POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Niagara Purple Eagles were within seconds of their second straight MAAC win before falling on a 3-pointer with four seconds left to the Marist Red Foxes, 63-61, on Friday night.

For the second straight meeting, Marist escaped with a win on Khallid Hart's 3-pointer. NU rallied from an eight-point deficit with 3:32 remaining to take a 61-60 lead with 13 seconds left after Ramone Snowden made two free throws. On the next possession, Hart hit a contested 3-pointer from the left arc with four seconds on the clock. Emile Blackman's 3-pointer from just past half court hit the side of the rim as time expired.

Niagara and Marist battled throughout the 40 minutes as the game finished with 11 ties and 11 lead changes. The Purple Eagles held a 33-32 lead at halftime. Blackman and Dominique Reid paced the Purple Eagles in the first half, combining for 27 of Niagara's 33 points. NU opened the game on a 9-3 run. The Red Foxes had a 30-24 lead with 3:18 left in the half before the Purple Eagles closed the half on a 9-2 run capped by a Blackman layup with one second on the clock.

The Purple Eagles led 51-48 with 9:42 left in the half before the Red Foxes went on a 12-1 run to lead 60-52 with 3:32 left. However, Marist would go scoreless for the next three minutes as NU chipped away at the deficit. Snowden drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 60-59 with 1:08 remaining before making two free throws to put NU in front.  

Blackman led NU with 19 points and a game-high four steals. Reid recorded his team-leading third double-double of the season with 18 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to become the first Purple Eagle with consecutive double-doubles since Bilal Benn in 2010. Ramone Snowden chipped in 10 points and six rebounds. 

Niagara continues its weekend road trip on Sunday against the Quinnipiac Bobcats at 1 p.m. The game will air live on AM 1400 WWWS and on the Niagara Sports Network.