Box Score

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Niagara men’s basketball team rallied from a double-digit second half deficit only to be edged in the final minute by the Manhattan Jaspers, 71-64, on Sunday at Draddy Gymnasium to snap its three-game winning streak.

The 72th meeting between Niagara (9-12, 4-5 MAAC) and Manhattan (14-7, 7-2 MAAC) was a matchup that featured two of the hottest teams in the MAAC with both teams on at least three-game winning streaks.

Niagara rallied from a 12-point second half deficit and built a seven-point lead with nine minutes remaining. Trailing by its largest margin of the game at 39-27 with 15:56 left, Marvin Jordan ignited the run by connecting on one of his three 3-pointers during the comeback. A layup by Antoine Mason at 10:04 gave NU its first lead of the second half, 47-46, and a 3-pointer by Ameen Tanksley put the Purple Eagles up 53-46 with 9:02 left.

The Jaspers halted the run by causing a turnover which led to a three-point play by Manhattan’s George Beamon to cut NU’s lead to 53-49 with 8:38 on the clock. Manhattan was able to stay in the game due to a hefty advantage at the free-throw line. The Jaspers went 20-for-21 at the line in the second half, including making 16 straight, while Niagara only went to the line five times in the half and made three of those attempts. 

Seven of the half’s eight lead changes occurred in the final six minutes. A pull up jumper by Mason put NU back up at 64-63 with 2:17 left, but the Jaspers went back in front on a pair of free throws by Michael Alvarado with 1:33 left. On NU’s next possession, Juan'ya Green missed a 3-pointer that would have given the Purple Eagles the lead again. Manhattan took advantage on its next possession when Kidani Brutus made a 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring with 37 seconds remaining; Manhattan went 3-for-4 at the line in the final seconds while NU would miss its final three shots to end the game.

“I thought we had a real good stretch in the second half, after playing one of our worst halves in a long time (the first half), we just didn’t have it in the first half,” head coach Joe Mihalich said. “I’m proud of how we fought through that, but disappointed. At the end of the game, it was a case where one team made some winning plays and we had chances to make winning plays and we didn’t. We have to get to where making winning plays is a habit.”

Both defenses made things difficult for the opposing offense through the opening 20 minutes as each team committed 10 first half turnovers.  The first legitimate sign of offense came from Manhattan who went on an 11-0 run, to give the Jaspers a 19-7 lead with 9:17 in the half.

Niagara responded with a run of its own. Tanksley started the run with a 3-pointer and a put back dunk by Scooter Gillette capped NU’s 12-2 run to cut the lead to 21-19 with six minutes left. However, the Purple Eagles only managed to score five more points in the rest of the half as Manhattan took a 31-24 lead into the break.

Mason led the Purple Eagles in scoring for the third straight game with a 19-point effort on 7-for-18 shooting; Mason also had a team high three steals. Tanksley and Jordan each added 12 points while Green had a game-high seven assists.

Niagara returns to the Gallagher Center this upcoming weekend for two games, beginning on Friday, Jan. 27 when the Purple Eagles host the Loyola Greyhounds. For ticket information, contact the Niagara Athletic Ticket Office at 716-286-TIXX (8499) or at tickets@purpleeagles.com.