NORFOLK, Va. – The Niagara University men's basketball team engineered a spirited second half rally which ultimately fell short in a 67-50 defeat to the Old Dominion Monarchs on Friday.

Sophomore Matt Scott led the Purple Eagles in scoring and in rebounding. The Brooklyn native finished with 19 points and tied a career-high with eight rebounds. Justin Satchell scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds in his debut.  

Satchell scored nine points in the second half, including seven early points to spark a rally. NU trimmed a 14-point deficit to five points when a layup by Scott cut the score to 46-41 with 12:59 remaining.  The Monarchs answered with a 9-2 run in a four-minute span and maintained a lead of at least nine points for the rest of the game.

The Purple Eagles had a promising start to the game. After the Monarchs scored the game's first four points, a Karonn Davis layup started a 7-0 run for Niagara to take a 7-4 lead with 14:44 left.  Over the next four minutes, ODU regained the lead with a 14-0 run and went into halftime leading 36-24.

NU continues its road trip with matchup against Saint Joseph's on Sunday at 5 p.m. The game will air on WGR 550 AM and on the Niagara Sports Network via PurpleEagles.com/watch.

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