Boubacar Coly almost had a triple-double with 13 pts, 10 rebounds and eight blocked shots against Niagara.
Boxscore
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Morgan State was losing to Niagara by as much as 25 points before launching a furious comeback in the 2nd half that fell short as the Purple Eagles held on to win 73-53 at the Leavey Center before a crowd of 1,512 fans.
Morgan State dropped to 6-5 on the season, while Niagara improved to 7-3 and extended their winning streak to three games. It marked the Bears worst defeat since a 70-56 loss at South Carolina State last season.
Senior Charron Fisher scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the first half and hauled down 10 rebounds to lead his team to a rout in 41st annual Cable Car Classic. Fisher, the nation’s leading scorer (27 ppg), shot 9-for-21 from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.
Senior center Boubacar Coly struggled throughout the first half before bouncing back in the 2nd. Coly was two blocks shy of recording his first triple-double of his career as he finished with a team-high 13 points (5-10 FG), 10 rebounds with eight blocks.
Marquise Kately was the only other Bear to finish in double-figures and completed the night with 11 points (4-13 FG) and five rebounds. Jamar Smith and Jermaine Bolden were held to eight points apiece.
Niagara had three players score in double-figures led by Fisher. Senior guard Tyrone Lewis finished with 24 points, Stan Hodge posted 17 points and eight rebounds, while Anthony Nelson dished out a game-high nine assists.
The Purple Eagles jumped out to an early 10-5 and extended the lead to 19-10 when Fisher raced out for a slam dunk with 12:23 remaining in the first half. Morgan State had difficulty against the Purple Eagles’ zone defense, but trimmed Niagara’s lead behind the play of Smith and Kately to slice the lead to 21-17 with 10:21 remaining in the half. But Niagara, behind the play Fisher and Lewis, would go on to outscore the Bears 24-5 as they went into the locker room with a comfortable 45-22 advantage.
Niagara extended their halftime lead to as many as 28 points at 59-31 with 15:32 remaining, and the Bears were unable to cut the lead to under 20 points as the Purple Eagles held on to the victory and advance to play Santa Clara in the championship of the Cable Car Classic.
Morgan State was outrebounded for just the second time this season as the Purple Eagles held a 42-30 advantage on the boards and scored 26 points in the paint.
The Bears shot a dismal 34.5% (19-55) from the field, and shot 24% (6-25) in the first half, while Niagara hit 57.1% (16-28) from the floor in the first half and finished the game by connecting on 27-of-56 (48.2%) shots.
The Bears will attempt to bounce back when they take on Denver in the consolation round on Saturday (Dec. 29) at 6 p.m.
