NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Behind one of its best defensive performances of the season, the Niagara men’s basketball team defeated the Vermont Catamounts, 68-58, on Sunday to close out its home portion of the 2012 schedule.
The stingy Niagara (5-6) defense held Vermont (6-4) to 58 points on 38.8 (19-for-49) percent from the field, which were both season-lows for an opponent this season.
“I thought our defense was terrific (and) our guys were locked in,” head coach Joe Mihalich said. “We knew the toughest team on the floor was going to win the game and we were the toughest team.”
Niagara, which led 19-18 at halftime, opened the second half on an 18-5 run. Antoine Mason , who scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, started the run with a 3-pointer one minute into the second stanza. A free-throw by Malcolm Lemmons gave NU its largest lead, 37-23, with 13:13 remaining to cap the run.
The Purple Eagles maintained a seven-point cushion throughout the rest of the second half en route to winning consecutive games for the first time this season.
“This win right here is a win we won’t get enough credit for,” Mihalich stated. “It’s a good win against a very solid team. It’s one of those teams that make you play their way and it’s not the way we play. So we played their way and we beat them playing their way.”
Mason’s 25 points, four assists and three steals all tied season-highs for the redshirt sophomore from Queens, N.Y; Mason also went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line and is 22-for-23 at the charity stripe in the last three games. Mason was joined in double figures with backcourt teammate Juan’ya Green, who scored all 17 of his points in the second half. Green added four assists and three rebounds. Freshman T.J. Cline tied a game-high with 10 rebounds and added five points.
“You want your scorers to be aggressive, (and) these two guys are a perfect example,” Mihalich said about Mason and Green. “There are the most talented guys and our best scorers. We want them to be more aggressive (and) at the same time we want them to make good plays. Both of these guys have been efficient; Mason has been incredibly efficient. He shows us all that he can score in many different way, gets to the foul-line for a few, a three here and there and jumps shots. So there’s a lot of ways to get on the board and he did that today.”
Niagara’s next game will be a nationally televised contest on ESPNU at No. 22/24 Notre Dame on Friday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m.
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