Coastal Azalea – Rhododendron atlanticum

For information on all Canisius University sports, see Canisius Golden Griffins

The Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball team, or the Griffs, represent Canisius University in Buffalo, New York, United States.^[2] Canisius is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and play their home games at Koessler Center. ^[3] Canisius has appeared in the NCAA tournament four times, most recently in 1996. In 1955 and 1956, the Golden Griffins appeared in the NCAA tournament Elite Eight.

Golden Griffins in the ABA/NBA

Andrew Anderson, played for the Oakland Oaks, Miami Floridians and Los Angeles Stars (1967–70)
Leroy Chollet, played for the Syracuse Nationals (1949–51)
Larry Fogle, played for the New York Knicks (1975–76)
Herm Hedderick, played for the New York Knicks (1955–56)
Charles Jordan, played for Indiana Pacers (1975–76)
Mike Macaluso, played for Buffalo Braves (1973–74)
Bob MacKinnon, played for Syracuse Nationals (1949–50)
Anthony Masiello, played for the Indiana Pacers (1969–70) and later served three terms as mayor of Buffalo (1993–2005).
Al Masino, played for four teams (1952–54)
Johnny McCarthy, played for the 1963–64 NBA Champion Boston Celtics; first of just four players in NBA history to record a triple-double in their playoff debut with the other three being Nikola Jokić, LeBron James and Magic Johnson.
John Morrison, played for Denver Rockets (1967–68)
Mike Smrek ’85, played for the 1986–87 and 1987–88 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers
Mel Thurston played for the Tri-City Blackhawks 1940–42

Other notables

Darrell Barley, 1996 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Darren Fenn, owner of the Buffalo eXtreme
Ray Hall, All-time leader in scoring and steals
Chris Manhertz, signed by Buffalo Bills as undrafted free agent, played for New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Denver Broncos (2015-present)
Craig Wise, 1995 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Eyal Yaffe (born 1960), Israeli basketball player, Israeli Basketball Premier League
Thomas Hardiman played handball at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Postseason tournaments

NCAA tournament results

The Griffins have appeared in four NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 6–4.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1955	First round Regional semifinals Regional Finals	Williams Villanova La Salle	W 73–60 W 73–71 L 64–99
1956	First round Regional semifinals Regional Finals	NC State Dartmouth Temple	W 79–78 ^4OT W 66–58 L 58–60
1957	First round Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	West Virginia North Carolina Lafayette	W 64–56 L 75–87 W 82–76
1996	First round	Utah	L 43–72

NIT results

The Griffins have appeared in five National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). Their combined record is 5–6.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1944	Quarterfinals	Oklahoma A&M	L 43–29
1963	Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals	Memphis Villanova Providence	W 76–67 W 61–46 L 66–81
1985	First round	Nebraska	L 66–79
1994	First round	Villanova	L 79–103
1995	First round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd-place game	Seton Hall Bradley Washington State Virginia Tech Penn State	W 83–71 W 55–53 W 99–90 L 59–71 L 62–66

CIT results

The Griffins have appeared in four CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournaments (CIT). Their combined record is 4–4.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2013	First round Second Round Quarterfinals	Elon Youngstown State Evansville	W 69–53 W 84–82 ^OT L 83–84
2014	First round	VMI	L 100–111
2015	First round Second Round Quarterfinals	Dartmouth Bowling Green NJIT	W 87–72 W 82–59 L 73–78
2017	First round	Samford	L 74–78

CBI results

The Griffins have appeared in one College Basketball Invitational. Their record is 0–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2018	First round	Jacksonville State	L 78–80^OT

References

^ "Canisius College Style Guide 2014". Retrieved April 13, 2016.
^ "Canisius' men can measure degrees of success - College basketball- NBC Sports". Archived from the original on 2010-11-08. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
^ "Canisius Hires Witherspoon". 28 May 2016.

External links

Official website

[1] "Canisius College Style Guide 2014". Retrieved April 13, 2016.

[2] "Canisius' men can measure degrees of success - College basketball- NBC Sports". Archived from the original on 2010-11-08. Retrieved 2010-11-09.

[3] "Canisius Hires Witherspoon". 28 May 2016.

[2]

[3]

Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball
Venues	Broadway Auditorium (1936–1939) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (1940–1995) Marine Midland Arena (1996–1998) Koessler Center (1999–present)
Rivalries	Niagara
Culture & lore	Petey "Canisius, Blue and Gold"
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's basketball
Teams	Canisius Golden Griffins Fairfield Stags Iona Gaels Manhattan Jaspers Marist Red Foxes Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers Niagara Purple Eagles Quinnipiac Bobcats Rider Broncs Saint Peter's Peacocks Siena Saints
Tournament & awards	MAAC men's basketball tournament Coach of the Year Player of the Year Rookie of the Year
Seasons	1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23