CANTON, NY - The SUNY Canton Kangaroos - ranked 11th in the latest United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division I National Coaches Poll - raced out to an early lead and used that to defeat the Villa Maria College Vikings 90-71 on Saturday afternoon.  The Vikings, ranked eighth in the latest USCAA Division II National Coaches Poll, finish the regular season 16-13, 8-3 USCAA II and anticipate an at-large bid into the National Tournament held in Uniontown, PA during the week of February 27th.

The Kangaroos (16-8) shot nearly 60 percent from the beyond the arc as they made 10 triples (10-17) en route to their 12th win in their last 13 games.  Villa handed Canton it's only loss in that stretch back on January 20th in Buffalo.  Canton improved to 8-1 at home this season.

Canton raced out to an early 11-2 lead and increased that to 23-8 thanks in part to a 12-0 run.  Canton led by as many as 22, 36-14 with 6:08 left before Villa closed the half on a 18-7 run to get within 43-32 at the break.

Villa shot an uncharacteristically low percentage in the first half (30.8%) and dealt with foul trouble as both DeJaun Owens (Buffalo, NY/Tapestry Charter) and Justin Stokes (Buffalo, NY/Middle Early College) sat for crucial times with two fouls.

Villa freshman Gerald Bibbs (Buffalo, NY/Oracle Charter) led Villa with 16 points and 10 rebounds while fellow freshman Eric Waters (Buffalo, NY/Oracle Charter) also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.  Stokes chipped in 12 while senior Andre Diggs (Bronx, NY/Erie Community) scored 11.

Adrian Williams led Canton with 29 points and was 6-of-9 from beyond the arc.  

INSIDE THE BOX
* Villa closed the first half on a 18-7 run to trim a 22-point deficit to 11 at halftime
* Villa had four players in double-figures - Bibbs (16), Waters (14), Stokes (12), Diggs (11)
* Villa shot just 33.7 percent from the floor and was 4-of-21 from beyond the arc
* Canton edged out Villa on the glass, 52-46

UP NEXT
The Vikings finish their regular season with a record of 16-13, a nine win improvement over last season's seven-win inaugural season.  They end the regular season with an 8-3 record versus USCAA Division II opponents and defeated six ranked teams.  Ranked eighth in the latest USCAA National Coaches Poll, Villa is expecting an at-large bid into the National Tournament held in Uniontown, PA during the week of February 27th.

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