Niagara 94, Marist 72

Jan 3, 2013, 10:03 pm

LEWISTON, N.Y. -- Ameen Tanksley scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half and pulled down 12 rebounds to lift Niagara over Marist 94-72 Thursday night in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.

Juan'ya Green had 21 points, five assists and four rebounds, Antoine Mason added 17 points and Malcolm Lemmons scored 11 for the Purple Eagles (6-7, 2-1), who hit a season-high 52 percent (35 of 67) of their shots.

Niagara, playing in its first game since Dec. 21, scored 16 of the first 18 points to open the first half. Marist (4-10, 1-2) cut the deficit to 38-26 behind a Chavaughn Lewis three-point play with 3:22 left, but Niagara closed the half on a 23-4 run to take a 51-30 lead into intermission.

The Purple Eagles got scoring contributions from all but one player.

Lewis led Marist with 17 points but had seven of the Red Foxes' 20 turnovers.