LEWISTON — Niagara University had to respond after a season-opening loss to Duquesne.
It started doing that with a win over Binghamton Saturday, but coming home against a team in Delaware State that they had never faced before was going to be a much bigger test.
Niagara answered in convincing fashion, getting a 68-57 win over Delaware State, Monday, at Niagara’s Gallagher Center.
“I was really proud of the growth that we’ve made in the three games,” Niagara head coach Greg Paulus said. “We really learned a lot from the Duquesne game to start and then I was really proud of our preparation. This is two games in three days; this is the first time we’ve had this happen. I thought we had a couple really good practices leading into it and then after the Binghamton game, we only had one day to prepare for Delaware State. I thought our guys were really focused, I thought they really worked hard and I was proud of the preparation that they had.”
The beginning of the game was delayed by a fire alarm that rang out in the building, necessitating both teams to go to their locker rooms and all of the spectators and workers to head across the street.
The story of the first half was all about responses to runs as the longest uninterrupted run for either team was an early 8-0 run for the Purple Eagles to turn a 6-5 deficit into an 11-6 lead. In total in the first half, the teams immediately responded with baskets nine times to send Niagara into the half up 34-26. In the opening 15 minutes, there were two ties and two lead changes.
“Basketball’s a game of runs,” Delaware State head coach Stan Waterman said. “They obviously had more than we had tonight. They had longer ones and it’s just an impressive night for them. I thought what they did, their game plan, they executed it perfectly and we didn’t.”
In the first half, the Hornets shot 11-for-27 from the field, 4-for-9 from three and they did not attempt a free throw. The Purple Eagles’ defense made a big impact, grabbing 12 defensive rebounds, collecting one block and one steal. The two biggest defensive plays in the first half for the Purple Eagles came when they forced two shot clock violations with the score sitting at 15-15 and with the hosts in front 29-24.
“I think whenever you can get a defensive shot clock violation,” Paulus said. “I think it elevates your team, lifts them, it gives us confidence. I thought their effort was great and I thought the crowd was fantastic.”
The Purple Eagles shot 50% from the field, 42% from three and 5-for-7 from the charity stripe to take the eight-point lead into the break.
After the teams traded buckets to open the second half, the Purple Eagles’ Josiah Sabino splashed a three to give his team a 39-28 lead. That kickstarted a Purple Eagles run which saw them take a 43-33 lead, the first of three ten-point leads in the final half. The Purple Eagles’ largest lead of the contest came with 5:55 to go in the game when they took a 17-point lead at 59-42.
“I think it started with our defense,” Paulus said. “We were able to get some defensive possessions and then we were able to make a couple of baskets on the offensive side and when you’re able to get a stop and a score and do that consecutively, that’s what we try to get in order to make our runs.”
The lopsided margin meant the Purple Eagles were able to go down their bench with 10 of the 13 players on their roster making an appearance.
The Purple Eagles have a chance to improve to 3-1 at 7 p.m. Monday, when they travel to Le Moyne.