HAMDEN, Conn. — Kahlil Dukes’ career-high 29 points led all scorers as the Purple Eagles’ second half rally fell short in an 89-81 defeat to the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Saturday night.
The tandem of Kahlil Dukes and Matt Scott spearheaded Niagara’s second half rally as the pair combined for 37 of Niagara’s 55 points. The Purple Eagles began chipping away at a 26-point deficit with 17 minutes left in the game.
Niagara used a 10-0 run to cut Quinnipiac’s lead to 75-68 with 4:49 remaining. The Purple Eagles, then, trimmed the lead to six points twice in the final 2-plus minutes, both times following a pair of Dukes free throws. After Dukes made two free throws to cut the lead to 85-79 with 43 seconds remaining, Quinnipiac scored four straight points at the free-throw line to halt the rally.
The first half was all Quinnipiac as the Bobcats started the game on a 21-5 run and led as much as 28 points en route to a 48-26 halftime lead.
Kahlil Dukes led all scorers with a career-high 29 points, with 20 coming in the second half, for his seventh 20-point game of the season. He connected on a career-high 12 of 14 free throws and had a team-high four assists. Matt Scott scored 20 points for his team-leading 11th 20-point game of the season. He went 7-for-9 at the free-throw line and grabbed eight rebounds. Dominic Robb scored nine points and had two blocks to increase his MAAC-leading total to 65.
Maurice Taylor had a career-high 12 rebounds.
Niagara outscored Quinnipiac 55-41 in the second half. The 55 second half points are tied for the most points scored in a half this season (Drexel). Kahlil Dukes and Matt Scott each had 20-point games. This is the third time this season a pair of Purple Eagles had 20-point games. In the second half, Niagara had a 51.6 field goal percentage (16-for-31), shot 50 percent from the 3-point line and connected on 18 of 20 free throws. Dominic Robb sits alone in fourth place in the single-season blocks record and is one block away from tying the sophomore record of 66 set by Joe Arlauckas (1984-85).
The Purple Eagles visit Canisius for the latest edition of the Battle of the Bridge rivalry on Friday, February 10 at 8 p.m. Follow the game on ESPN3, and on the Niagara Sports Network via WGR 550 AM and PurpleEagles.com.
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