ALBANY — Marist hung around long enough to make things interesting in its Metro

Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament first-round matchup against Canisius College but the

outcome turned out just as anticipated.

Led by junior forward Elton Frazier, the No. 7 seeded Golden Griffins (15-16) finally put

the No. 10 seeded Red Foxes away midway through the second half and advanced to the

quarterfinals with a 74-54 victory over Marist (1-29) on Friday night at the Times Union

Center.

"I told the guys afterwards that there's someone going home and there's someone staying,"

Canisius coach Tom Parrotta said. "We were lucky enough to beat a pretty dangerous team so

we're staying."

Canisius plays No. 2 seed Fairfield (20-9) at 7:30 p.m., tonight (MSG2) in the

quarterfinals. Canisius dropped both games to Fairfield, 58-52 on Jan. 2 at HSBC Arena, and

76-74 at Fairfield on Jan. 18. The Stags (20-9) have won five of their last seven games

despite missing third-leading scorer Yorel Hawkins with a season-ending knee injury.

Frazier, a native of Syracuse, scored 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting while Greg Logins added

11 points and 10 rebounds in his 14th start of the season.

"I was just taking shots that they gave me," Frazier said. "They gave me a lot of lanes to

drive and I just took them and made some easy baskets. I made a few shots off rebounds so it

was about being patient."

Parrotta decided to start Logins over guard Julius Coles to give Canisius more size upfront

against the smaller Red Foxes. Coles, the team's second-leading scorer, made only one field

goal but Parrotta was pleased with his defense in the second half.

"My goal is to give whatever I can with the team," said Logins, who will start again

tonight. "If I have to play with my back to the basket and score or take open shots which I

did but most of all rebound the ball."

Canisius won with leading scorer Frank Turner making only two field goals, both threes, and

finished with eight points. It was only the third time this season Turner has finished under

double figures.

"It's a testament to the other players that they had to step up," Parrotta said. "I think

it goes back to a game plan on Marist's part because anyone who knows Frank knows how

dangerous he is."

That's why Marist played a 2-3 zone for most of the game which kept Turner out of the lane

and forced Canisius to shoot three-pointers over the zone. The Golden Griffins, who finished

10th in three-point field goals, hit 10 of 25 on Friday led by Alshawn Hymes three. Hymes,

also a Syracuse native, finished with 11 points.

Marist, who didn't have a player averaging double figures for the season, had three players

in double digits on Friday, led by Devin Price's 17 points. Korey Bauer scored 12 points on 6

of 9 shooting, while R.J. Hall added 10 points in 14 minutes.

Marist lost 18 consecutive games to end the season and recorded its only win of the season

on Jan. 2 against Manhattan.

Canisius pulled out to an early 14-6 lead before Marist went on a 10-2 run to tie the game

at 16 after a three-pointer by Hall. But after Marist's Rob Johnson hit a bank shot for a

18-17 Red Foxes lead, Canisius got hot and went on a 12-0 run. Frazier tipped in a Hymes miss

then Frazier hit a baseline jumper. An intentional foul by Marist sent Turner to the line for

a pair of free throws and he made them both. The Golden Griffins got the ball back and came

away with a five-point possession after Hymes made a three-pointer. Coles capped the run with

a three-pointer and Canisius led 29-18.

But Marist closed within five at 31-26 after two free throws by Javon Parris but Canisius

went into halftime with a 34-26 lead when Tomas Vazquez-Simmons banked in a trey as time

expired.

The Griffs started off quickly in the second half and built a 15-point lead with 9:08

remaining after two Robert Goldsberry free throws. They never trailed by fewer than double

digits the rest of the way.