Well after his team celebrated, long after the St. Joe's basketball court was cleared of the students who mobbed their Marauders after the buzzer, always down-to-earth coach Mark Simon said of his team's win: "It's just one."

But what a big one it was.

In front of a frenzied, standing-room-only crowd of about 1,500 at St. Joe's, the Marauders knocked off rival and No. 1 large school Canisius, 78-72, Friday night. The No. 3 Marauders had five players in double figures, shook off foul trouble to imposing senior forward Reggie Agbeko and their defense continually disrupted the Crusaders.

"The game was as advertised, lot of thrills, up-and-down, a great game and a huge victory for us," said Simon. "They've had our number for a while. I told our guys, 'it's only one along the way, we still have a long way to go.'"

It is the second major victory for St. Joe's in less than a week. Last Saturday, it beat visiting Section V (Rochester area) power Aquinas. With the victory, along with Niagara Falls' loss to Kenmore West, St. Joe's is poised to take over the No. 1 spot in the large school poll.

"They all really care about each other and our team chemistry is really good," Simon said of his team, which returned only Agbeko from last year's starting lineup. "They seem to like the big games and the big crowds, and that's a good quality to have. They understand their responsibilities and their roles. They understand a lot of it is about Reggie, but our guard play has been good and our substitute play has been good. Those are all the things you need to win a championship."

Junior forward Louis Oliveri led St. Joe's (15-2, 5-0 Monsignor Martin Association) with 20 points while junior forward Daniel Maher came off the bench to score 11. St. Joe's guards were excellent on defense, causing several turnovers that would lead to points, often with them leading the way in transition. Junior Jordan Glover had 13, junior Jaylen Morris had 12 and senior Kyle Briggs had eight.

Agbeko, the 6-foot-8 forward, was plagued by foul trouble throughout a game in which he had 12 points. He scored 10 of those in the fourth quarter — including all three of his field goals on the night — to help St. Joe's take control.

In a close, intense game typical of the rivalry, St. Joe's had a 49-48 lead entering the fourth quarter. Agbeko's three baskets all came in the first 2:17 of the fourth quarter, including a traditional three-point play that put the Marauders up, 58-50. St. Joe's would lead by as many as 13 points as it maintained a double-digit lead for much of the fourth. Canisius got the lead down to seven twice in the final two minutes, but only a buzzer-beating three-pointer by junior point guard Aaron White made it a six-point final score.

Canisius (10-5, 4-1) was led by junior Adam Weir's 22 points while senior Matthew Hart had 19.

The teams' second meeting is Feb. 18 at Canisius; of course the teams could meet, as they often do, during the Manhattan Cup playoffs.

"Hopefully," Simon said, "there will be three."

kmcshea@buffnews.com null