Staff Reports Niagara Gazette The Niagara Gazette Mon Nov 21, 2011, 11:50 PM EST
The Niagara men’s basketball team lost 79-71 to South Dakota State on Monday in front of an announced crowd of 161 at the University Center in Macon, Ga.
The Purple Eagles (1-2) fought through foul trouble and a plague of turnovers to put themselves a play or two away from pulling out the win.
But they didn’t make those plays.
“It was a game where we had a lot of chances, it was an opportunity for a bunch of young guys to make some plays that could’ve helped us win the game, but we didn’t make them.” Niagara coach Joe Mihalich said by phone. “Down the stretch, we were down three with the ball. Three times in a row, we come up empty. Every time, it was a young guy. We’ll make those plays (in the future), but we didn’t make them right now. We’re learning on the job.”
Niagara used a 15-6 run to get within 71-68 inside of four minutes, but never got any closer.
Antoine Mason led Niagara with 26 points to go along with five rebounds. Juan’ya Green had 18 points, four rebounds and four assists.
“Both of them scored well tonight, but they also combined for 11 turnovers, too,” Mihalich said. “We need to take care of the basketball better. We need to make sure we’re getting a good shot every time, down the floor.”
Niagara had almost twice as many turnovers (19) as assists (10). They were whistled for more than twice as many fouls as the Jackrabbits (2-2), though a few of those came in the final minute when the Purple Eagles were trying to stop the clock. Overall, Niagara was called for 33 fouls, compared to 16 for South Dakota State, which led to a 29-16 advantage in points from the free throw line. Scooter Gillette, Eric Williams and Marvin Jordan fouled out.
Ameen Tanksley had eight points and seven rebounds for Niagara. Malcolm Lemmons missed his second straight game due to illness.
Nate Wolters led the Jackrabbits with 23 points.
“They are a good, veteran team with a very good point guard,” Mihalich said.
The Purple Eagles continue play in the CBE Classic at 7 tonight (WGR 550 AM) against host Mercer (2-1), which beat Sam Houston State 60-38 on Monday.
Copyright 2011 Niagara Gazette. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source:
