NIAGARA UNIV. — Matt Scott’s career-high 34 points led all scorers as the Niagara Purple Eagles fell short at home against the Iona Gaels, 90-76.
The Purple Eagles got off to a slow start as Iona started the contest with an 18-2 run. Down 20-4, The Purple Eagles went on a 15-0 run to cut the deficit to 20-19 with 7:41 left in the first half. During the stretch, Kahlil Dukes had four assists on four straight scoring possessions and Matt Scott had 6 of his 11 first half points. A strong close by Iona at the end of the first half put the Gaels up 43-33 at the break.
Niagara started the second half on a 5-0 run, thanks to a Marvin Prochet 3-pointer and a Matt Scott layup off a steal. The Gaels, then, responded with a 10-0 run to take a 15-point lead. Niagara, which trailed by double digits for most of the half, cut the lead 72-64 on a Kevin Larkin 3-pointer with six minutes remaining. Though, Iona answered with a 12-2 run over the next three minutes as the Purple Eagles were unable to pull off the season sweep.
The Purple Eagles are back on the road to battle the Monmouth Hawks on Thursday at 8 p.m. The game will air on ESPN3 with audio coverage on the Niagara Sports Network via AM 1400 WWWS and www.PurpleEagles.com.
from PurpleEagles.com via IFTTT
