Basketball

The Crusaders defeated rival St. Joe’s in a 61-57 thriller! The matchup started with two Joe Ciocca ‘21 three-pointers on offense and a pair of defensive charges taken by Max Dowling ‘21 to get the game rolling. The teams battled back-and-forth, and the first quarter ended with a 15-13 score in favor of St. Joe’s. The physical game continued at the start of the second. Dewayne Vass ‘20 drove to the basket and completed a three-point-play to get the Crusaders within one point. Vass didn’t stop there, totaling all eleven of his first half points in the quarter. The battle continued as Ciocca’s third three-pointer of the game was offset by a Marauder trey with under two minutes left. Canisius ended on top of the back-and-forth affair after a behind-the-back feed from Ciocca to Vass gave them a 31-30 lead, and the first half concluded.

The Crusaders came out of the break firing. The ball movement was superb and the Marauder defense couldn’t find an answer. Forward Max Dowling led the offense with nine points as the squad went on a 17-3 run. The offense eventually ran out of fuel, but a stellar defense kept the double-digit Crusader lead at 51-39 after the third.

St. Joe’s sparked a comeback at the start of the final quarter, quickly cutting the deficit to eight. The Canisius offense struggled, but a physical finish at the hoop by Ishmael Fairclough ‘20 kept the game just out of Marauder reach. Still, the opposing team persisted, and brought the game within three points with 1:29 left in the matchup. Despite the excellent St. Joe’s run in the preceding minutes, the Crusaders played lock-down defense. They didn’t allow a basket to the visiting team in their next two possessions and set up a basket for the offense. A couple of free throws by Vass improved the lead to seven points with under a minute remaining, and the Crusaders earned the victory in the first of two meetings against the Marauders. Dowling led the team with fifteen points while Ciocca contributed fourteen and Vass tallied 13. Shane Cercone ‘23 was a monster on the offensive boards while Fairclough had a great game on defense.

Earlier in the week, Canisius beat Timon 90-81 in overtime after trailing by three after the first half. Dewayne Vass led the offense with 23 points while Shane Cercone and Joe Ciocca each scored 14 and Max Dowling contributed another 13. In their next contest, the squad defeated St. Mary’s 75-38 after leaping to a 40-12 first half lead. Ciocca had the offensive high of 21 points while Dowling and Cercone scored 13 and 10, respectively.

The Crusaders are now 15-1 after a fantastic week of play. They look to improve their record against O’Hara and St. Francis this week.

Fed Hockey

Canisius commenced their week with a 5-3 loss to rival St. Joe’s. The offense started off hot with a Jacob LaDuca ‘21 goal in the first period off of an assist by Matt Usinski ‘21. A Marauder goal early in the second period was quickly answered by a Usikski goal off of a Luke Braun ‘22 feed to maintain the one-goal lead. The Crusaders did an excellent job of spreading the puck around, and Spencer DiLeo ‘21 eventually found Jaden Riley ‘20 to end the second with a 3-1 lead. Despite carrying momentum into the final period, Canisius couldn’t move the puck offensively. St. Joe’s took advantage, coming out of their slump and scoring three straight goals and an empty-netter to finish the game.

In the Crusaders’ next game, they tied Clarence 2-2. Both teams traded goals in regulation, but couldn’t finish it in the extra period. Braun and Chris Heitzhaus ‘20 each scored while Connor Long ‘20 and Dan Sippel ‘20 each tallied an assist. Luke Kerwin ‘20 played well in net, saving sixteen of eighteen shots on net. In the following game, Canisius lost to Orchard Park 4-3 in a thrilling affair. Ryan Laschinger ‘20, Dan Tocco ‘20, and Sippel contributed goals in the first, second, and third periods, respectively.

After a competitive week, the Crusaders are now 9-4-3. They look to improve their record against Lancaster this upcoming weekend.

Club Hockey

Canisius defeated St. Mary’s 3-1 over the weekend. Ben Marchese ‘20, C.J. Lenahan ‘20, and Will Jones ‘21 each scored a goal while Ronnie Cauley ‘21 had a great game in net.

The team will face off against East Aurora, Lancaster, and Jamestown this upcoming week.

Bowling

The Crusaders defeated O’Hara 2-1 in their lone match of the week. They are now 6-5 as they take on St. Joe’s and Timon this upcoming week.

Wrestling

Canisius had many successful wrestlers at the CHSAA Duals. Barry Colby ‘20, Joe Dixon ‘21, and Braydon Vandenberg ‘22 each finished with a record of 8-1 while Luke Brydges ‘22 and Cody Franklin ‘22 earned records of 7-2 and 6-3, respectively.

The Crusaders look to build upon a solid performance at the tournament as they face Gow this week.

Squash

The Crusaders defeated St. Joe’s 7-2 in their only contest of the week. Player of the Match Luke Pieroni ‘20 and Dave Miller ‘20 each swept their opponents 3-0 in the match.

The squad is now 5-0 as they face Gow this week.

Go Crusaders!

Photo by Jacob Hanesworth '22