Box Score

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – The Niagara Purple Eagles were denied their first win at Rider in five seasons on a last-second shot by the host to fall 74-73 on Sunday at Alumni Gymnasium.

In a game which both teams made 13 3-pointers, it was Rider (10-15, 7-6 MAAC) that made the decisive triple to come away with an improbable win.

Niagara (9-16, 4-9 MAAC) was the beneficiary of the long ball in the first half. NU drained seven triples with five coming from 3-point specialist Marvin Jordan who woke up Niagara from its early deficit. Jordan connected on three straight triples to bring Niagara to 20-18 and a layup by Ali Langford tied the game at 22-22. With the scored tied at 27-27, an Antoine Mason driving layup at 6:04 on the clock sparked a 14-5 run as Niagara ended the half up 41-32.

The Purple Eagles’ hot shooting continued in the second half. Niagara twice built a 17-point lead, with the latter coming on a Mason layup with 11:44 left. However, the Purple Eagles’ 59-42 lead evaporated over the next five minutes as Rider used six 3-pointers as part of a 22-3 run to regain the lead at 64-62.

Niagara responded with a 9-0 run from Jordan sinking three straight 3-pointers as the Purple Eagles led 71-64 with 3:11 left. Niagara had a 71-68 lead with a less than one minute remaining when Rider tied the game with a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left.

On Niagara’s next possession, Mason made a pull up jumper with six seconds left to push the Purple Eagles back in front by two. Rider immediately inbounded the ball and Rider’s Brandon Penn hit a 3-pointer from NBA range to give the Broncs a 74-73 lead with 0.9 second on the clock. NU’s full-court pass was intercepted as time expired. 

“It was a heartbreaking loss,” head coach Joe Mihalich said. (It was a) great game (and) very competitive. I feel bad for our kids, but I give the other team credit. They had to make a lot of shots to get back into the game and they did.”

Jordan had a game-high 24 points. Jordan finished with a career-high eight 3-pointers which are the second most in the MAAC this season and are tied for second most in program history.  Jordan also tied the Alumni Gym record in 3-pointers which was set in 1993 by Long Island’s Joe Griffin.

Mason recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and career-best 12 rebounds. Malcolm Lemmons scored in double figures for the second straight game, finishing with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Juan'ya Green led the game with eight assists.

Niagara returns to the Gallagher Center on Thursday when it hosts Siena at 7 p.m. to begin a three-game homestand to round out its home schedule. The matchup can be seen live on Time Warner SportsNet and heard on WGR 550 AM.

For ticket information, contact the Niagara Athletic Ticket Office at 716-286-8499 or at tickets@purpleeagles.com.