| GAME 7 |
| SCORE |
Niagara 71, Pit 70 |
| RECORDS |
Niagara (3-4), Pitt (7-2) |
| LOCATION |
Petersen Events Center |
PITTSBURGH – The Niagara Purple Eagles used a total team effort to upset the ACC Pitt Panthers, 71-70, on Monday night.
Game Summary
The Purple Eagles led for the final 14 minutes and held off a late surge to come away with a monumental win for the program. Playing their third straight game without leading scorer and rebounder,
Marvin Prochet, the Purple Eagles put together a comprehensive game plan to down the Panthers.
The opening nine minutes of the contest witnessed seven lead changes. Pittsburgh native
Dominic Robb scored the game's opening points and NU led 3-0 two minutes into the game before the teams started alternating leads.
Pitt held a 33-27 lead with 2:27 left in the first half before NU reeled off a 7-0 run to close the period for a 34-33 halftime lead.
Greg Kuakumensah connected on a 3-pointer to start the run, followed by jumpers by Robb and Towns.
The Panthers opened the half with a basket for the game's ninth lead change. Pitt had its largest lead of the second half at 42-38 with 16:58 remaining before the Purple Eagles took control thanks to a 13-2 run. A
Keleaf Tate 3-pointer during the run provided the game's tenth and final lead change as NU led 46-44 with 14:27 left. A fast break jumper by
Chris Barton capped the run for a 51-44 lead.
Niagara had its largest lead of the night, 64-52, after a
Greg King dunk as the Purple Eagles headed into the final six minutes with a double-digit lead. Pitt trimmed Niagara's lead to 64-61 with 4:30 remaining, but Niagara answered with baskets from Robb and
Greg Kuakumensah for a 68-62 lead.
The Panthers' Xavier Johnson made a jumper to cut the lead to 69-67 with 44 seconds left. After a Niagara turnover, Pitt missed a 3-pointer and a jumper on its next possession. Kuakumensah, then, made a pair of pressure free throws to extend the lead to 71-67 with 12 seconds left. Pitt connected on a 3-pointer to get within one point and forced a turnover on the en suing inbound. However, Johnson's potential game-winning layup rimmed out as time expired.
Eagle's Eye On…
- Keleaf Tate tied a career-high in points with 17 to lead the Purple Eagles. Tate grabbed a career-high seven rebounds to share team-high honors.
- Greg Kuakumensah scored a career-high 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds to share team-high marks.
- James Towns had 12 points, a career-high nine assists, and grabbed six rebounds.
- Dominic Robb scored 12 points, had five rebounds, swatted four shots, and had three assists.
Inside The Numbers
- This is Niagara's first win versus a major conference opponent since beating South Florida, 70-55, on December 14, 2008.
- The Purple Eagles are the first MAAC team to beat an ACC team since Fairfield over Boston College in December 2016.
- Dominic Robb moved into second place on the career blocks list with his four-block game performance tonight. Robb surpassed Mark Henry ('89) and now has 184 career blocks.
- The Purple Eagles shot a season-high 48.2 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from behind the 3-point line. Pitt held five of their previous seven opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the field.
- Niagara forced a season-high 18 turnovers, outrebounded the Panthers (38-31), and outscored Pitt in the paint (28-20), in second chance points (14-2) and in bench points (22-17).
- Pitt suffered only its eighth defeat in 155 non-conference games at the Petersen Events Center.
- Niagara also snapped Pitt's 12-game winning streak against unranked non-conference opponents at home and the Panthers' 10-game win streak against MAAC opponents.
Up Next
- Niagara returns home to face New Hampshire on Sunday, December 9 at 12:30 p.m. for the first of two straight contests at the Gallagher Center.
- The game will air on the Niagara Sports Network via AM 1400 WWWS and www.PurpleEagles.com/Watch.
- For ticket information, contact the Niagara Athletic Ticket Office at 716-286 TIXX, tickets@Niagara.edu or www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets.
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