2008 Woodie Awards
LC is 'Fish' food for Niagara, big man scores 76 in two games
Dave Lomonico and Katerina Kienle
Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Sports
The Loyola men's basketball team was hoping to have their way with Niagara on Sunday afternoon in hopes of avenging their loss to the Purple Eagles earlier in the week.
Yet, despite a large crowd present in the house that Patsos built and a 29-point performance from senior guard Gerald Brown, it was Niagara forward Charron Fisher who would have the day's last say.
The nation's second-leading scorer dropped 45 points, just one shy of the MAAC record for points in a game, en route to the 92-87 conference road win over the Greyhounds after netting 31 points in Tuesday's battle with Loyola. The loss drops the Hounds to 14-12, 9-5 in MAAC play, establishing a three-way tie for third place in the conference between Loyola, Niagara and Marist.
"We played two great games with Niagara," said coach Jimmy Patsos. "They were both high level basketball games this week and I'm proud the way we handled both those losses. But that's the bad news…we lost twice. Niagara has won two of the last three championships and like Muhammad Ali said 'If you want to be the best you have to beat the best.'"
In a high scoring first half, the Greyhounds were the first to get on the board and built an 8-3 lead off of two Brown three-pointers. Yet Fisher would soon begin his campaign towards scoring 25 in the first half alone and converted six points to regain the lead for Niagara.
The struggle for dominance continued until Purple Eagle guard Tyrone Lewis drained a shot from beyond the arc, giving Niagara a 17-14 advantage, one that they would maintain until intermission.
While the Greyhounds closed the deficit to as much as two, 35-33, with less than six minutes remaining in the period, Niagara would respond immediately with an 8-0 run catalyzed by yet another Fisher three-pointer and eventually enter halftime up 55-43, shooting 69 percent from the floor. Fischer went 9-11.
"We started the game a little flat," said Brown who scored 21 of his 29 points in the first half. "But that's always the case when we play him [Fisher]. In a game like this, we knew it wasn't going to be about the offensive end, but the defensive end."
Yet, despite a large crowd present in the house that Patsos built and a 29-point performance from senior guard Gerald Brown, it was Niagara forward Charron Fisher who would have the day's last say.
The nation's second-leading scorer dropped 45 points, just one shy of the MAAC record for points in a game, en route to the 92-87 conference road win over the Greyhounds after netting 31 points in Tuesday's battle with Loyola. The loss drops the Hounds to 14-12, 9-5 in MAAC play, establishing a three-way tie for third place in the conference between Loyola, Niagara and Marist.
"We played two great games with Niagara," said coach Jimmy Patsos. "They were both high level basketball games this week and I'm proud the way we handled both those losses. But that's the bad news…we lost twice. Niagara has won two of the last three championships and like Muhammad Ali said 'If you want to be the best you have to beat the best.'"
In a high scoring first half, the Greyhounds were the first to get on the board and built an 8-3 lead off of two Brown three-pointers. Yet Fisher would soon begin his campaign towards scoring 25 in the first half alone and converted six points to regain the lead for Niagara.
The struggle for dominance continued until Purple Eagle guard Tyrone Lewis drained a shot from beyond the arc, giving Niagara a 17-14 advantage, one that they would maintain until intermission.
While the Greyhounds closed the deficit to as much as two, 35-33, with less than six minutes remaining in the period, Niagara would respond immediately with an 8-0 run catalyzed by yet another Fisher three-pointer and eventually enter halftime up 55-43, shooting 69 percent from the floor. Fischer went 9-11.
"We started the game a little flat," said Brown who scored 21 of his 29 points in the first half. "But that's always the case when we play him [Fisher]. In a game like this, we knew it wasn't going to be about the offensive end, but the defensive end."
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