DENTON, Texas – Kahlil Dukes and Matt Scott shared game-high honors in scoring with 23 points as the Purple Eagles dropped a contest to the North Texas Mean Green, 80-71, on Friday night.
After one of the best shooting nights in program history in their win over Drexel on Nov. 23, the Purple Eagles got off to a slow start by missing their first seven shots before Matt Scott got Niagara on the board with a pair of baskets. Trailing 21-15 with less than five minutes in the first half, Niagara outscored North Texas 11-4 with Kahlil Dukes giving Niagara its first lead of the game, 26-25, on a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left the half. However, the Mean Green scored on their next possession to head into halftime leading 27-26.
There were five lead changes through the opening four minutes of the second half. A 3-pointer by Dukes followed by a baseline jumper by Scott gave the Purple Eagles their largest lead of the game, 36-32. With the score knotted at 39-39 with 13 minutes left, the Mean Green went ahead on an 8-0 run in a two-minute span. A 7-2 run by the Purple Eagles trimmed the lead to 49-46 before the Green Mean reeled off an 18-5 run to build a 67-51 lead with 3:47 remaining for their largest lead of the game.
Niagara halted the run with an 8-0 spurt behind a pair of triples by Dukes and a pair of free throws by Scott as NU trailed by eight with two minutes left. NU cut the lead to seven points four times in the last minute with North Texas answering on its next possession each time.
Kahlil Dukes scored a career-high 23 points on career-best five 3-pointers in first career 20-point game. Dukes also grabbed a career-high six rebounds. Matt Scott had his 14th career 20-point game and fourth this season. Scott scored a game-high 11 points in the first half for his highest scoring first half of the season. Dominic Robb tied a season-high with eight rebounds. Robb, the MAAC-leader in blocks, swatted a game-high two to extend his streak of at least two blocks in each game.
Dukes and Scott are the first duo to have 20 points in the same game this season. Dukes is the only Purple Eagle to score in double figures each game. Scott had a game-high five assists to lead the Purple Eagles in assists every game this season. Niagara entered the game as the MAAC’s highest scoring team at 76.2 ppg and as the top 3-point percentage leaders (.418). Niagara finished five points below its average and shot 32 percent from the 3-point line. The game featured eight lead changes.
The Purple Eagles continue their road trip as they start MAAC play against Marist on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. Listen to the action on WGR 550 AM and PurpleEagles.com.
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