SCORE: No. 9 Niagara 88, No. 8 Quinnipiac 69
RECORDS: Niagara (10-22), Quinnipiac (10-21)
LOCATION: Times Union Center – Albany, New York
 
ALBANY, N.Y. – A dominant second half pushed the ninth-seeded Purple Eagles past the No. 8 seed Quinnipiac Bobcats, 88-69, in the 2017 MAAC Tournament First Round on Thursday.
 
Game Summary
A 16-3 run midway through the second half turned a close game into a rout in favor of the Purple Eagles. Leading 56-53 with nine minutes remaining, James Towns started the run with a 3-pointer as Niagara scored 12 straight points with Towns pouring in 10 points during the stretch.  A pair of free throws by Marvin Prochet capped the run with the Purple Eagles holding a commanding 72-56 lead with 5:40 left.  Niagara used another double-digit run to seal the game. The Purple Eagles reeled off a 10-0 run in a two-minute span en route to the game's largest lead, 83-61, with three minutes remaining.
 
The tightly contested first half featured 10 lead changes and five ties after the Purple Eagles raced out to a 9-2 lead, with Maurice Taylor Jr. providing five points, through the opening six minutes.  A Marvin Prochet putback layup with 38 seconds left in the half gave NU a 29-27 halftime lead. Trailing 35-32 early into the second half, Niagara went ahead for good on a 14-3 run with five different Purple Eagles scoring.
 
Eagle's Eye On…      

• Matt Scott led the game with 19 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field.
• Kahlil Dukes scored 18 points, including going 11-for-12 at the free-throw line. He dished out a team-high six assists and led the game with a career-high five steals.
• Chris Barton tied a season-high in scoring with 15 points on 5 of 6 shooting from the field.
• James Towns scored 14 points for his first double figures game since scoring a career-high 17 points against Drexel on November 23.
• Maurice Taylor Jr. grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds, which are the most by a Purple Eagle in seven seasons and are the third most in the MAAC this season.

 
Inside The Numbers

• Niagara won its first MAAC Tournament game since 2014 and its first MAAC Tournament win in the Times Union Center in the last four trips.
• The 19-point win is Niagara's largest in the MAAC Tournament since 2009 when the Purple Eagles defeated Marist, 79-50, in the quarterfinals.
• Niagara's 59 second half points are six points shy from tying the modern-day program record of 65 points set at Maine on January 12, 1987.
• The Purple Eagles outscored the Bobcats in points in the paint (34-18), off turnovers (21-12), second chance points (18-10), fast break points (12-7) and bench points (25-21).
• After being outrebounded by seven and 12, respectively, in the two regular season games, Niagara outrebounded Quinnipiac, 44-32

Up Next

• The Purple Eagles will face No. 1 seed Monmouth in the MAAC Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m.
• The game will air on ESPN3 and on the Niagara Sports Network via AM 1400 WWWS and PurpleEagles.com.

 
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