(Stafford Trueheart gets loose for the Manhatan Cup Champs. #BOOM / Photo by Joshua Koester)
Coming into this season, two teams were viewed as the favorites to come away with the Manhattan Cup - the defending champs & the team they upset to earn the chance to win it. After a year of talking about a potential meeting between those two for all the marbles, the two MMA powers stepped on the court to give everyone what they had been waiting for. Last night as the clock ticked down under 10 seconds remaining in the Class A Manhattan Cup Final between the two favorites, Canisius & Nichols, the game was tied at 53-53, giving way to a wild finish and giving fans a great Manhattan Cup Final between the two teams who have dominated the tournament for the last seven years.
A cutting Justin Jones took a pass from LaTerrance Reed and finished with a reverse layup with just 2.4 seconds left to give the Crusaders a 55-53 victory over Nichols in the 2015 Manhattan Cup Final. The win crowns Canisius for the fifth time in seven seasons and is the 15th in school history.
"Credit to Nichols, they played their hearts out and were great", said Canisius coach Kyle Husband following the victory.
He was right. Nichols was great. So was Canisius. And the combination of the two, along with an incredible showing from the fans of both schools, particularly the student sections, made for a special night all the way around. A highly competitive and intense game in that type of atmosphere, between two highly skilled teams playing for a championship - there's nothing more you could ask for.
"I couldn't be happier for our guys, the way they fought, the way they battled - they deserved it", Husband said.
The game even gave us both teams looking like it was their night in the first half, before things settled into the classic back-and-forth slugfest that was the second half. Nichols came out flying in the opening quarter, led for most of it, and took an early 18-12 lead. Canisius won the second quarter even more convincingly than Nichols took the first. The Crusaders dialed up the defensive intensity, and won the quarter, 18-7.
The second half began with six points from the Vikings in the first 90 seconds to take the lead back, 31-30. From that point forward, the game played out like two proud heavyweight champs standing toe-to-toe and refusing to fall. The lead would change 15 times moving forward and was tied another five times. It was the type of game that comes down to the final possession, whoever has the ball last wins. That distinction went to the Crusaders.
With 33 seconds left, Nichols' freshman Marcellus Cooper jumped up to grab the offensive rebound of a shot that had gone long for Nichols. Without coming down, Cooper scored on the putback, and tied the game for the Vikings at 53-53.
On the final possession for Canisius, they put the ball in the hands of LaTerrance Reed. As the clock ticked under seven seconds, Reed dribbled into the lane from the left wing and nearly had the ball taken by Cooper. Then, with Chris Miner making a play for the ball, Reed zipped a left-handed pass over Miner's right shoulder, threading a pass between Cam Lewis and Tanner Schmit, to a cutting Jones, who finished with the reverse layup with 2.4 seconds left.
"We play hard, we play tough, and that play at the end, the way we finished - that's who we are", said Husband.
Reed scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the second half, while Josh Huffman scored 16 points in the win. Huffman was awarded Manhattan Cup MVP.
Miner led Nichols with 17 points, Schmit scored 12 points, and Lewis added 11 points. Schmit eclipsed the 1,000 point total for his high school career on a long two in the third quarter.
Following the game, I asked Husband if the win was anymore significant coming against Nichols.
"I wanted to be right here talking to you because we won this game" Husband said. "Obviously playing Nichols again after last year seemed fitting. I'll probably look back at this down the road and it will seem even more so, but today, just standing here after winning this game again means a ton".
-centercourt
Congrats to Canisius a well deserving winner. Good luck Sunday.
And special congrats to Nichols' players and coaches showing great heart battling the consensus #1 team. Best wishes to the seniors on a great career! You'll be remembered as some of the best to play for the Big Green. Good luck in college. Always work hard and seize every opportunity. You're futures are extremely bright! Enjoy the journey!!
Posted by: hoopster | Thursday, March 05, 2015 at 06:05 PM