| GAME 29 |
| SCORE |
Niagara Purple Eagles 100, Iona Gaels 91 (overtime) |
| RECORDS |
Niagara (11-18, 9-9 MAAC) | Iona (11-14, 9-9 MAAC) |
| LEADING SCORERS |
Niagara – Marcus Hammond (27) | Iona – Tajuan Agee (28) |
| LOCATION |
Gallagher Center |
NIAGARA UNIV, N.Y. – The Niagara Purple Eagles pulled off a miraculous rally in the final 35 seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime en route to defeating the Iona Gaels, 100-91, in their home finale on Saturday.
Game Summary
Marcus Hammond's buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation capped a frenetic Niagara rally in the final minute.
The Purple Eagles trailed by seven points twice in the final 51 seconds, 77-70 (51 seconds) and 79-72 (35 seconds). Iona led 80-74 with 22 seconds on the clock when
James Towns made a layup to cut the lead to 80-76. Towns, who was fouled on the play, missed his free throw; however, Iona knocked the ball out of bounds.
On the en suing inbound, Hammond drained a corner 3-pointer to bring NU within one point, 80-79, with 17 seconds left in regulation. Iona's E.J. Crawford made two free throws to give the Gaels a three-point lead heading into the final 10 seconds of regulation.
On the next possession, Hammond drove for an uncontested layup to cut the lead back to one point. The Gaels, then, made two more free throws for an 84-81 lead with five seconds on the clock. On the last play of regulation,
Justin Roberts who found a wide-open
Marcus Hammond whose 3-pointer hit the back rim and dropped through the net as time expired.
Iona opened the scoring in overtime with a 3-pointer, but the Purple Eagles reeled off an emphatic 14-2 run in four minutes.
Raheem Solomon powered the run with seven points as NU made 4 of 6 shots from the field during the stretch while Iona went 0-for-4 from the field. Hammond's two free throws at the end of the run gave the Purple Eagles their largest lead of the game at 98-89 with 34 seconds remaining. Solomon made two free throws with 25 seconds left to get Niagara to the century mark in scoring for the first time in two seasons.
The Purple Eagles, who trailed 43-35 at halftime, used a 12-4 run midway through the second half to trail 54-52 with 12 minutes left in the second stanza. The Gaels, however, managed to keep their lead with timely points throughout the half. Niagara cut the lead to 73-70 with 1:52 on the clock, but consecutive layups by Isaiah Washington and Crawford pushed the Gaels lead to 77-70.
Eagle's Eye On…
- Marcus Hammond led the game in scoring with 27 points for this ninth 20-point game and his third straight. He drained a career-high seven 3-pointers which are the most by a Purple Eagle this season. He grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and shared team-high honors in steals with two.
- Greg Kuakumensah netted 16 points.
- Raheem Solomon scored 16 points to be in double figures for the first time in 10 games.
- Justin Roberts scored 14 points, including tying a career-high in 3-pointers with 4.
- James Towns added 12 points and a team-high five assists.
Inside The Numbers
- The Purple Eagles wrapped up their home schedule with a 9-3 record, including an 8-2 mark in conference games. The eight home league wins are the most since the 2008-09 season (8-1).
- Niagara tied a season-high in 3-pointers with 15. The Purple Eagles also made 15 triples against Iona on January 12.
- The Purple Eagles set season-highs in field goal percentage (.587) and in 3-point field goal percentage (.600).
- Five Purple Eagles – Marcus Hammond, Greg Kuakumensah, Raheem Solomon, Justin Roberts, and James Towns - scored in double figures for the first time since November 13, 2019 at Stephen F. Austin.
- Niagara has swept Iona for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
- Niagara improved to 2-0 in overtime games.
- Iona had a 97.7 percent win probability with the score at 77-70, according to ESPN.com.
Up Next
- The Purple Eagles are back on the road to take on the Siena Saints on Wednesday, March 4 at 7 p.m.
- Coverage of the game will be provided by ESPN3 and by the Niagara Sports Network via WGR 550 AM and www.PurpleEagles.com/Watch.
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