Canton, NY – Lateef Johnson Jr. shined with 22 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists, and five blocks as the SUNY Canton men's basketball team grinded out a 85-79 win over the Morrisville Mustangs Saturday in the Roos House.

THE BASICS

• Result: SUNY Canton 85, Morrisville 79
• Location: Stan Cohen Court – Canton, NY
• Records: SUNY Canton (5-18, 4-12 SUNYAC) | Morrisville (9-15, 8-9 SUNYAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
 

• The Roos defense was ready to play to begin with, holding the Mustangs to 1-for-7 shooting to start as the Roos were ahead 11-3.
• After the Mustangs brought the game to 11-8, the Roos had a torrid stretch where they made seven of 10 shots and three three-pointers to pull ahead 30-15 with 7:51 left in the first half.
• Morrisville was tough though, and fouling was an issue late in the first half for SUNY Canton. The Mustangs got to the free throw line to pull within single digits and then hit a wildly impressive half-court shot to conclude the half.
• The first half ended with Lateef Johnson Jr. leading the Roos with 18 points as SUNY Canton was leading 44-38 at the break.
• Morrisville got within one point, 50-49, with 15 minutes remaining to play in the second. Almost the entire rest of the game was within a couple of possessions, although the Roos not once trailed in the contest.
• Back-to-back baskets by Jahdeuir Reeese and Malaki Smith gave SUNY Canton a 75-69 advantage with just over four minutes left to play, their largest lead in over 13 minutes of gametime.
• The Mustangs hit some clutch threes late and the Roos lead was down to 82-79 with 44 seconds left.
• SUNY Canton committed a costly backcourt turnover, but then the Mustangs took a highly questionable deep contested three only a few seconds into their resulting possession that was off target.
• Morrisville was forced to foul and Edram Gbekou canned a pair at the line to make it a two-possession ball game. The Mustangs could not score on the other end, and the Roos took the hard-fought 85-79 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Lateef Johnson Jr. had an all-around big performance, with 22 points and eight assists offensively, while going for 16 rebounds and five blocks on the other side of the floor, leading the Roos in all categories.  
• Reese matched Lateef Johnson Jr. with 22 points of his own and Bryon Streb and Smith scored 12 and 11, respectively.
• Morrisville was led by Jacob Works with 18 points and Jayln Moorehead with 15.
• The two squads were nearly identical in shooting numbers with the Roos at 43% (32-75) and the Mustangs at 41% (29-71). The key difference was on the glass with the Roos outhustling Morrisville to loose balls and winning the rebounding battle 55-35. This was the 9^th-most rebounds as a team in D-III history.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Roos have two games remaining on the docket, both next weekend at home starting with the Buffalo State Bengals on Friday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m.    

Discover SUNY Canton, where innovation meets opportunity. The college's career-focused educational programs emphasize hands-on and applied learning opportunities in digital design, engineering technology, health, information technology, management, public service, and veterinary technology. Faculty members bring real-world experience and exceptional academic expertise to the classroom. As a leader in online education, SUNY Canton offers unmatched flexibility with hundreds of courses and 23 comprehensive degree programs offered completely online. The SUNY Canton Kangaroos compete at the NCAA Division III level and are members of the SUNYAC. In addition to its 15 traditional teams, SUNY Canton offers coed varsity esports and cheerleading.