First one out: Florida A&M eliminated by Purple Eagles

~ With a 77-69 victory, Niagara earned the right to play Kansas on Friday.

DAYTON, Ohio -- With some of the smoothest shooting of his career, Clif Brown exchanged Niagara's play-in dread for NCAA drama.

The senior forward with the gentle touch scored 32 points and made a career-high six 3-pointers Tuesday night, leading the Purple Eagles to a 77-69 victory over Florida A&M in the NCAA tournament's play-in game.

Niagara (23-11) will head to Chicago for a game Friday against Kansas, the top seed in the West Regional.

Florida A&M (21-14) couldn't stop Brown in the second half, when he scored 24 points while the Purple Eagles' top scorer, Charron Fisher, sat the bench in foul trouble. The Rattlers couldn't even rally after Brown helped them out by accidentally tipping a rebound into their basket.

Niagara forward Clif Brown scored 32 points Tuesday against Florida A&M.

Fisher, known for his role in the attack of a Niagara baseball player last year, finished with 13 points. Darius Glover scored 15 points for Florida A&M, which went only 4-of-17 from behind the arc and 7-of-18 from the free throw line.

Neither team particularly wanted to be here.

Leading up to Selection Sunday, Florida A&M coach Mike Gillespie lobbied for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champs to avoid the play-in game. Instead, he wound up booking arrangements to Dayton for the second time in four years.

Niagara wasn't thrilled, either. Coach Joe Mihalich was stunned and befuddled that the Metro Atlantic champions got sent to Dayton. Fisher said the Purple Eagles were "disrespected" and would play like it on Tuesday.

Like it or not, they made the tournament's first impression -- a ragged one at that. Fans at the University of Dayton Arena held up signs that read, "Go No. 64 Seed" and "Go No. 65 Seed," summing up a game with no local rooting interest beyond the novelty.

They'd seen one of these teams before. Florida A&M beat Lehigh in the 2004 play-in game, when the Rattlers were the only team in the field with a losing record. This time, they were on a much better tear, topping the 20-win mark for the first time in 18 years.

One thing worked against them: The play-in was their fourth game in seven days. By contrast, Niagara had a week off after wrapping up its conference tournament title with its 11th straight victory.

The Rattlers looked tired, missing their first eight 3-point shots while going 3-of-20 from the field. The slump allowed Niagara to pull ahead 20-7, with Fisher leading the way. Playing like he had a chip on his shoulder, the bulky power forward had a tip-in for the game's first basket, a putback and a 22-foot 3-pointer during the opening flurry.

E.J. Maul finally got the Rattlers going with a pair of fast-break layups, sparking a 16-5 spurt. L.C. Robinson's 3-pointer gave Florida A&M its only lead at 31-29 with 2:43 left in the half.

The Rattlers again lost their shooting touch at the start of the second half. J.R. Duffey hit a 15-foot jumper and Brown made a 3-pointer that put Niagara back in control at 44-36.

With Fisher sitting on the bench after picking up his third foul, Brown had a tip-in and another 3 that rebuilt the lead to double-digits with 14 minutes to go.