By Jonah Bronstein
Most of the time, when playing on consecutive days at in-season tournaments, Niagara coach Joe Mihalich doesn’t have his team look at the film from game before. Saturday at the Glenn Wilkes Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla., he broke from that pattern, screening Friday’s win over Howard to show his Purple Eagles how they needed to improve on team defense.
Niagara then went out and held Central Florida to about half as many points as the Golden Knights had scored in their win over Auburn on Friday.
“I’m very proud of this team,” Mihalich said by phone after the 63-46 win. “Everybody knows about this team and how they compete and how they’re winners, but one of the great qualities about them is how they really, really want to be good. They want you to tell them when they’re not doing something right.”
Niagara (3-1) held Central Florida (3-1) scoreless in the first four minutes, and didn’t allow a field goal in the final five minutes of the first half. For the game, Central Florida shot just 31.6 percent and turned the ball over 23 times.
Kashief Edwards led the defensive effort with four blocked shots, giving the sophomore forward 11 in Niagara’s last three games, all wins. Edwards also had eight points and seven rebounds.
Demetrius Williamson led the scoring with 13 points, all in the second half. Bilal Benn also came on strong late, finishing with 10 points, six rebounds and three steals after missing much of the first half due to foul trouble.
“Meetch could’ve gotten rattled and so could’ve Bilal after the first half,” Mihalich said. “But they kept their composure.”
Anthony Nelson had 11 points and five assists, and Niagara Falls native Rob Garrison added eight points, three assists and two steals. Austin Cooley connected on a pair of 3-pointers for the second straight game, and freshman centers Scooter Gillette and Eric Williams combined to shoot 7 of 8 from the foul line and grab four rebounds.
Niagara won its third straight game without returning all-conference player Tyrone Lewis, who is recovering from a foot injury. Mihalich said it was unlikely Lewis would play today, but if trainer John Munro clears him, Lewis will return to the lineup.
The Purple Eagles now face Austin Peay, looking to win three games in three days, which come March, will be the task that leads to NCAA tournament.
“We’re going to pretend we’re playing Siena for the MAAC championship,” Mihalich said.
