Canisius found themselves down by 13 points to Louisiana Monroe with just over a minute left and still found a way to come back and win in triple overtime, 108-96, on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
Louisiana Monroe went 1-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 50 seconds of regulation as Canisius stormed back by making four 3-pointers and two free throws in the final 1:02 of regulation. Chris Atkinson (13 points) made both of the free throws during that stretch and also canned two 3-pointers -- including the game-tying triple with 12 seconds left that put the game into overtime.
From there, the two teams needed three overtimes to finish the game as the Golden Griffins outscored the Warhawks, 12-0, in the third overtime.
Missed free throws also extended the game in both overtimes as both teams had a chance to win on last-second trips to the charity stripe.
After making the first free throw to tie the game at 89-all in the first overtime with 0.4 seconds left, Louisiana Monroe guard Nick Coppola (13 points) missed the game-winning second free throw. In the second overtime, Golden Griffins guard Kassius Robertson missed both free throws with the game tied at 96 and one second left.
The lesson in this one (as always): Make your free throws.
Robertson paced Canisius (5-6) with 28 points while Malcolm McMillan chipped in 21. Louisiana Monroe (5-6) had six players finish in double-figures led by Majok Deng’s 21 points and 10 rebounds.