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Senior Lorenzo Miles |
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The Niagara University men’s basketball team will advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons as the Purple Eagles recorded an 83-79 win Monday night to capture the 2007 Bank of America Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship title in the Arena at Harbor Yard.
The Purple Eagles, who previously played in the NCAA Tournament in 1970 and 2005, will discover their next opponent Sunday when the NCAA announces the 65-team tournament field on CBS.
Niagara recorded its 11th consecutive victory, the program’s longest win streak since the 1992-93 team won 11 straight from Dec. 13 to Jan. 19, 1993. Niagara is 22-11 this season.
The Purple Eagles were once again powered by four players scoring in double figures. Freshman guard Tyrone Lewis (Levittown, Pa.) continued his scoring streak as he finished with a career-high 24 points. Lewis, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, scored 23 points in the Purple Eagles’ semifinal victory.
Senior guard Lorenzo Miles (Washington, D.C.) added 21 points while classmate Clif Brown (Ferndale, Mich.) recorded his third-straight double-double of the MAAC Championship and 16th double-double of the season with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Miles and Brown were also named to the all-tournament squad. Junior forward Charron Fisher (Pennsauken, N.J.) also posted a double-double, his sixth of the season, with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Siena held 72-68 lead before Miles sank a three-point goal to make it 72-71 with 4:45 remaining. Lewis then tied the game at 73 with two foul shots at 3:57. Fisher then drove the lane and scored with the shot clock winding down. Fisher completed the conventional three-point play when he sank a free throw to give Niagara a 76-73 lead with 3:14 to play. The lead was Niagara’s first since it held a 62-61 lead with 11:23 remaining.
Both teams traded field goals before the Purple Eagles made 5 of 6 free throws in the game’s final 19.9 seconds for the win.
Lewis scored 12 of his points in the first half while Brown added 10 and eight rebounds. Miles, the program’s all-time leader in three-point field goals, sank two in the first half as he scored eight points.
Niagara used a 6-0 run to take a 34-29 lead after Brown converted an offensive rebound. Siena answered with a 9-2 run for a 38-36 lead at 3:31 after Alex Franklin completed a conventional three-point play. Franklin, who finished with a game-high 27 points, later added four-straight free throws to give Siena a 44-38 lead with 2:03 left in the half. Franklin and Kenny Hasbrouck each had 11 first-half points for the Saints.
Lewis snapped a scoring drought with a three-pointer from the baseline to bring Niagara within three, 44-41, with 1:03 to play before senior J.R. Duffey (Ft. Worth, Texas) scored inside to make the halftime score 44-43.
