LEWISTON — Rob Garrison grew up around the Niagara-Canisius rivalry. He never needed to be reminded of its intensity. But he did need to be prompted to make his mark on the matchup before it was tool late.
Last year, Garrison scored just 11 points total in Niagara’s two blowout wins over Canisius. Last week, Garrison netted nine points in a loss at the Koessler Center, six on desperation 3-pointers in the final minute.
Before Friday’s rematch at the Gallagher Center, Niagara athletics director Ed McLaughlin mentioned to Garrison that this could be his last game against Canisius.
That got Garrison’s attention. He shared the fact with his teammates in the pregame huddle. And he imposed his will on the game from the start, scoring 15 of his 18 points in the first half as Niagara won 66-54 in front of a capacity crowd.
“That’s the Rob we love,” Tyrone Lewis said. “He showed up and played hard. It’s funny, after he scored a couple of buckets, he came to me and said, ‘I’m in the show now. I’m here.’ Last time we played (Canisius), somebody said, ‘C’mon Rob, join the party, Rob.’ ”
Coupled with Rider’s loss at Loyola, Niagara’s win creates a three-way tie for fifth-place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings. Niagara (13-12, 6-7) plays at Rider on Monday.
When Garrison cooled down in the second half, Anthony Nelson took over. He scored all 17 of his points in the second half, none bigger than a 3-pointer that put Niagara ahead for good around the 10-minute mark. After chasing down a long rebound, Nelson looked to reset the offense, but ended up shooting a shot that skipped off the front rim and in, ending a 6:50 scoring drought and an 11-0 Canisius run and putting the Purple Eagles ahead 47-45.
After that, Canisius shot 4 of 15 from the floor and turned the ball over nine times. Niagara had three blocks during the stretch.
The contributions from Garrison and Nelson compensated for off nights from Lewis and Bilal Benn. Niagara’s two leading scorers combined for just 14 points on 6 of 25 shooting.
But Benn (four steals) and Lewis (three) led a defensive effort that forced 26 points off turnovers. Benn also had 11 rebounds, while Lewis pulled in six.
As usual, Niagara took nearly half of its shots from 3-point range (27 of 56), but managed to make a third of them. The Purple Eagles got 26 points in the paint, and shot 42.9 percent from the floor, improving to 10-1 this season when shooting better than 40 percent.
“We were trying to score around the basket more,” coach Joe Mihalich said.
Julius Coles led Canisius with 16 points. Frank Turner had 10 points and eight assists and Tomas Vazquez-Simmons had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
After losing seven of nine to start January, the Purple Eagles are now on a two-game winning streak for the first time since December. And they’re now 21-4 over the past three seasons in the month before Madness.
“We love February. It’s always been good to us,” Mihalich said. “Here we are in February and we’re starting to get our feeling back. Hopefully, we can build on this and use it as a springboard win.”
Said Nelson, “It’s our month.”
Niagara U.
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MEN'S BASKETBALL: Garrison’s 18 helps Niagara beat rival Canisius
- Niagara U.
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Niagara shuts out Canisius
Paul Zanette had a goal and assist while goaltender Chris Noonan made 29 saves to propel the Niagara University men’s hockey team to a critical 3-0 victory over Canisius at the Buffalo State College Sports Complex.
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Situation getting worse for Niagara basketball team
Niagara sank into last place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with a 51-49 loss at Manhattan, which came into the game on a 15-game losing streak Monday. And that was hardly the most ominous news to come out of the lost weekend, which also included Saturday’s setback at Saint Peter’s.
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Niagara falls hard in big game
With Calvin Murphy being honored at halftime and ESPNU showing the game nationwide, the Purple Eagles missed more than twice as many shots as they made and lost 82-65 to visiting Metro Atlantic Athletic foe Rider before a crowd of 1,275.
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A legend holds court at NU
Calvin Murphy adds to his legend in return
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Calvin Murphy excited to come back to Niagara
Murphy is passionate about showing his loyalty to Niagara because the university has done the same for him over the years.
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Niagara loses by 45 at Drexel
The Niagara men’s basketball team suffered through its most lopsided loss in over a decade on its worst offensive night in almost a century.
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Niagara making impression in Atlantic Hockey
As second semester approaches, Purple Eagles have rebounded after down year
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Purple Eagles encouraged to follow the leader
Having lost seven of eight games for just the second time in his 12 years at Niagara, coach Joe Mihalich is concerned that his roster of mostly freshmen and sophomores is not responding to the leadership being provided by his lone senior.
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Dobrich pursues his passion coaching the Purple Eagles
Luke Dobrich, 32, is in his eighth season as a men’s basketball assistant coach at Niagara, and his first as the senior member of head coach Joe Mihalich’s staff.
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Nelson’s basket lifts NU past Bowling Green
Anthony Nelson’s basket with just a second left on the shot clock proved the game’s winning play as the Purple Eagles evened their record at 2-2 with a 65-61 victory over Bowling Green on Friday.
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