Purple Eagles swoop past Marist into semis
Garrison, Benn key second-half run
ALBANY—There was little chance of Niagara University looking past Marist and onto the semifinals of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament. All the Purple Eagles had to do was remember the sound of the Red Foxes celebrating in the hallway outside the Times Union Center after last year’s first-round matchup.
But Saturday’s game was never in doubt as the Purple Eagles took a 16-point halftime lead then used a 7-0 run to start the second half which enabled Niagara to advance to the semifinals with a 79-50 victory over Marist in a quarterfinal matchup on Saturday.
The No. 2 seeded Purple Eagles (25-7) take on the winner of No. 6 Saint Peter’s vs. No. 3 Rider which was played late Saturday night. Niagara’s semifinal matchup is scheduled to tip-off at 8:30 p. m., tonight.
The Purple Eagles swept Saint Peter’s this season, including a 73-55 win at the Gallagher Center on Feb. 6. They split with Rider, including a 90-87 loss on the road which was their last loss of the regular season. Since the Feb. 18 setback to Rider, the Purple Eagles have won four straight and 11 of their last 12.
It was the Red Foxes who knocked the Purple Eagles out of the tournament last year when many believed Niagara was good enough to reach the finals. Where last year’s game swayed back and forth until the end when it lost 66-62, Niagara quickly dismissed Marist Saturday.
Rob Garrison hit a jumper, then after a miss by Dejuan Goodwin, Bilal Benn canned a three in transition. Defense, a Niagara trademark this season, limited Marist leading scorer Ryan Schneider to 3 of 13 shooting from the field for 12 points, four under his average of 16 a game. The senior’s last basket of his career with just under two minutes left in the game, gave him a 1,002 points for his career.
No, Niagara wasn’t taking any chances with Marist. Not only did they end the Purple Eagles season a year ago, but in their next matchup last Jan. 11, Marist blew away Niagara, 86-68, in their biggest loss of the season. Then on March 1 at the Gallagher Center, Niagara was able to pull out an 80-72 victory.
But on Saturday, with so much riding for Niagara, the Purple Eagles were clearly the superior team.
Still, there was one huge cause for concern for the Purple Eagles. Team leading scorer Tyrone Lewis had trouble locating the basket and was 4 of 15 from the field, including 3 of 10 from beyond the arc.
The Purple Eagles didn’t play particularly well in the first half while shooting 32.2 percent from the field while hitting 4 of 16 from three-point range. Lewis had eight points but was 2 for 10 overall and 2 of 7 from long range.
Garrison, playing in his first MAAC Tournament game after transferring from Connecticut, led all scorers with 21 points and contributed four assists, while Lewis added 13, Demetrius Williams 12 and Benson Egemonye 11 points and nine boards.
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