Courtesy of PurpleEagles.com
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Niagara Purple Eagles had their four-game winning streak snapped in an 82-72 defeat to the Manhattan Jaspers in their final regular season road game on Sunday.
The first half featured four ties and six lead changes. Manhattan led 5-0 before Niagara reeled off seven straight. NU trailed 19-13 before going on an 11-4 run to take a 24-23 lead. Kahlil Dukes gave Niagara a 29-26 lead with 5:17 left in the first half, but the Jaspers outscored the Purple Eagles, 17-4, in the final five minutes for a 43-33 halftime lead.
Manhattan led by 13 points early in the second half before the Purple Eagles cut the lead to 51-46 on a three-point play by Greg King with 13:49 remaining. However, the Jaspers connected on 3-pointers in three straight possessions on their way to pushing their lead to 67-53 with nine minutes remaining. Niagara responded with an 8-0 run with four different Purple Eagles scoring to trim the lead to 67-61 with 6:42 left.
The Purple Eagles, who rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to beat Iona two nights ago, were unable to get any closer as Manhattan answered with a 7-2 run.
Eagle’s Eye On…
· Kahlil Dukes led Niagara in scoring with 20 points for his MAAC-leading 18th 20-point game. Dukes also had three assists to share team-high honors.
· Brooklyn native Marvin Prochet scored 17 points on 5 of 9 shooting from the field.
· Keleaf Tate and James Towns each had 10 points and three rebounds. Towns also added three assists to share team-high honors.
· Greg King grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to be in double-digit rebounds for the second straight game and fifth time this season.
Inside The Numbers
· Niagara concludes its road schedule with 10 wins, which ties the 2008-09 team for the most in program history.
· The Purple Eagles’ 6-3 MAAC road record is tied for second best in program history.
· Kahlil Dukes made three 3-pointers to move into fourth place on the single-season 3-pointers list with 85. His 150 career 3-pointers are tied for seventh in program history.
Up Next
· The Purple Eagles host archrival Canisius on Wednesday, February 21 at 7 p.m.
· The game will air on the Niagara Sports Network via LCTV, WGR 550 AM and www.PurpleEagles.com/Watch
· For ticket information, contact the Niagara Athletic Ticket Office at 716-286-TIXX, tickets@Niagara.
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