Quinnipiac holds off Canisius 78-76

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) Donovan Smith scored 14 points, James Ford Jr. added 13, and Quinnipiac survived a late surge by Canisius to win 78-76 on Saturday night.

Giovanni McLean scored 12 points, Ayron Hutton 10, and the Bobcats (3-4, 1-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) outrebounded the Griffins 45-33 and got 18 second-chance points off 16 offensive rebounds.

Trailing 35-33 at halftime, Phil Valenti hit two 3s and Kassius Robertson another and Canisius took a 44-41 lead. Dimitri Floras hit a 3 to spark a 10-0 run and Quinnipiac was back on top 60-53, led by as many as 10, and held on despite being outshot 9-0 down the stretch.

Canisius (3-4, 1-1), which beat Monmouth 96-86 Friday night, played back-to-back MAAC games for its first time to avoid a scheduling conflict with Sunday's Buffalo Bills-Houston Texans football game.

Valenti scored a career-high 25 points, Robertson added 15 and Jamal Reynolds 11 for Canisius.