BUFFALO, N.Y. (Interstat) — Arlandus Keyes scored 22 points and Mount Saint Mary’s used a dominant second-half surge to pull away from Canisius for a 78-68 victory in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s basketball on Saturday at Koessler Athletic Center.

The Mountaineers, who trailed by a point at halftime, outscored the Golden Griffins 45-34 after the break, leveraging superior efficiency inside the arc to secure the road win and snap a two-game skid.

The game’s decisive stretch came early in the second half. With Mount Saint Mary’s clinging to a 41-39 lead, the Mountaineers unleashed a 13-3 run over a four-minute span to seize control. The spurt was fueled by defense and interior scoring. Keyes, a 6-foot-2 guard from Florissant, Missouri, drilled a three-pointer to start the run, and Luke McEldon and Trey Deveaux added baskets in the paint. Abdou Khadre Kébé capped the run with a steal and assist on a Deveaux dunk, pushing the lead to 54-42 with 17:09 remaining.

Canisius, which relied heavily on the three-point shot, never recovered. The Golden Griffins trimmed the deficit to nine points on several occasions but could not mount a sustained comeback, as the Mountaineers consistently answered with scores in the lane or at the free-throw line.

Keyes was efficient in his 24 minutes, shooting 8 of 13 from the field, including 4 of 7 from three-point range. He added two blocks. Deveaux contributed 16 points for Mount Saint Mary’s, while McEldon, a 6-foot-10 forward from London, England, chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds. Kébé, from Dakar, Senegal, filled the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

Canisius was led by a pair of 20-point scorers. Bryan Ndjonga, a 6-foot-9 forward from Yaounde, Cameroon, posted 22 points, five assists and two blocks. Guard Kahlil Singleton of Vancouver, Washington, also scored 22, connecting on 5 of 13 attempts from beyond the arc.

The statistical story of the game was written in the paint and in shooting percentages. Mount Saint Mary’s (7-12, 2-3 MAAC) overwhelmed Canisius near the basket, outscoring the Griffins 36-16 on interior points. The Mountaineers shot 55.8% from the field overall, compared to just 40% for Canisius. While the Golden Griffins made 13 three-pointers to the Mountaineers’ eight, their volume shooting—34 attempts—underscored their struggle to find higher-percentage looks.

Mount Saint Mary’s also won the possession battle, committing 14 turnovers to Canisius’s nine but offsetting that with a plus-one advantage in offensive rebounds and a significantly better shooting night. The Mountaineers posted an offensive rating of 112.9 points per 100 possessions, far outpacing the Griffins’ 99.5.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair featuring 10 lead changes. Canisius (8-11, 2-3) built an early 16-8 advantage behind hot three-point shooting from Singleton and Myles Wilmoth. Mount Saint Mary’s responded with a 13-2 run, keyed by Keyes and Deveaux, to take a 21-18 lead. The teams traded blows until the closing seconds of the half, when Singleton hit a three-pointer to give the Griffins a 34-33 edge at the break.

The Mountaineers’ second-half adjustment to pound the ball inside proved to be the difference, as they shot 65% from the field after halftime.

Mike Evbagharu scored seven points for Canisius, while Anthony Benard and Max Jusianiec each added eight. Mason So provided a spark off the bench for Mount Saint Mary’s with seven points.

The announced attendance was 591. The combined score of 146 points went over the pre-game over/under line of 134.5. Mount Saint Mary’s was projected as a 60.9% favorite by the Interstat ELO system.

Mount Saint Mary’s travels to face Niagara on Monday. Canisius’s next game is at Sacred Heart on Thursday.