WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – The Niagara Purple Eagles opened their MAAC road weekend with a 69-58 setback to the Monmouth Hawks on Friday night.

Emile Blackman led the game with 18 points and a career-high four steals. Ramone Snowden scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds. Dominique Reid had another stellar game against the Hawks finishing with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

NU (3-15, 2-7 MAAC) used a late flurry to cut a 23-point second half deficit to nine points as a 3-pointer by Snowden trimmed the lead to 63-54 with 1:12 on the clock. The Purple Eagles immediately regained possession after a Monmouth (11-9, 7-2 MAAC) turnover, but Wesley Myers' layup was blocked by Brice Kofane with 51 seconds left. The Hawks would ice the game by making 6 of 8 free throws.

"We have to be able to put two halves of basketball together," head coach Chris Casey said. "We have to learn how to start games better; period, end of story. We can't start games the way we are starting, especially against very good teams and especially on the road. They (Monmouth) are a really well coached team and are a good team. I do think we competed, but we have to learn to compete at a level where we produce things particularly early in the game."  

The Purple Eagles struggled offensively in the first half, shooting 19 percent (4-for-21) from the field in contrast to Monmouth, which shot 61 percent (11-for-18) from the field and made five of nine 3-pointers en route to a 40-20 halftime lead.

The Purple Eagles' next game will be at the World's Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, on Sunday against the Iona Gaels at 4:30 p.m. The game, which will follow Duke vs. St. John's, can be heard on WGR 550 AM and online on the Niagara Sports Network.