By Paul Gotham
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Whatever words the Niagara University Purple Eagles players and staff exchanged during Tuesday’s halftime, they should put in a bottle and twist the cap tightly. Maybe then they can strategically dispense those gems over the next few weeks.
Niagara made child’s play of a four-point halftime deficit on their way to an 82-71 over the Canisius Golden Griffins in MAAC action at the Koessler Athletic Center.
The Purple Eagles connected on their first nine shots coming out of the locker room, part of a 15-of-19 effort from the floor in the game’s final 20 minutes.
“They’re steps forward,” Niagara’s head coach Chris Casey said of his team’s performance. “It’s always nice to take steps forward.”
Dominique Reid opened the stanza with a jump hook in the lane. Emile Blackman followed with a baseline drive and finger roll. Reid knotted the score at 37 with a jumper from the left elbow and went under the basket for a reverse on the next trip to give Niagara the lead.
Blackman netted the next five, and the Purple Eagles were off and running.
“Everybody stepped up,” Blackman said. “Everyone just started hitting shots. We all just ended up playing well. It was just a great team win.”
Niagara outscored the long-time rival 17-5 to open the half.
Karonn Davis connected three times behind the arc as the Purple Eagles took their largest advantage of the game at 64-47.
After Blackman sent home a spectacular dunk on an inbound play, Davis drilled a catch-and-shoot trey from the right corner. Two trips later, Snowden led Davis for another trifecta. The redshirt freshman drilled a pull-up three from the top of the key, and Reid scored in the lane for the 17-point bulge.
“You got to give them credit,” Canisius head coach Jim Baron said. “They made shots. They stepped up and made plays. Their quickness hurt us.”
“We did a good job of shoring up the defense in the second half and rebounded the ball a little bit better,” Casey commented. “That helped us. That’s what got us on the run. We got some stops and some rebounds. Offensively, I thought we were very, very efficient. We got contributions from a lot of guys.”
Jeremiah Williams hit bookend threes as the Golden Griffins pulled within five with less than a minute to go, but it proved to be too little, too late.
“They were going to make a run,” Casey stated. “They’re well-coached, and they’re a tough team.”
Trailing by a dozen, Williams drilled a trey from the top. The senior guard followed with a pair of free throws. Jamal Reynolds had a tap in, and Williams converted two more from the charity stripe before using a ball screen for a pull-up trey. Canisius trailed 75-70.
“Their senior stepped up and made a bunch of shots,” Casey added. “He did what seniors do. We just needed to stay calm, stay poised and handle the ball against pressure.”
“Really wanted that one,” Williams said of the game. “Really did.”
Canisius rode an 8-0 spurt late in the first half to a lead at the break. Trailing by one Adam Weir took a Jan Grzelinski lead and connected on a catch-and-shoot three-pointer from the right corner. Weir grabbed a loose ball at the other end and led Cassidy Ryan into the open court for a layup.
After a Niagara timeout, Grzelinski and Kassius Robertson converted a two-on-one with the latter finishing at the rim. The Golden Griffins led 29-22.
Canisius outscored Niagara 12-3 to start the game.
Kevin Bleeker converted a rebound and putback. On the next possession, Bleeker fed Zach Lewis with an inside-out pass from the free throw line for a trey. Williams took a Lewis pass and hit for three. Josiah Heath hit a jumper from above the foul line and followed with a lay in on high-low look from Bleeker and the Griffs had an early nine-point lead.
Reid led Niagara’s response. The redshirt freshman took Blackman pass and finished in the paint. He converted consecutive rebound and putback opportunities. Snowden connected for three then led Reid underneath for two.
Snowden gave Niagara its first lead of the night when he grabbed a loose ball and went the length of the floor for a layup.
After Lewis hit a three-pointer to give Canisius back the lead at 18-16, Snowden connected on a baseline jumper to tie the game. His catch-and-shoot three from the right corner gave Niagara a 22-21 edge.
“It felt good to see the ball go in the hoop,” Snowden said. “Emile and everyone just kept telling me to shoot the ball every time. ‘It’s going to go in. Just keep shooting.'”
Snowden finished with 15 on 5 of 7 shooting and four assists.
Reid posted a game-high 20 with eight rebounds.
Blackman added 18 with a game-high six assists. Myers and Davis chipped in 14.
Williams led Canisius with 18. Robertson had 13, and Heath added 12.
The meeting was the 176 between the cross-town rivals.
Canisius won the previous meeting this season, 77-64.
MAAC regular season play closes this weekend.
Canisius (15-13/10-9 MAAC) hosts Fairfield on Friday night.
Niagara (7-21/6-13) hosts the Stags on Sunday afternoon.
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