YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – In a back-and-forth nail biter, the Niagara Purple Eagles fell to the Youngstown State Penguins in overtime, 101-97, on Wednesday night.
The 14th all-time meeting between the programs featured 12 ties and 25 lead changes. The action came fast and furious with NU jumping out to a 7-2 lead in the opening 85 seconds. YSU tied the score at 9-9, but the Purple Eagles sprinted to an 18-11 lead at the 13-minute mark. The Penguins chipped away at the lead to eventually take a 29-25 lead. Trailing 31-30 with six minutes left in the first half, James Towns and Kahlil Dukes carried the scoring load for the Purple Eagles for the remainder of the half. The duo combined to score the final 17 points of the half, including an 8-0 run to regain the lead for the Purple Eagles, as NU went into halftime leading 47-42.
The breakneck pace of the game continued in the second half as the lead changed nine times in the opening nine minutes. The Penguins took their largest lead of the game, 70-65, with 10:24 left in the half before Niagara went on a 10-2 run with Shane Gatling providing eight points during the stretch for a NU 75-72 lead with 7:44 remaining. The lead switched seven more times over the next five minutes. The game was tied at 89-89 with 11 seconds left when YSU’s Jorden Kaufman made two free throws to put the Penguins up 91-89. On Niagara’s next possession, Dukes hit a runner in the paint with three seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime.
Niagara took its only lead in the overtime period on a three-point play by Matt Scott 1:07 into overtime as the Purple Eagles led 96-95. Niagara held the 96-95 lead for the next two minutes before a pair of free throws and a jumper by YSU’s Devin Haygood gave the Penquins a 99-96 lead with 1:16 left. Niagara trailed 100-97 with six seconds remaining when Scott missed a game-tying 3-pointer.
Shane Gatling led Niagara with a career-high 24 points with 19 coming in the second half. Gatling has set career-highs in scoring in three of his last four games. Kahlil Dukes had his second career 20-point game with 20 points on 7 of 16 shooting from the field and went 4-for-4 at the free-throw line to extend his streak to 13 straight. Dukes had a game-high nine assists. Matt Scott had his second double-double of the season and eighth of his career with 16 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Marvin Prochet and James Towns each had nine points.
This was Niagara’s second overtime game this season. Niagara, the MAAC leaders in free throw shooting percentage, shot 89.5 percent (17-for-19) from the free-throw line to shoot over 80 percent from the line for the fifth time this season. Niagara made 10 3-pointers which are tied for their second most this season. NU made a season-high 10 3-pointers in last season’s meeting with Youngstown State. Kahlil Dukes’ nine assists are the most by a Purple Eagle since February 2015.
The Purple Eagles return to Western New York to participate in the Big 4 Classic Doubleheader on Saturday against St. Bonaventure at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel, WGR 550 AM and on the Niagara Sports Network via PurpleEagles.com.
from PurpleEagles.com via IFTTT