PITTSBURGH - The Niagara men’s basketball team (2-1) fell victim to the aggressive Duquesne defense, dropping a back-and-forth, non-conference road game to the Dukes (5-0) on Saturday, 76-65. The Purple Eagles shot 25.8 percent from the floor in the second half, and managed just one basket in the final six minutes of action.
Seniors Charron Fisher (Pennsauken, N.J.) and Stanley Hodge (Washington, D.C.) combined for 43 points for Niagara, but Hodge seemed to be the only scoring option for the Purple Eagles after the break, scoring 10 of the team’s 26 points in the second half. Fisher scored 18 of his game-high 25 points in the opening stanza.
"That’s a good physical team that we played (Saturday)," Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich said. "I thought we played well for the first 35 minutes, but maybe their pressure finally wore us down."
The Dukes’ aggressive pressure defense forced 19 Niagara turnovers. Duquesne went 10 players deep, routinely running a full-court press that eventually caught up with Niagara. When the speedy Purple Eagle guards were able to break the pressure, 6-foot-10 center Shawn James was waiting to block or redirect numerous Niagara shots. James, the nation’s leading shot blocker, finished the contest with seven blocks.
The Purple Eagles took a 39-35 lead into halftime on an Andrew Patterson (Hartford, Conn.) three-pointer. The sophomore guard was all alone at the top of the key and buried the uncontested jumper as the buzzer sounded.
The back-and-forth game saw 15 lead changes and eight ties. The Dukes took the lead on a pair of free throws at the 8:14 mark, and never looked back. Sophomore guard Tyrone Lewis (Levittown, Pa.) sank a three-pointer with 6:06 remaining, to pull within two points at 62-60, but that was Niagara’s last field goal until the 0:18 mark when the game was out of reach.
Lewis finsihed the game with 11 points, while Anthony Nelson (Plainfield, N.J.) handed out a game-best seven assists. Despite Duquesne’s height advantage, the Purple Eagles outrebounded the Dukes 39-38, led by Fisher’s 11 caroms.
The Purple Eagles are back in action on Wednesday when they host Little 3 rival St. Bonaventure at 7 p.m.
