26-13 Stags; 3:04 in the 1st

• Marty and Nero get into it as the team botches a play attempt and turn the ball over. Both of the guys were not communicating, and yelled right in front of Tom and I. Cooley throws his fist in anger. That escalated quickly.
  
• Herbie takes over the play and hits a shot. He faked from the top of the arc, put the ball on the floor, and then hit the jumper. On the other end of the floor, Bob Bevilacqua does his Herbie Allen impression and does the same. 26-13 Stags.
  
• Nero fight for a board, it goes off of Logins, and the Stags keep the ball on this end of the floor.
  
• Canisius shows some full-court pressure. Not a bad job from them either. My question: why did it take so long?
  
• Nero drives and has to settle for a leaning jump shot, which goes wide left. The fight for the rebound goes off of him, and the Griffs get possession.
  
• Warren Edney called for an offensive, and finally the Golden Griffs have some long-awaited momentum in this ball game.
  
• A.J. gets a little rambunctious waiting in the paint for the play to develop, as he steps outside and jumps on Turner. Moments later, Hassel makes a three-pointer. 24-11 Stags.
  
• Lyndon Jordan misses off of a kick-out pass from Marty. Griffs ball.
  
• Frank Turner: "I can't play these guys alone! Let's go!"
  
• Marty O'Sullivan tries to post up Logins, but airs the shot. Luckily, it was a fantastic pass to Anthony Johnson, who hits the easy shot off the glass. 24-8 Stags.
  
• Frank Turner finally finds some room in the lane and lays it in. Nice job. 22-8 Stags.
  
• The inbound pass from Han goes right up to A.J. Peanut Johnson pulls it down, hits the jumper, and the foul. However, to stay true to form, he misses the free throw. 22-6 Stags.
  
• Question of the night: What's worse - yellow Nike shoes or yellow cars? Talk amongst yourselves.
  
• ESPNU is here tonight. As a result, Harbor Yard looks a little 'dolled up', to borrow a phrase from my grandmother. The players' bench seat have 'Aquafina' lables on top of them. The rolling ads thingy has been brought out of the closet, dormant since last year's MAAC tourney. And, of course, the pre-game food was fantastic.
  

- Keith Connors