Postgame Press Conference

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The eleventh-seeded Niagara Purple Eagles withstood a ferocious second half rally en route to eliminating No. 6 seed Marist, 78-76, in the 2014 MAAC Tournament First Round on Thursday.

"It was a very hard fought game with two teams playing extremely hard and wanting their season to continue," head coach Chris Casey said. "I thought we were terrific in the first half. In the second half, we needed to make a few more free throws. We kept just enough of a cushion as they came at us hard in the final seven minutes. We stayed tough and I'm proud of the guys for staying tough and we made the plays necessary to win the game."

Antoine Mason led all scorers with 38 points, the fifth most in a MAAC Tournament game, for his 12th 30-point game of the season, and dished out a game-high four assists. Mason also continued his scoring success against the Red Foxes (12-19) as he increased his scoring average to 23.5 points per game in six all-time meetings. Marcus Ware had his third career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Marvin Jordan added 11 points.

The Purple Eagles (7-25) lit up Marist in the opening 20 minutes. NU shot 65.4 percent from the field which was the highest first half field goal percentage since shooting 71.4 percent (20-for-28) versus Howard on No. 20, 2009. NU finished the game shooting a season-high 60 percent from the field.

Niagara sprinted to a 16-3 lead while Marist struggled from the field, going 1-for-11 during NU's run.  The Purple Eagles broke Marist's full court pressure with ease which led to layups and a 28-10 advantage in points in the paint as Niagara took a 43-24 halftime lead.

Niagara's lead swelled to 24 points twice in the second half before Marist began its rally in the last 10 minutes. The Red Foxes cut Niagara's lead to two points on three occasions in the final 81 seconds. The final time occurred with 16 seconds left with the Purple Eagles leading 78-76. After two missed free throws by Mason, Marist's Khallid Hart missed a 3-pointer with one second left and Adam Kemp's put back fell short as time expired.

Niagara will face third-seeded Quinnipiac in the MAAC Tournament Quarterfinals on Saturday, March 8 at 9 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN3, WGR 550 AM and Purple Eagles All-Access.