'Hara when the teams last played back in December of 2023 as Canisius made off with a 78-54 victory. With Canisius ahead 43-23 at the half, the match was all but over already.
