Canisius High School basketball player Nick Purdie hits a game-winning 3-pointer against St. Joe's.
Canisius High School senior basketball player Nick Purdie had never hit a game winner, until Saturday afternoon against rival St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute at Canisius' Bernard J. Kennedy field house.
Canisius senior Jahyden Clark inbounded the ball to Purdie in the backcourt with 13.5 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. As Purdie came up the court, he ran to the right corner to hand the ball off to senior Pat Cullinan. As Cullinan moved left, he spun to his right and drove to the basket, drawing Purdie's defender. Cullinan saw the double team and passed the ball back to a wide-open Purdie, who hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left to make it a 51-48 game.
St. Joe's needed to go the length of the court to tie the game after a timeout. Canisius coach Kyle Husband is a firm believer in fouling while up three, and instructed his players to do so. It put Marauders junior Nate Blenman at the free-throw line with two seconds remaining. He made the first free throw and attempted to intentionally miss the second, but it didn't hit the rim, sealing the 51-49 win for Canisius. Entering the game, St. Joe's was No. 1 in The Buffalo News' large schools poll, and Canisius was No. 2.
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"It feels great," Purdie said. "We jumped the ball, and I was open and shot it, like every other shot, and it went in. It's Canisius vs. St. Joe's, so it's a big shot and we won."
Canisius (12-2) was down six with almost two minutes left until 3-pointers by Clark and sophomore Jack Cullinan made it a 48-46 game with 2:09 left. Jack Cullinan's heroics continued when he read the passing lane and made a reverse fast break layup with 41 seconds to go to tie the game. His five fourth-quarter points were the most by a Crusader in the period.
St. Joe's (9-3) led 29-27 at halftime and 41-35 entering the fourth quarter, and seemed in control of the game from the opening tip. The Marauders' vice grip loosened in the final quarter as the Crusaders outscored them 16-8. It was clear that Canisius fed off the energy of the sold-out gym, as no tickets were available at the door, and it seemed as though the fieldhouse was at capacity before the actual game.
"Great high school basketball game and a great rivalry game," Husband said. "Glad to be part of it, and guys stepped up and made big plays in the fourth quarter."
Purdie finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. He shot five of 17, two of five from the 3-point line and three of six from the free throw line. Clark, who isn't usually a scorer, was second on the team with 12 points on four-of-four shooting, and made a pair of 3-pointers and free throws. Patrick Cullinan was third in the point box score column with 11 points on four-of-10 shooting - one of five from 3 - and he made a pair of free throws.
The heart, will and determination of 6-foot-5 Canisius senior Patrick Enright won't appear in the box score. He was tasked with guarding 6'8" junior Nate Blenman, the top boy's basketball prospect in Western New York, with offers from Towson, St. Bonaventure and Fairfield. Enright, who is an All-Western New York first team football lineman and a Holy Cross signee, had the size and strength to compete with Blenman and exerted so much energy against him that Husband saw when his center needed a breather.
"I just know I have to do my role," Enright said. "The coaches gave me a good game plan to go up against him. I just had to have faith in myself and give full effort, hoping I can guard him, and I think I did a good job today."
Prep Talk: Canisius relying on development of Nick Purdie, Jahyden Clark and Patrick Cullinan
Patrick Cullinan, Jahyden Clark and Nick Purdie have become the new leaders of basketball at Canisius (11-2), and will look to lead the team to victory at 2 p.m. Saturday when it hosts St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute (9-2).
Blenman scored 13 points on three-of-12 shooting, two of four from 3 and five of six from the free-throw line. He had six rebounds and two blocks. Although Blenman struggled with his shot, it was clear why he is the top prospect in the area. He displayed double-take athleticism and ability put the ball on the floor and space it.
Blenman wasn't the only Marauder to struggle with his shot. Jaymeir Goosby (12 points) went four of 14, one of four from 3 and three of five on free throws. Mekhi Gidney (13 points) shot four of 11 and one of three from 3, but made all four free throws. Gionni Zelasko (two points) shot one of six.
"We took tough shots, and I don't think we took the physicality well of the big kid Enright. He's just a tank," St. Joe's coach Cooper Calzonetti said. "We took bad shots, and we can't do that against a team like them. You can do it against other teams in our league, but when you do it against Canisius, they're going to make you pay."
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