Junior Clif Brown registered his third consecutive 20-plus point game with a team-high 22. |
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Niagara University men’s basketball team made its first 10 shots during Wednesday’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game against Canisius College and the Purple Eagles never looked back as they picked up a 79-72 win in front of a sold-out Gallagher Center (2,400) crowd.
The Purple Eagles (9-13, 6-8 MAAC) opened a 22-5 lead by making six three-point field goals and two other field goals. The Purple Eagles later added two more field goals, including one three-pointer, to complete the 10-straight made field goals.
To power Niagara’s seven of seven start from beyond the three-point line, junior Lorenzo Miles (Washington, D.C.) hit three while classmates J.R. Duffey (Fort Worth, Texas) and Clif Brown (Ferndale, Mich.) each added two.
Canisius (5-17, 4-10 MAAC) then used a run of its own to pull within eight, 29-21, at 8:46 remaining in the half on a three-point field goal by Kevin Downey. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half. Brown capped the half with an offensive rebound dunk for a 44-33 lead.
Brown, who led Niagara with 22 points, had 18 points in the first half. Miles finished with 17 points while senior James Mathis (Newark, N.J.) and sophomore Stanley Hodge (Washington, D.C.) each recorded 13 points. Hodge, whose point total was a career high, scored all of his points in the second. Duffey finished with 12 points.
Downey led Canisius with 28 points while Corey Herring added 17 points.
After Brown sank two foul shots to give Niagara a 48-33 lead with 18:31 remaining, Canisius went on an 8-0 run to make it 48-41. The Purple Eagles pulled out to a 60-48 lead when Hodge scored with 6:45 to play. However, Canisius kept coming back, cutting to the lead to five points, 68-63, when Downey sank a three-pointer with 1:31 to play.
Niagara, which made 18 of 21 free throws in the game, closed the contest by sinking 9 of 12 foul shots.
Hodge had five assists to lead Niagara, which tied a season high with 21 assists. Mathis led the Purple Eagles with nine rebounds.
Niagara hosts Marist College at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Gallagher Center.
Niagara Men’s Basketball Game Notes
Niagara vs. Canisius– Feb. 8, 2006
Gallagher Center
Final Score: Niagara 79, Canisius 72
· For the third consecutive game Coach Joe Mihalich started Lorenzo Miles and Stanley Hodge at guard, and James Mathis, J.R. Duffey, and Cliff Brown at forward. The starting five have a 1-1 record.
· Clif Brown and Lorenzo Miles scored 14 and 10 points, respectively, in the first half. The last Purple Eagle to score 10-or-more points in the first half was Brown at Fairfield Feb. 5.
· The Purple Eagles shot 63.6 percent in the first half. The last time the team had a single-half field-goal percentage of 60 percent-or-higher was at Canisius Jan. 7.
· The Purple Eagles had their fourth sell out of the season with 2,400 fans.
· Brown registered his fifth 20-plus point game of the season and third consecutive.
· Hodge had a career-high 13 points, including personal bests in free throws (8) and free-throw attempts (8).
· Niagara shot 52 percent (26-50) from the field. The last time the Purple Eagles shot 50 percent-or-higher was at Canisius on Jan. 7. They shot 50 percent, making 30 of 60 shots.
· The Purple Eagles shot 45 percent (9-20) from three-point range. The last time they shot higher was at Canisius when they made 11-23
· Brown had a career-high four steals. He also played all 40 minutes in the game for the second time this year.
