| GAME 6 |
| SCORE |
Saint Francis (PA) 79 – Niagara 75 |
| RECORDS |
Saint Francis (PA) (3-3) – Niagara (2-4) |
| LOCATION |
DeGol Arena |
LORETTO, Pa. – The Niagara Purple Eagles erased a double-digit first half deficit to grab a lead in the second half, but were nipped in the final seconds by the Saint Francis Red Flash, 79-75, on Friday night.
Game Summary
Trailing 43-33 at halftime, the Purple Eagles opened the second half on a 17-5 run.
Dominic Robb started the run with consecutive baskets and his layup at the 16:29 mark began an 11-0 stretch by the Purple Eagles. A 3-pointer by
Chris Barton and two triples by
Keleaf Tate put the Purple Eagles ahead 50-48 with 14 minutes remaining in the game. It was their first lead since it was 2-0.
The Red Flash immediately answered with a 7-0 spurt, but the Purple Eagles were far from out of it. Niagara cut SFU's lead to one point on four separate occasions in the final five minutes. Freshman
Raheem Solomon provided the scoring three of those four times, including nailing a 3-pointer to bring NU to 73-72 with 1:52 left.
After a basket by the Red Flash,
James Towns connected on his third 3-pointer of the game to tie the contest at 75-75 with 59 seconds on the clock. The Red Flash's Keith Braxton made a layup with 26 seconds left to break the tie. On Niagara's next possession, Towns had his contested layup rim out with nine seconds remaining. Braxton would make two free throws for the game's final points.
Niagara trailed by as much as 17 points in the opening frame. Robb opened the scoring with a layup, but it would be Niagara's lone made field goal in 10 minutes. St. Francis used a 19-3 run, including scoring 11 straight points, to build a 19-5 lead.
The Red Flash led 32-16 with six minutes left in the half when the Purple Eagles began to heat up. Niagara went on a 13-2 run in a two-minute span behind the duo of Tate and Towns, who combined to score all 13 points. The Red Flash pushed their lead back into double digits to close out the half.
Eagle's Eye On…
- Dominic Robb led the Purple Eagles in scoring and in rebounds. He finished with a season-high 22 points while grabbing eight boards.
- James Towns finished with 16 points, including 11 in the first half, and added a team-high three assists.
- Keleaf Tate netted 15 points, including draining a season-high 3 three-pointers.
- Raheem Solomon netted a career-high 13 points.
Inside The Numbers
- Dominic Robb, the nation's leader in blocks per game, had three blocks tonight to move into sole possession of third place on Niagara's career blocks list with 180. He also moved into 66th on the all-time scoring list.
- Dominic Robb has increased his point total in each game this season.
- The Purple Eagles made 17 free throws while Saint Francis attempted 16 which is the third time this season that the Purple Eagles have either made more free throws than it opponent has attempted.
Up Next
- The Purple Eagles continue their road trip in the Keystone State against the Pitt Panthers on Monday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m.
- The game will air on the ACC Network Extra and on the Niagara Sports Network via AM 1400 WWWS and www.PurpleEagles.com/Watch.
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