 Marvin Jordan |
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – The Niagara men’s basketball team was edged by the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils, 74-71, on Sunday to complete its eight-game road trip. The Purple Eagles had season-highs in field goal and 3-point percentage in the loss.
“We are starting to be more consistent, but not consistent enough,” head coach Joe Mihalich said. “We had five minutes mental lapses in the first and second half which proved too costly for us. We committed too many turnovers and we don’t have room for errors.”
Niagara (3-8) had its bid for its second consecutive win nipped by the Blue Devils (5-5) in a close contest that featured 10 lead changes and eight ties. The Purple Eagles played their final game of their eight-game road trip, which is the program’s longest since they played eight straight away from home during the 1940-41 season.
Niagara led for majority of the first half. Marvin Jordan connected on his first of three 3-pointers in the game 1:35 into the contest to give NU a 7-4 lead and would lead until 1:50 left in the half. CCSU’s Robby Ptacek hit a jumper to tie the game at 36-36 heading into the intermission. The back-and-forth nature of the game continued into the second half. NU had a 49-44 lead with 15 minutes remaining before CCSU went on a 9-0 run.
An Anthony Nelson layup at 3:38 tied the game at 65-65 and Nelson would again hit another big shot when his 3-pointer cut the lead to 72-71 with 18 seconds remaining. The Blue Devils regain their three point lead on their next possession after two free throws by Shemik Thompson, which setup one final chance for Niagara. With time running out, Kashief Edwards shot a contested 3-pointer which bounced out of the rim as time expired.
NU shot a season-high 48 percent from the field and a season-high 43.8 percent from behind the arc in the defeat. The Purple Eagles were also solid at the line for the second straight game, shooting 80 percent (16-for-20).
Four Purple Eagles registered double-digit in scoring. Nelson scored 24 points for the second straight game to lead the team in scoring. Jordan had 15 points and a team-high three assists. Edwards finished with 10 points and three rebounds. Eric Williams had a season-high 10 points and a career-high eight rebounds.
“I was pleased with Eric Williams performance and Anthony is starting to play like an all-conference guy,” Mihalich said.
Niagara is back at home for the first time in a month when it hosts the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Wednesday, Dec. 22 at 7 p.m.
