Box Score ELON, N.C. - No. 1 Metro State continued to make history at the NIT Season Tip-Off on Tuesday, topping Canisius 83-69 in Elon, N.C. The Roadrunners became the first Division II team ever to win two games in the tournament on Monday night with a 75-74 win over Elon and improved to 3-1 in this year's tournament on Tuesday. All of the competitions were exhibitions for Metro State this season, while Canisius fell to 3-3 overall.
Mitch McCarron (Brisbane, Australia/Genesis Christian College), the tournament's leading scorer, capped off his torrid run with a game-high 28 points. He led all scorers in all four games in the tournament and hit 10-of-15 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range on Tuesday. McCarron also had six rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Nicholas Kay (Tamworth, Australia/Newington College) scored in double figures with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting with five rebounds and four assists.
Brandon Jefferson (Flower Mound, Texas/Lewisville H.S.) connected on 6-of-7 at the free throw line and scored 17 points with four assists.
Will Sinclair (Lilydale, Australia/Lilydale Heights College) and
Harrison Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College Hunter's Hill) each had six points.
The Roadrunners shot 51.7 percent from the floor, including 9-of-21 from the outside. They also made 14-of-16 (.875) at the line and outrebounded the Golden Griffins 32-to-28 and won the turnover battle 12-to-14.
For the fourth straight game in the NIT Season Tip-Off, the Roadrunners controlled the first half. They led by as many as 13 points at 19-6, capping a 13-2 run with 11:59 remaining in the half. However, the fouls piled up again for Metro State and allowed Canisius back into the game. The Golden Griffins cut the lead to six points, but the Roadrunners took a 36-28 lead into halftime behind 11 points and five rebounds from McCarron.
Canisius cut Metro State's lead to 36-32 on a dunk by Dominique Raney with 19:04 left in the game, but the Roadrunners responded with a 7-0 run, started by a 3-pointer by Kay, and Metro State's lead was quickly back to 43-32 with 16:51 remaining.
The Golden Griffins again got within six points, but a 3-point play by Kay after he grabbed his own rebound gave the Roadrunners a 59-44 lead with 9:30 to go. The 22-8 run continued as Metro State took a 20-point lead at 68-48 after a 3-point play by Jefferson, its largest lead all night.
Raney led Canisius with 17 points and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference preseason player of the year Billy Baron was held to 15 points, including two 3-pointers in the final 1:14.
Metro State will return to regular season action on Friday, facing St. Martin's (Wash.) in Bellingham, Wash.
