Mar 14, 2007, 3:10 GMT
Dayton, OH - Clif Brown caught fire from beyond the arc and scored 24 of his 32 points in the second half, and Charron Fisher continued to be Niagara's key component with 13 points, as the Purple Eagles punched a ticket for Chicago and a date with Kansas after besting Florida A&M, 77-69, in the opening-round contest of the NCAA Tournament from Daytona Arena.
The Purple Eagles (23-11) improved to 21-5 with Fisher in the lineup, winning their 12th straight overall and advancing to a first-round contest in the West region on Friday against the top-seeded Jayhawks.
Brown drained 6-of-11 from beyond the arc and Fisher grabbed eight rebounds in the win.
Niagara earned the automatic invitation thanks to rolling through the Metro Atlantic Conference Tournament, capped by an 83-79 victory over Siena in the championship contest.
'Well, Pete Carril (former Princeton head coach) always said if it's March and you're still practicing, then that's a good thing,' said Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich. 'Just so excited to be here. We're honored to be one of the two teams that get to tip this tournament off, and anxious for the game to start.'
Darius Glover led the Rattlers with 15 points and three players led by Leslie Robinson had 10 points. Brian Greene and Rome Sanders scored 10 each in the loss.
Florida A&M (21-14) also entered the game on fire, winning seven of its last eight games and had extra motivation on Tuesday night. Six team members came to the small Florida university from Illinois, and a victory would have sent the contingent to the West region for a homecoming against Kansas.
The homecoming was pushed aside by the determined, streaking Purple Eagles, who used big games by Brown and Fisher to advance.
'Tremendous individual performance by Brown, singlehandedly carried them down the stretch,' Rattlers head coach Mike Gillespie, Sr. said. 'It was tough to contain him tonight.'
Niagara jumped out to a 12-2 lead behind the scoring punch provided by Fisher, who scored seven of the club's first nine points including a three-pointer from the top of the circle.
The Rattlers slowly crawled back into the contest by controlling the tempo and holding onto the basketball, committing just three first-half turnovers. A 13-6 stretch cut the deficit to 26-24 with about five minutes remaining.
Robinson's three-pointer capped the stretch, then he buried another deep jumper to give the Rattlers a 31-29 advantage with just under three minutes remaining.
The Purple Eagles finished the half strong, reeling off the final six points to claim a 35-31 lead after the first 20 minutes.
Brown buried two three-pointers early in the second half, his second from the right corner gave the Purple Eagles a 49-39 lead around the 14-minute mark.
Florida A&M countered every Purple Eagle surge, but another Brown three followed by a Lorenzo Miles jumper opened a 61-51 edge with approximately eight minutes to play.
The Rattlers drew within six in the final three minutes, but Joe Ballard missed a pair of free throws, and the Purple Eagles held on to advance.
Free throws killed the Rattlers, as they missed 10-of-12 at one point before draining two free shots with 1:22 on the clock.
Game Notes
Fisher came into the game as the Purple Eagles' leading scorer at 21 points per game...The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 2-0, winning by a 76-65 count back in 1998...Both schools were making their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament...Niagara started the season 1-6...The Rattlers made just 7-of-18 from the charity stripe...Tyrone Lewis and Miles had 12 points apiece in the victory...A No. 16 seed has never knocked off a top seed in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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