Postgame Infographic

NIAGARA UNIV., NY – The Niagara Purple Eagles had their two-game winning streak snapped in a 66-50 defeat to the Monmouth Hawks on Sunday afternoon on the Frank & Barbara Layden Court at the Gallagher Center.
 
Niagara (3-9, 2-2 MAAC) trailed 45-40 with 9:03 remaining before Monmouth (7-7, 4-0 MAAC) went on a 14-2 run to pull away for the win.
 
"I thought we played hard enough to win the game and competed hard enough," head coach Chris Casey said. "I thought we did some good things in terms of moving the ball at times. We hung in there with them in rebounding, but we missed some opportunities to score and as those opportunities piled up, they extended the lead and we weren't able to catch them."
 
The Purple Eagles were led by redshirt freshman Dominique Reid's first career double-double. The Erial, N.J. native poured in a game-high 18 points, while also grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Reid's double-double was the first by a freshman since teammate Ramone Snowden's 18 points and 10 rebounds on February 7, 2014 against the Iona Gaels. Wesley Myers added 11 points for the Purple Eagles.
 
Monmouth won the opening tip and looked to run its offense before Cameron Fowler picked Max DiLeo's pocket and threw down a two-handed slam to give the Purple Eagles a quick 2-0 lead. The Hawks followed with a 9-0 run before Reid hit two free throws and a jumper to make it 9-6 with 15:48 left in the opening half. Myers gave the Purple Eagles their first lead since Fowler's opening dunk at 16-14 with 5:35 remaining in the half.
 
The Purple and White led 19-16 before DiLeo and Collin Stewart hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Monmouth a 22-19 lead with 3:35 remaining in the half. Following a Matt Scott layup, Reid hit two free throws to give Niagara a 23-22 lead with 2:27 left. The Hawks would then use a 7-0 run to end the half up 29-23.
 
Monmouth stretched its lead to 10 points to start the second half before Reid and Myers each hit jumpers to pull Niagara within six at 33-27. Niagara trimmed the lead to 45-40, after a 3-pointer by Myers, with 9:39 remaining. However, the Hawks would go on a 14-2 run over the next 5:36 to take a commanding 59-42 lead en route to remaining unbeaten in conference play.
 
"We had three opportunities to catch them," Casey stated. "At the end of the first half, beginning of the second half and when it was 45-40 we had a shot there too, but couldn't get over the hump. They are a very well coached team."
 
The Purple Eagles return to the court with a trip to Albany, N.Y. to take on the Siena Saints on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. Follow the action live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel, 1400 AM WWWS and online via the Niagara Sports Network.