YPSILANTI, Mich. – Despite a late second-half push, the Purple Eagles (3-6, 0-2 MAAC) were narrowly defeated by Eastern Michigan (4-5, 0-0 MAC), 60-58, on Wednesday.
Game Recap
First Half
- An early 6-0 run, including two points each from Noah Thomasson, Jordan Cintron and Marcus Hammond, gave Niagara an 8-3 lead over EMU.
- A triple from Hammond put NU ahead by six, 11-5, with a little over 11 and a half minutes on the clock.
- Another three from Hammond gave Niagara a four-point lead, 16-12, with about 10 minutes remaining in the half.
- The Eagles took the lead, 21-20, with four and a half minutes left, but two points each from Cintron and Greg Kuakumensah put the Purple Eagles back on top, 24-21.
- Kuakumensah sank three free throws with a little under two minutes to go, but Eastern Michigan had a three-point lead, 30-27, going into halftime.
Second Half
- Eastern Michigan extended its lead to 10 points, 39-29, early in the second half. A free throw from Touba Traore and a bucket from Kuakumensah cut the lead to seven, 39-32.
- With a little over 11 minutes left in the game, the Eagles led by 14, 48-34, but the Purple Eagles went on a 9-0 run, including two free throws from Kuakumensah, two free throws and a 3-pointer from Julian Mackey and two foul shots from Hammond, to come back within five points of the lead, 48-43.
- Hammond sank another trey with 4:40 to go to leave NU trailing by just six points, 56-50.
- Trailing by eight, 58-50, a layup and a jumper from Mackey and a 3-pointer from Sam Iorio put Niagara within one point of the lead, 58-57.
- Eastern Michigan, however, hung on to win the game by just two points, 60-58.
Eagle’s Eye On
- Hammond led the team in scoring with 17 points. He went 4-for-4 from the free throw line and added a team-high two assists. He also brought down six rebounds.
- Cintron led the team in rebounding with seven boards. He added eight points for the Purple Eagles, going 4-for-5 from the field.
- Kuakumensah added 13 points and Mackey had a career-high 11 points.
- Cintron and Hammond led the team in steals with two each.
Up Next
- The Purple Eagles return to the Gallagher Center to host Buffalo State on Sunday, Dec. 12 at 1:00 p.m.
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