NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
ALBANY — The Niagara Purple Eagles earned their first MAAC win of the season with an 84-76 victory at the Siena Saints on Friday night.
Niagara took an early 12-3 lead with the tri-captains – Matt Scott, Marvin Prochet, and Kahlil Dukes – providing the scoring. The Purple Eagles built their largest lead of the first half, 27-17, after four straight points by Dominic Robb. Siena used a 13-3 spurt to tie the game at 30-30 with 2:51 left in the half. However, Niagara answered on its next possession with 3-pointer by Dukes as the Purple Eagles closed the half on a 7-1 run for a 37-31 lead.
Prochet helped the Purple Eagles get off to a fast start to the second half as well, scoring five points for a 42-33 lead, and NU’s lead reached double-digits on a Dukes’ 3-pointer for a 54-44 lead with 14:33 remaining. After the Saints cut Niagara’s lead to 65-62 with 7:34 left, Niagara responded with a 16-5 run to pull away. Dukes started the run with a layup on the Purple Eagles’ next possession and followed with an assist on a Prochet 3-pointer. Scott capped the run with a layup for an 81-67 lead with one minute remaining.
