Niagara dumps Drexel, 76-69
Published: November 17, 2009, 10:27 am
Story tools:
Share this story:
LEWISTON - Everyone suffers through it, don't they, when they have to rise early in the morning, earlier than usual? When there's something meaningful on the day's agenda and oversleeping becomes a paranoia? Under those conditions does anybody ever get a lick of quality rest before the alarm mercifully sounds, bringing the ordeal to a close?
Not if you're Rob Garrison. Not if you're Bilal Benn. But, given the results, Niagara coach Joe Mihalich might consider employing sleep deprivation as regular tactic.
Neither Garrison nor Benn ventured far into dreamland Monday night as the Purple Eagles holed up in a hotel in preparation for Tuesday's 8 a.m. start against Drexel, part of ESPN's 24 hours of basketball. But you'd never have known it.
Garrison scored a game-high 20 points. Benn contributed 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. And Niagara, with Tyrone Lewis out injured and point guard Anthony Nelson limited by fouls, went on a first-half scoring binge before holding off the Dragons, 76-69, in front of 2,261 early risers at the Gallagher Center.
"Honestly, I didn't get any sleep last night, I really didn't," Garrison said. "Austin [Cooley] was my roommate and he was sleeping well. He was snoring a little.
"I really couldn't sleep," Garrison continued. "I don't know if it was because of the game. I was going through plays already in my head."
Benn fought the same battle, also coming out a loser.
"I didn't get much sleep at all," he said. "I woke up like three times, about 2:40, I woke up at 4:20, then I woke up right before they called us thinking I was late. I saw Luuk [Kortekaas] still sleeping and I'm like, "Luuk, get up.' He's like, "Bilal, it's only 5:30.' I'm like, "My bad.'
"It was really hard trying to block stuff out," Benn added. "And it wasn't like being nervous. ... It was like: TV. We're playing at eight in the morning. And it just kept playing over in my head and I'm trying to sleep and I'm like, "Can I just please get to sleep?' "
Home court and a boisterous crowd played to Niagara's advantage and might have been just what it needed to steal its first victory. The loss of Lewis (he remains day to day) and the foul situation that glued Nelson to the bench for the final 15 minutes of the first half shortened Niagara's bench considerably and forced Garrison into the role of point guard. He flourished, scoring 12 points and handing out two assists in the half as Niagara's transition game whisked it to a 42-30 halftime advantage.
The offense never really found its rhythm after intermission with Nelson back in charge, shooting just 25 percent from the floor. Drexel's Jamie Harris missed a trey that would have tied it with seven seconds left. Free throws by Garrison and Benn then quelled the drama.
"That's a great win," Mihalich said. "Without Tyrone Lewis, a short bench, a young bench, I thought this team took a giant step forward. People think that because we have four starters back that it's going to be the same as last year. Even our team, I caution our team on having those thoughts. But we are not like last year. We're a work in progress. We need the three guys in the middle to get better. We need Austin Cooley to develop his role. And I thought that's what happened today."
The Purple Eagles got significant contributions from freshmen forwards Scooter Gillette and Eric Williams, who each produced four points and five rebounds.
Now it's on to Daytona Beach, Fla., for games Friday through Sunday in the Glenn Wilkes Classic.
Newsletters
Sign up now for daily and weekly newsletters from BuffaloNews.com and get quick links to the info you want delivered directly to your inbox.Reader comments
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Comments have been disabled.
Due to a high volume of submissions that violate The News’ guidelines, commenting is no longer available on this story. If you’d like to share your thoughts on this story, click here to get information on contributing to The News’ opinion pages.