Purple Eagles stretch their wings
Niagara headed to MAAC title game after 2OT win
ALBANY — This was indeed, as coach Joe Mihalich put it, one for the ages, a game that will go down in Niagara University history as one of the more compelling. The only thing missing after the Purple Eagles' 93-89 double-overtime victory over Rider on Sunday was a trip to the NCAA Tournament. That could change after tonight.
Niagara advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament finals in dramatic fashion and set up another meeting with No. 1 seed Siena at 9 tonight in the Times Union Center for the right to earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAAs. If tonight's game is anything like Sunday's semifinal between the Purple Eagles (26-7) and the Broncs (19-12), fans across the nation will be treated to a classic.
"It was two teams going toe-to-toe," Mihalich said. "Clearly there were a lot of heroes there."
Where do we start? How about with junior guard Tyrone Lewis, who made just three shots all night, none bigger than the one that sent the game into overtime with 1.7 seconds left on a miraculous 25-foot bank shot.
"It was a play that Coach runs for us when we need a quick three," Lewis said. "Before the play "Ant' [Nelson] came up to me and said, "Ty, I don't care what you have to do, get open. Hit the shot for us and become the hero.'"
Bilal Benn mentioned in the huddle that Rider was going to look to foul immediately so Mihalich designed a play for a quick shot. And Lewis banked it home. Did you call glass, Tyrone?
"I did," he said.
Really?
"Naw, I didn't call glass," he said.
Another hero was Benn, who scored 20 points and inhaled 19 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end, but his biggest plays came in the second overtime. He gave Niagara the lead for good with back-to-back baskets, the second giving the Purple Eagles an 88-87 lead. After Benson Egemonye made one of two free throws with 7.4 seconds left and Niagara leading, 91-89, Benn sealed the win when he swiped the ball away from Ryan Thompson, who was trying to find some daylight to the basket. Benn was fouled and made both free throws with 1.6 seconds left. Before Benn took over Nelson came up to him in the huddle and begged him to bail the team out.
""Ant' said, "I'm tired, you gotta do something and help us out,'" Benn said. "That's all it was."
Then there was Nelson, who scored a career-high 21 points and committed one turnover in 46 minutes.
"Great players," Mihalich said, "make great plays."
That includes Thompson, who scored a game-high 27 points and scored five points in the final 27.9 seconds of the first OT to send it to another extra period. Thompson tied the game at 80-80 with 13.1 seconds left in the first overtime, then Nelson's three-point attempt that would have won the game misfired.
But Niagara made this harder than it had to be, especially at the free-throw line where it finished 28 of 44, including 7 of 14 in the second half.
This wasn't the same Rider team that Niagara dismantled last Jan. 17 at home, 84-70, but more like the one that handed the Purple Eagles their last loss of the regular season on Feb. 18, 90-87. They were aggressive on the offensive glass and rarely gave the Purple Eagles open shots. If Niagara expected an easy path to the finals, it wasn't going to happen.
Niagara's victory created a championship matchup that nearly everyone expected. The teams split their two meetings this season with Siena taking the first game on Jan. 24, 82-65, in Albany and Niagara the second, 100-85, in Lewiston on Feb. 27. The championship game could be a high-scoring offensive showcase; Siena and Niagara are the two highest-scoring teams in the MAAC.
The only question is will Niagara have enough left in the tank to compete?
"It's going to be a lot of fun," Lewis said. "It's going to be like [Sunday] but maybe even harder."
If that's possible.
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