ALBANY — The No. 9 seed Niagara Purple Eagles had their 2016-17 campaign come to an end in the MAAC Tournament Quarterfinals against the to No. 1 seed Monmouth Hawks, 84-59, on Friday night.
The opening 14 minutes was played in a five-point window. After falling behind 4-0, the Purple Eagles scored six straight points with their top three leading scorers on the season – Matt Scott, Kahlil Dukes and Marvin Prochet – providing the scoring during the spurt. Niagara trailed 24-19 at the 8:16 mark before reeling off five straight points to tie the game for the third time. Marvin Prochet hit a baseline jumper and Matt Scott drained a 3-pointer to tie the game at 24-24 with 6:53 left in the first half. Monmouth, then, made consecutive 3-pointers to start a game-altering run. The Hawks closed the half on a 23-6 run for a 47-30 halftime lead. The Hawks, who won the regular-season title for the second straight season, maintained their double-digit lead for the rest of the game.
Dominic Robb led NU with 12 points and had a game-high 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Chris Barton finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two steals. Kahlil Dukes had 10 points and a game-high three steals. Matt Scott dished out four assists to share game-high honors. James Towns finished with 10 points to round out the double figures scorers.
Dominic Robb’s game-high three blocks helped him set the single-season blocks record. Robb, the MAAC-leader in blocks, finished the season with 74 to break Mark Henry’s total of 72 during the 1987-88 season. Kahlil Dukes finished the season with a 92.1 free throw percentage to set a new program record previously held by Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy, who shot 88.1 percent during the 1969-70 season. Chris Barton has averaged 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in three career MAAC Tournament games. NU outscored Monmouth, 18-0, in second chance points and outrebounded the Hawks, 48-46.
from PurpleEagles.com via IFTTT