NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
NIAGARA UNIV. — The Purple Eagles closed out 2018 on Monday with a narrow defeat to the Albany Great Danes, 79-74, to conclude their non-conference schedule.
Game Summary
The Purple Eagles, who trailed by 18 points in the first half, overcame the deficit in the second half to lead by four points with less than four minutes remaining.
Trailing 42-31 at halftime, NU opened the second half on a 13-3 run behind Marvin Prochet’s nine points. A Dominic Robb layup tied the game at 51-51 with 14 minutes left and NU tied the score on two more occasions over the next five minutes before surging ahead.
The Purple Eagles trailed 66-62 with 7:32 remaining when they went on a 9-0 run in three minutes. Raheem Solomon drained a corner 3-pointer for Niagara’s first lead of the game at 67-66 and his layup capped the run with NU ahead 71-66 with 4:37 left.
Niagara held on to a delicate lead over the next three minutes which setup a dramatic conclusion. Albany’s Cameron Healy connected a deep 3-pointer with 1:04 on the clock to put the Great Danes back in the lead at 75-73.
After Marvin Prochet made one of two free throws to cut the lead to 75-74 with 45 seconds left, Ahmad Clark scored a layup to give Albany a 77-74 lead with 28 seconds remaining. Solomon missed a game-tying 3-pointer on Niagara’s next possession and Albany iced the game at the free-throw line.
A slow start put the Purple Eagles in an early hole. The Great Danes opened the game on a 16-0 run, making six of their first seven shots, while the Purple Eagles went 0-for-8 from the field prior to scoring their first points.
Albany built a 34-16 lead with six minutes left in the first half before the Purple Eagles went on a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 36-26 with 1:37 remaining, which was the closes Niagara would get in the opening frame.
Eagle’s Eye On…
- Freshman Marcus Hammond led the Purple Eagles in scoring for the first time in his young career. Hammond scored 16 points off the bench, including 14 in the first half, and had a career-best two steals to lead Niagara.
- Freshman Raheem Solomon was second on the team in scoring with 15 points, including 11 in the second half.
- James Towns had 14 points and a team-high five assists.
- Marvin Prochet’s 13 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks all came in the second half. He also added two blocks.
- Dominic Robb had a game-high three blocks for his 10th 3-block game of the season and fourth straight.
Inside The Numbers
- Niagara outscored Albany, 40-17, in bench points.
Up Next
- The Purple Eagles begin MAAC play on the road against the Manhattan Jaspers on Saturday, January 5 at 7 p.m.
- The game will air on the Niagara Sports Network via AM 1400 WWWS and www.PurpleEagles.com/Watch.
