ASU to host

Niagara
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

Appalachian State coach Houston Fancher has some memories of his Mountaineers playing Niagara.

Unfortunately for Fancher, they are not necessarily pleasant ones.

The Mountaineers found out Monday night that they would be hosting Niagara in their Bracketbusters game, which is scheduled for Feb. 23 at the Holmes Center. Appalachian State earned its home game after playing at Wichita State last year. The Mountaineers will play at Niagara next season and will play another Bracketbuster game next year.

Last year, they beat Wichita State 60-58, but fell to the Shockers 62-53 at the Holmes Center back in December.

They’ve also played Niagara recently and did not like the result as the Purple Eagles beat the Mountaineers 79-70 in a tournament in Duquesne, Pa. The Mountaineers beat Duquesne 71-68 the next night.

Niagara, which beat Florida A&M in the opening round game in the NCAA tournament last year before losing to No. 1 seeded Kansas, also beat Appalachian State during the first two years of the Buzz Peterson era, beating the Mountaineers 84-72 in 1997 and 87-74 at Varsity Gym one year later.

“The last couple of times we’ve played, they beat us,” Fancher said. “We’ve been to Niagara and that’s a tough place to play, but obviously we’re playing here. They’re a very well coached basketball team. It should be a good game for a fan to go see in person.”

Niagara currently is 13-7 overall, 7-4 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). After winning six straight games, the Purple Eagles have struggled, going 3-4 in their last seven games.

They are led by one of the most prolific scorers in the country in Charron Fisher, who averages 26.5 points per game. Fisher, a 6-foot-4 guard/forward, does much of his damage from the 3-point line, where he had made 48-of-146 shots.

The Mountaineers will also have to contain sophomore guard Tyrone Lewis, who averages 16.1 points per game and has hit 39-of-132 from 3-point range.

The Purple Eagles have beaten St. John’s this year and also played Liberty, which scrimmaged the Mountaineers before the regular season began. Appalachian State will get a chance to study Niagara, but the Mountaineers will not get a full week to work on the Purple Eagles.

Appalachian State, currently 14-7, 9-3 in the SoCon, will be coming off a Southern Conference home game the preceeding Thursday against Furman. Fancher said no prepareation for Niagara will begin until the Mountaineers are finished with Furman.

“We play (Furman) Thursday, then we play (Niagara) Saturday, so we’ll have just one day preparation,” Fancher said. “We won’t talk about Niagara until after Furman.”

Even without the preparation time, Fancher likes the idea of playing BracketBuster games. Not only does it help fill out a schedule with a quality team, it can add exposure to a program.

However, the Mountaineers’ game with Niagara will not be televised by ESPN, the creators of the event.

“I am disappointed with that, because I felt like we would be,” Fancher said. “I’d love for us to be on TV, but at the same time, I’m hoping people will come out and see us in person.”