For the second consecutive season, the longest standing rivalry in Western New York went toe-to-toe for boys basketball supremacy. Canisius defeated St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute 60-45 to claim the Manhattan Cup on Monday night at the Koessler Athletic Center on the campus of Canisius University.
With student sections spilling over from the LECOM HarborCenter, the walls at the Koessler Athletic Center reverberated chants from each fan base, who stood in opposing endzone bleachers.
Less than two hours prior to tipoff, the Crusaders defeated the Marauders in the third and final game of the Niagara Cup Championship series, 3-2 in overtime, to claim the MMAA Boys Hockey crown.
Canisius came out of the gates flying, shooting with immaculate efficiency offensively. Working inside-out, the Crusaders rewarded themselves with two made three pointers from TJ Askew and Darnell Galimore, Jr. Head Coach Cooper Calzonetti called a timeout just beyond the midway mark of the opening quarter, with his Marauders trailing 14-5.
St. Joe's spotlight player JJ Shanklin had a chance to calm down the environment and cut into the deficit out of the timeout, but two missed free throws. That would haunt Shanklin all night.
As the first frame wound down, Canisius continued to pounce on the grey-clad Marauders, owning the rebounding battle through the end of the opening frame, with multiple put-back conversions on offense.
With an 18-9 lead after eight minutes, the Crusaders, who earned the right to have their score displayed on the "Canisius" side of the scoreboard at Canisius University by clinching the top seed in the Monsignor Martin playoff bracket, showed poise and patience on both ends of the floor.
The Marauders continued to run their isolation offense,
relying on sophomore guards JJ Shanklin and Gary Alexander IV to create looks off the dribble. At the 4:52 mark of the second quarter, the latter of the underclassmen gave the student second donning ski goggles a reason to erupt, with a nifty move to convert on a layup through contact, drawing the "and-one" foul on Jack Cullinan. Alexander's following free throw cut into the Canisius, then at nine points. Cullinan's second personal foul kept him sidelined for the rest of half.
Crusader Head Coach Kyle Husband, in his twenty-second season at the helm, employed a 1-2-1 trap, which would prove to be costly. St. Joe's Gary Alexander threaded the needle with a bounce pass between the defense to Michael Schraufstetter, who quickly dished to Jahzi Lanzot on the right wing for a transition three-pointer that splashed in, drawing the Marauders closer, trailing by six with under four minutes before halftime.
While the Marauders began to run sets offensively, it was the solo effort of the transfer from Cheektowaga, Shanklin, who went end-to-end, corkscrewing through the Canisius transition defense for a bucket to make the score 26-22.
At the half, it was Canisius in control, but only by three, leading 26-23.
Fresh out of the locker room, Canisius senior Darnell Gallimore, Jr. broke free for a golden buzzer-worthy right-handed tomahawk dunk to explode the Crusader sideline, leading 28-23, not thirty seconds into the second half.
More of the same from St. Joe's in the third quarter, as JJ Shanklin took another defensive rebound ninety-four feet for a fastbreak two points.
TURNING POINT: With 5:34 left in the third quarter, St. Joe's sophomore Gary Alexander IV jetted past Canisius defender TJ Askew, before missed a layup on the bottom-left corner of the backboard. Flying in from behind, Gallimore pinned the rbound against the backboard, sparking a goaltending call. That put two points on the board for St. Joe's, and the Canisius crowd and bench was irate. For a handful of possessions following, the Crusaders couldn't shake the momentum swing, with uncommon turnovers and defensive lapses that St. Joe's took full advantage of, jumping out to a 31-30 lead, their first since 3-2.
Back-and-forth scores for both teams slowly moved the score to a 36-36 draw with just over three minutes before the end of the third.
Alexander, whose pace in transition was a difference maker for the Marauders all season, used his burst to score through contact, igniting a St. Joe's run. Canisius couldn't handle the man-to-man defense of the Marauders and turned the ball over, allowing for a JJ Shanklin highlight reel finish, extending the second seed's lead to 40-37.
The third quarter concluded with St. Joe's holding a 42-39 advantage.
Back-and-forth, the fourth quarter was full of answers from both teams. JJ Shanklin created individual looks and cashed in around the basket, Cole Frederick responded with a three pointer for Canisius. Gary Alexander blew past his defender for an easy St. Joe's layup, just for Christian Gill to knock down a left-elbow jumper for the Crusaders.
Marauder center Liam Horan earned a thunderous basket between the length of the Canisius defenders three minutes into the quarter, to advance the St. Joe's lead to 51-44.
As the saying goes, big time players make big time plays in big time games. Jack Cullinan, who had hit the game-winning buzzer-beater for Canisius in their last meeting just two weeks ago, began to take over the game. An offensive rebound and put-back bucket led to a baseline drive and tough right-hand finish to draw the deficit to one possession, 51-48.
After another defensive stop, Canisius junior guard Christian Gill drained a college-range trifecta to tie the game at 51 with 4:25 remaining.
As the quarter wound down, Jack Cullinan earned another through score, through a defender and drawing a foul. The senior guard converted the and-one, in what would stand as the game-winning three-point play; 57-53, with 1:37 left.
Just as it seemed the Marauders were down and out, fifteen seconds later, JJ Shanklin sniped a long range three pointer for St. Joe's to snap a 13-2 Canisius run, bringing the score back within one point: 57-56.
On their next possession, Shanklin earned a trip to the free throw line, with thirty-seven seconds on the clock, trailing by one point. The sophomore's first shot missed strong, and rattled out. The Canisius student section, or 'Blue Crew' went nuts. Shanklin's second attempt was strong as well, but he followed his miss and got the rebound, drawing another shooting foul on his put-back attempt.
Shanklin's third crunch-time free throw was a miss strong again. His second attempt that trip was strong again, drawing reaction from the Cheektowaga native, looking skyward with his palms facing the roof of the Koessler Athletic Center. Canisius got the round, Jack Cullinan was fouled, and the Crusader senior sunk both his free throws to take a 58-56 lead.
Fittingly, the junior who transferred from St. Joe's in the summer of 2025, Elijah Jones, was sent to the free throw line for Canisius with nine ticks remaining on the game clock. Dealing with his former classmates jeering him one hundred feet behind him, Jones swished both foul shots to seal the win.
Jack Cullinan, Canisius senior guard, was named Championship Game MVP, ending the day with 10 points, and eight of those coming in the final quarter.
Canisius advances to the New York State Catholic High School Championship, to be played at Erie Community College next weekend.
