Bank on it: NU knows how to win
COMMENTARY
Jerry Sullivan/Buffalo News
Joe Mihalich has been telling people all year that Siena was head and shoulders above the rest of the teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. It seemed like typical posturing on the Niagara coach?s part. But tonight, we find out once and for all where his team stands.
Niagara, which was two seconds away from a devastating loss Sunday night in the semifinals of the MAAC Tournament, somehow survived to play another day. The Purple Eagles beat Rider in double overtime, 93-89, after a 25-foot, last-gasp bomb by Tyrone Lewis banked into the basket with 1.7 seconds left in regulation.
So the Purple Eagles and Saints, the top two seeds in the MAAC, will collide tonight in what promises to be a doozy of a MAAC championship game at the Times Union Center?with an automatic NCAA Tournament berth on the line.
If the final is anything like Sunday?s gripping semifinal, the national TV audience is in for a treat. Niagara did not play its best game against the Broncs. The Purple Eagles had trouble on the defensive backboard. They missed free throws. They took some ill-advised shots. Lewis, who was 2 for 18 from the field before his unlikely bank shot, had a miserable night.
They took a six-point lead in the first overtime and managed to blow it. They fell behind by three in the second OT. But Bilal Benn, the Villanova transfer who came to Niagara to be a key cog on a winner, dragged his team to the victory, scoring six of his 20 points down the stretch and making a big steal with two seconds left to seal the win. Benn also had 19 rebounds and played 48 of the 50 minutes.
?Clearly, that was one for the ages,? Mihalich said after his team increased its record to 26-7 ?15 of those wins away from the Gallagher Center. ?Two teams, going toe-to-toe. It wasn?t surprising that it was this close.
?Winning teams find a way to win,? Mihalich said. ?What do we have, 26 wins? Not too many teams in the country have that many. We won when things weren?t clicking. We missed foul shots. Some guys had bad shooting nights. But we still found a way to win.?
Great teams manage to win when circumstances are going against them. Sometimes, it takes an improbable shot off the backboard to keep a team?s championship
hopes alive. Niagara put itself in a bad situation. But Lewis? shot wasn?t all luck. The fact that he got it off was a product of smart thinking by his team.
Niagara called timeout with four seconds left, down three in regulation. During the timeout, Benn reminded the coaches that Rider would try to foul before the shot, so Niagara couldn?t get off a three. So Mihalich called a play for Lewis to get off a quick three, before the Broncs could give a foul. It worked, with a kiss from the hoop gods.
?It was either going to be me or Bilal,? said Lewis, who finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. ?I saw the clock running down and I just took the shot.?
Lewis rarely passes up a shot, good or not. Sometimes, his confidence is larger than the reality of the situation. But he never loses faith in himself. He was MVP of the tournament as a freshman two years ago. He never loses confidence.
The Purple Eagles are shooting for a title tonight, and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Twenty-six wins or not, they probably have no shot at an at-large berth. It?s win tonight or the NIT.
Siena couldn?t have been too impressed by Sunday?s performance. Niagara had trouble on the defensive boards, and allowed a lot of easy baskets to Rider. Siena also had to be pleased to see the semifinal go to two OTs. The final is at 9 tonight, but there will be some weary legs on that Niagara bench.
Late in the second OT, point guard Anthony Nelson?who had a career-high 21 points?pleaded with Benn to make his free throws. Nelson was exhausted.
But if Siena is better?and the all-important RPI ratings say so?it?s not by much. Niagara beat the Saints, 100-85, at home last week. It was Siena?s worst loss of the season. The Saints know Niagara can play with them. Don?t let Mihalich fool you. The Purple Eagles know it, too.
They have so many weapons. Niagara played a ragged and at times unsightly game in the semis. But the Purple Eagles won despite shooting 38.7 percent. They missed 16 foul shots. Maybe they?ve put their bad game behind them and will put their ?A? game on display tonight.
?It?ll be a road game, a hostile environment,? Mihalich said. ?That?s the way these guys like it. It?s OK. We?ll play. We?ll give it all we?ve got.?
That much you can be sure of. Niagara has a way of making things hard for itself. It?s always been that way under Mihalich. He gives his players freedom and sometimes they go astray. But this team has a way of responding to a crisis?often of its own creation. The Purple Eagles never believe they?re out of a game, which makes them very dangerous.
So one way or another, tonight should be a game to remember.
?It?s going to be fun,? Lewis said. ?It?s going to be a good matchup. We split with them. It?s a championship game, with everything on the line. Emotions will be running high. It?ll be like tonight, only the emotions will probably be higher.?
That would be something to behold, though I?m not sure my heart could take it.
