[ POSTGAME VIDEO: Canisius 60, Stony Brook 59 (OT) ]

Stony Brook 23 29 7 — 59
Canisius 28 24 8 — 60

By Nick Veronica

How it happened: Jeremiah Williams hit a pull-up jumper from the elbow with nine seconds left in overtime and Jamal Reynolds collected the rebound on Carson Puriefoy’s late miss to seal a gutty win. Jim Baron had two timeouts left when the Griffs came up the court down by one and chose not the use them.

A layup from Phil Valenti put Canisius up 41-34 with 8:48 to play, but the Griffs went cold after that as Stony Brook used an 11-2 run to take a 45-43 lead with 4:25 remaining. Stony Brook later tied the game at 52 before Jim Baron took timeout with 18.6 seconds remaining. Zach Lewis took a pull-up three-pointer with four seconds left, which rimmed out and sent the game to overtime.

Both teams struggled shooting in a game that crept along until the final minute. Canisius shot 32.1 percent and Stony Brook shot 28.4 percent.

What it means: Canisius goes to 5-4 and will be .500 or better at Christmas for the third straight year under Jim Baron. Iona (6-3) and Rider (5-6) are the only MAAC teams to have as many wins as Canisius. Stony Brook goes to 5-6. It was the first overtime game of the year for both teams.

Game ball: Stony Brook’s 6-foot-8, 255 pound junior forward Jameel Warney absolutely killed Canisius, scoring 17 points and pulling down 17 rebounds in regulation before finishing with 19 and 18.

Point guard watch: Neither Jan Grzelinski nor Jeremiah Williams had a good first half Thursday but Williams made up for it late. Grzelinski didn’t score and committed three turnovers in 15 minutes and is still hesitant to shoot. He only played four minutes after halftime and was called for a lane violation that nullified a Zach Lewis free throw in the first half. Williams finished with nine points on 2-of-4 shooting and 5-for-5 from the line, including three big free throws late in regulation. Kassius Robertson played 18 minutes off the bench. No Griff had more than two assists.

Reynolds’ double-double: Jamal Reynolds logged his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.

Road woes: Stony Brook entered the game 5-5 on the year, with all five losses coming on the road. They are now 0-6 on the road.

Even matchup? Canisius vs. Stony Brook was a pretty fair fight, according to KenPom.

Owen dresses: Freshman Raven Owen dressed for the first time this season after missing the first eight games with a stress fracture in his left foot. He did not play and may still redshirt.

Starters: Canisius – Zach Lewis, Jan Grzelinski, Jamal Reynolds, Phil Valenti and Josiah Heath. Stony Brook – Carson Puriefoy, Jameel Warney, Rayshaun McGrew, Roland Nyama and Bryan Sekunda.

Next: Canisius hosts Holy Cross at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21.