Niagara falls to the Jackrabbits 79-71

Monday, November 21

Macon, Ga.

3:30 PM

South Dakota State University

Niagara

11/21/2011 8:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: SDSU Sports Info

MACON, Ga. - Niagara did not go down without a fight on Monday at the CBE Classic in Macon, Ga., but South Dakota State held off a late Purple Eagles rally to secure a 79-71 win, behind 23 points from Nate Wolters.

The Jackrabbits improve to an even 2-2 with the win, and Wolters gets to 997 career points, while Niagara falls to 1-2 on the season.

"Any win in college basketball is a good win," head coach Scott Nagy said. "I'm really pleased with our guys not playing well, not shooting the basketball well, struggling from the free throw line, but still being able to tough out a victory."

The Purple Eagles scored first and took an early 4-0 lead, a lead that the would hold until the Jackrabbits took their first lead at 10-8 on a Griffan Callahan three-pointer, marking the first of seven lead changes in the first half.

The final lead change of the half came on a Wolters layup with just over two minutes on the clock, as SDSU took a 30-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Niagara scored first in the second half to for the first to three early second half ties. The Jacks broke the final tie on a Chad White layup that put the Jacks up for good at 38-36 with 18:04 left in the game.

The Jacks extended the lead to as many as 12 points, but did let the Purples Eagles make it a one possession game at 71-68 with 4:01 left to play.

The defense held on, and the Jacks made just enough free throws down the stretch to secure the tournament-opening win.

Along with Wolters and his 23 points, three other Jackrabbits scored in double digits. Tony Fiegen finished with 14 points, Callahan scored a season-high 13 and Brayden Carlson tied a career-high with 11 points. Callahan also tied with Chad White with a team-high seven rebounds.

Antoine Mason led all-scorers with 26 points. Juan'ya Green added 18 points for the Purple Eagles in the loss.

The Jackrabbits return to action on Tuesday against Sam Houston State in the second of three games in as many days. The Jacks and Bearkats get things started at 4:30 p.m. ET.

NOTES: Monday's game marked the first-ever meeting between SDSU and Niagara ...the Jacks and Purple Eagles played at University Center Arena on the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Ga., in front of an announced crowd of 161 ... Callahan's 13 points marked a season-high and the first time his scored in double figures since he scored 19 points at IPFW on Feb. 17, 2011 ... Wolters 23 points on Monday gives him 997 for his career, leaving him three points shy of becoming the 42nd member of the SDSU 1,000-Point Club ... Wolters scored at least 20 points in a game for the 26th time in his career, and the third time this season ... Carlson tied a career-high with 11 points, equaling a mark set at Centenary on Feb. 5, 2011, and at North Dakota State on Feb. 25, 2011