In the Coaches vs Cancer Winter Showcase at Hilbert College on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Crusaders came down from a double-digit fourth quarter deficit to defeat Niagara Falls, which entered the game ranked in the New York State sportswriters top 20 Class AA schools.

The Crusaders found themselves in a hole early, trailing the Wolverines at halftime 49-28. Canisius managed to chip away at the deficit in the third quarter, but Niagara Falls maintained a lead throughout regulation. Trailing by 18 with ten minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Crusaders brought the deficit to single digits and eventually forced overtime when Shane Cercone '23 tied the game 74-74 with a layup in the final seconds.

Shane Cercone ties the game to send Canisius & Niagara Falls to overtime!! pic.twitter.com/QM051W4KxM

— ??centercourt?? (@centercourt42) January 16, 2023

In the overtime frame, Canisius jumped out early and took its first lead of the game. Cercone would seal the game for Canisius with a layup to extend the Crusader lead to four as Canisius won 86-82.

Cercone led the team with 43 points, and 28 of those points came in the second-half comeback. Luke Granto '23 added 14 points, and Nicholas Purdie '25 provided 13 points for the Crusaders.

Canisius is next in action on Friday, January 20th, at Cardinal O'Hara.
 

Shane Cercone of @CanisiusHSHoops after their 86-82 come-from-behind OT win over Niagara Falls at the Coaches v. Cancer Showcase

This is brought to you by Western New York Immediate Care. Visit their website for hours and locations at https://t.co/KlBvQPbzfU pic.twitter.com/f6zUwzncbu

— WNY Athletics (@WNYAthletics) January 17, 2023

FINAL in OT

Canisius 86 Niagara Falls 82

Trailing by 18 with just 10 minutes to play, CHS storms back & wins it in OT! @Shanecercone 43 pts@LukeGranto 14 pts@Nickpurdie1180 13 pts
Patrick Cullinan 8 pts

Next game: Friday at O'Hara @bufnewspreptalk

— Canisius HS Basketball (@CanisiusHSHoops) January 17, 2023