Jan 17, 2002

Box Score

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. - The Marist men's basketball team defeated Niagara, 84-78, in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at the Gallagher Center on Thursday night. The Purple Eagles fall to 7-10 overall and 3-3 in the MAAC while Marist is 12-5, 6-2.

The Red Foxes held a 31-23 lead with 5:24 left in the first half before the Purple Eagles went on a 15-3 run over the next four minutes to take a 38-34 advantage with 1:37 left in the half. Daryl Greene keyed the run with eight points, including back-to-back three-pointers. Marist scored the final four points of the half and the game was tied 38-38 at the intermission. Greene led Niagara with 13 points in the half while Sean Kennedy had 12 points and seven assists in the opening 20 minutes for Marist.

After Niagara opened the second half with a Greene basket, Marist went on a 9-0 run, capped by a Rick Smith three-point play, to take a 47-40 lead. The Red Foxes pushed the advantage to 64-51 with 8:36 on the clock. Niagara was able to cut the deficit to 78-71 after two Greene free throws, and forced a Marist turnover with 1:13 left, however, the Purple Eagles turned the ball over on their next possession and Marist hit 6-6 at the line to seal the win.

Greene led Niagara with a season-high 28 points on 9-14 shooting. He added six assists and four steals in the game. Sophomore Tremmell Darden added 18 points while Michael Schmidt had 10 points. Schmidt's three-pointer with 26 seconds left gave him 1,000 career points.

Kennedy led Marist with 20 points and 12 assists while committing zero turnovers in 40 minutes of action. Smith scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half while Nick Eppehimer chipped in 15 points for the Red Foxes.