SCORE: Canisius Golden Griffins 95, Niagara Purple Eagles 88
RECORDS: Canisius (20-10, 14-3), Niagara (18-12, 11-6 MAAC)
LOCATION: Frank and Barbara Layden Court at the Gallagher Center
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – In a matchup between the second and third place teams in the MAAC, the Niagara Purple Eagles were edged by archrival Canisius, 95-88, on Wednesday night.
Game Summary
The latest Battle of the Bridge edition, a rivalry dating back to the early 1900s, featured 19 lead changes and six ties. The turning point in the contest was a 13-2 run in two minutes by the Golden Griffins to break a 58-58 tie midway through the second half.
Neither team led by more than five points in the first half. After Greg King opened the scoring, the Golden Griffins scored six straight points. Consecutive 3-pointers by Keleaf Tate and Marvin Prochet gave Niagara a 13-10 lead. Canisius answered with four straight points before a 5-0 James Towns run flipped the lead in Niagara's favor, 15-14.
A Marvin Prochet layup broke a 21-21 tie with seven minutes left in the half as Niagara led for the next five minutes, including having its largest lead at 32-27. The final two minutes of the half saw six lead changes with the Purple Eagles closing on a 4-0 spurt for a 40-37 lead.
King opened the scoring to a half again, this time with a dunk, 15 seconds into the second half. However, the Golden Griffins responded with an 8-0 run. Tate and Prochet, as they did in the first half, connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to give Niagara a 48-47 lead with 16 minutes left. There were seven lead changes over the next five minutes.
With the game tied at 58-58 with 11:19 left, the Golden Griffins went on a 13-2 run, including 10 straight to take a 71-60 lead. The Golden Griffins' lead remained in double-digits before a Dukes 3-pointer cut the lead to 92-83 with 54 seconds left.
Eagle's Eye On…
- Kahlil Dukes led Niagara with 26 points, including 18 in the second half, on 7 of 15 shooting from the field.
- Marvin Prochet registered his seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
- James Towns scored 13 points to be in double figures against Canisius for the second straight meeting.
- Keleaf Tate added 11 points.
Inside The Numbers
- Kahlil Dukes added to his MAAC-leading 3-pointers total with four triples in the game for 89 on the season. His 89 3-pointers are the second most in a single-season and his 154 career 3-pointers are seventh most.
- Kahlil Dukes notched his 20th 20-point game of the season, which leads the conference and ranks in the top-7 in the nation.
- Marvin Prochet had his ninth 10-rebound game which are the most in the MAAC.
- Niagara has dropped consecutive games for the first time this calendar year.
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