GAME 5
SCORE	Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons 77, Niagara Purple Eagles 54
RECORDS	Purdue Fort Wayne (4-5), Niagara (0-5)
LEADING SCORERS	Purdue Fort Wayne – Jarred Godfrey (17) | Niagara – Raheem Solomon (15)
LOCATION	Memorial Coliseum

 
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Purple Eagles started their two-game road swing with a 77-54 defeat to the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on Thanksgiving Eve.

Game Summary
After putting together a strong first half effort, a big second half run by the Mastodons helped the hosts pull away from the Purple Eagles. After Raheem Solomon scored four straight points to tie the game at 38-38 within the first minute of the second half, Purdue Fort Wayne reeled off a 26-6 run over the next nine minutes to effectively seal the game.

Defensive pressure led to easy points to buoy the Purple Eagles to an early first half lead. Niagara made 5 of 7 shots with Noah Waterman and Raheem Solomon combining for eight points for 10-4 lead through the opening three minutes.

Nicholas Kratholm's baseline jumper gave Niagara a 17-11 lead at the 13:14 mark, before the Mastodons used an 11-4 run for their first lead of the game at 22-21 with eight minutes remaining in the half.

Solomon immediately answered with five straight points for a 25-22 advantage. However, Purdue Fort Wayne followed with a 10-0 run. The Mastodons led 38-31 before a Solomon 3-pointer with 41 seconds left to trim the deficit to four points heading into halftime.

Eagle's Eye On…

• Raheem Solomon led Niagara in scoring for the first time this season with 15 points. He has scored in double figures in four out of five games.
• James Towns netted 13 points to also score in double figures in four of the five games played this season.
• Noah Waterman scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
   

Up Next

• The Purple Eagles continue their road swing against Norfolk State on Sunday, December 1 at 4 p.m.
• Coverage of the game will be provided by the Niagara Sports Network via WGR 550 AM and www.PurpleEagles.com/Watch. 

 
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