POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Niagara men's basketball team (11-6, 5-3 MAAC) fell to Marist College (12-7, 6-2 MAAC) 84-65 on the road Monday night. Poor shooting doomed the Purple Eagles for the second-straight contest, as NU shot 27.0 percent from the floor.

"For a while, I thought we had our chances," Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich said, "but we just didn't take advantage of them early on. We are in the middle of a tough stretch, with four on the road. We just have to play better."

Sophomore Tyrone Lewis (Levittown, Pa.) led the way for Niagara with 26 points. Lewis shot 8-of-17 from the floor and 10-of-15 from the line. But he was the only Purple Eagle to make more than four field goals, as NU scored a season-low 23 first half points.

Senior Charron Fisher (Pennsauken, N.J.) was double- and triple-covered every time he touched the ball in the paint. The Red Foxes held the second-leading scorer in the nation to a season-low 17 points on 4-of-21 shooting. For the first time this season, Fisher failed to hit a three-pointer, as the 36.8 percent long-range shooter was 0-for-8 from behind the arc.

Fisher's 17 points did move him into the top 10 on Niagara's all-time scoring list. He past NU Hall of Famer Marshall Wingate ('72) with 1,458 career points.

"As a team, Marist defended Charron well tonight," Mihalich added. "The kid is beat up. He gives his heart and soul to this team."

Freshman Anthony Nelson (Plainfield, N.J.) picked up some of the scoring load in the second half, as the point guard finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Fisher tallied a team high with nine boards while Lewis added seven, as well.

However, poor shooting in the first half was the downfall for Niagara. The Purple Eagles missed numerous lay-ups and were 0-for-12 from three-point range before halftime, trailing 38-23 at the break.

Marist would open up a 21-point lead at the 14:57 mark of the second half before Niagara pieced togehter a rally to cut it to nine points on a free throw by Fisher at the 6:24 mark, but that is as close as NU would get. The Red Foxes, who shot 60.0 percent from the floor in the second half, extended the lead to double figures on the next possession and never looked back.

The Purple Eagles continue their four-game MAAC road swing on Jan. 25 at Saint Peter's.