ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Phil Valenti had a pair of layups in in the final 70 seconds and No. 7 seed Canisius held off No. 10 Marist, 77-73 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament first round Thursday night.

Valenti gave the Golden Griffins a 74-70 lead with 1:10 remaining but missed a free throw that would have completed the 3-point play, then made another layup to make it 76-72 with :49 remaining.

Khallid Hart tried a 3-pointer to tie with :21 left but Kassius Robertson blocked the shot. Kiefer Douse hit the first of two free throws with eight seconds left to put the game out of reach.