PROVIDENCE, RI — Four Purple Eagles scored in double figures as Niagara dropped its road opener today to the Brown Bears, 88-79.
The Brown Bears made the most of their free throw advantage (35-for-45) as they pulled away for the win. The opening 12-plus minutes of the game was a back-and-forth affair with four ties and five lead changes. The Bears used a 9-0 run to build their largest lead of the half, 31-22, with 6:22 left and went into halftime leading 42-36. Trailing 54-44 with 13:54 remaining in the game, Maurice Taylor Jr. and Dwayne Pow each scored four points as part of Niagara’s 8-0 run to cut the lead to 54-52 with 12:14 left. However, the Purple Eagles never regained the lead as the Bears halted Niagara’s momentum numerous time over the final 10 minutes with key baskets.
Maurice Taylor Jr. made his third career start at Niagara and finished as the second leading scorer with 12 points for his career-high in NCAA Division I competition. Kahlil Dukes led Niagara with a season-high 16 points on 7 of 15 shooting from the field. Dominic Robb scored 10 points, had seven rebounds and two blocks. A pair of freshmen set career-highs in scoring. James Towns scored a career-high 10 points in 15 minutes and Shane Gatling scored seven points in nine minutes. Matt Scott led the Purple Eagles in assists for the second straight game, finishing with five. He also chipped in six rebounds.
Brown held a 45-23 advantage in free throw attempts with 22 attempts coming from Steven Spieth.
Niagara outscored Brown in the paint, 42-38, and in bench points, 26-17, with Dwayne Pow leading the bench scoring with nine points.
The Purple Eagles will play Hartford on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. as part of the ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. The game will air live on ESPN2 and on AM 1400 WWWS.
from PurpleEagles.com via IFTTT
