UB, Niagara complete winning trifecta
Published: November 21, 2009, 11:11 pm
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The Western New York Big 4 hit a men's basketball trifecta Saturday with the University at Buffalo, Niagara and Canisius all winning.
UB went to overtime for its 78-69 win over Towson University in Towson, Md., while Niagara came on late in the first half in a 63-46 win over Central Florida in the Glenn Wilkes Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla.
UB outscored the host Tigers, 13-4, in the extra period, ending the game on an 11-1 run for its second victory of the season.
The Bulls made their last four field goal tries in overtime after John Boyer missed a layup five seconds into the period. Calvin Betts, Boyer and Rodney Pierce hit jump shots and Titus Robinson scored on a dunk, and UB also made 5 of 6 free throws in OT.
With UB leading, 65-62, Towson's Tony Franklin hit a three-point shot with 21 seconds left to force the overtime. Pierce missed a shot at the buzzer on the Bulls' final possession of regulation.
Pierce led a balanced UB attack with 18 points, Betts had 13 to go with a team-high 10 rebounds, Mitchell Watt 12 and Jawaan Alston 11.
Boyer had a career-best 12 assists in a strong all-around effort which included eight rebounds, six points and three steals.
After Towson led, 33-27, at halftime, UB shot 55.2 (16 of 29) percent in the second half.
"The second half we started finding our rhythm," UB coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "By the end of the game we really ran our offense pretty well. We got a little jittery and a little submissive when we had the lead. But for the most part, we ran our offense well through the end of the game."
UB will be home to Canisius in its next game Tuesday night.
In Daytona Beach, Niagara (3-1) used a lock-down defense to earn its third straight victory at the Ocean Center in the tournament named for the retired longtime coach at Stetson University in Deland, Fla. The Purple Eagles forced 23 turnovers and held the Golden Knights to 31.6 percent shooting from the floor.
"I am very proud of our team," Niagara coach Joe Mihalich said. "We just beat a very good team [Saturday] and our team defense was the key."
Niagara's aggressive team defense set the tone from the opening tip. UCF was held off the scoreboard for the first four minutes and connected on only one field goal in the final five minutes of the first half.
There were several individual standouts for the Purple Eagles.
All 13 of senior Demetrius Williamson's points came in the second half. He shot 5 of 8 from the floor after intermission, including three triples.
Kashief Edwards put together his third consecutive strong game. The sophomore big man totaled eight points, seven rebounds and blocked four shots for the second-straight game. He has 11 blocked shots in the three Niagara victories.
Anthony Nelson tallied 11 points and five assists from the point guard slot.
Bilal Benn was held to 10 points, six rebounds and three steals after playing just nine minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.
Rob Garrison (Niagara Falls) added eight points, three assists and a pair of steals.
Austin Cooley connected on a pair of 3-pointers for the third-straight game. Freshmen Scooter Gillette and Eric Williams combined for seven points and four rebounds. The rookie big men went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.
The Purple Eagles will look to extend their winning streak and attempt to make it a weekend sweep for the Big 4 (St. Bonaventure won Friday night over Binghamton) on the final day of the three-day event against Austin Peay today at 6 p.m.
It was the first loss for UCF, which defeated Auburn, 84-74, on Friday. Auburn handed Niagara its only loss.
Today's games
In Big 4 women's basketball, Niagara (0-3) returns to the Gallagher Center to face unbeaten Eastern Michigan (3-0) at 2 p.m. while Canisius (0-2), which fell to St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, goes on the road to Youngstown State (0-3), with a 2:05 tipoff.
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