GAME 13
SCORE	Niagara Purple Eagles 59, Quinnipiac Bobcats 56
RECORDS	Niagara (6-7, 5-6 MAAC), Quinnipiac (3-6, 1-4 MAAC)
LEADING SCORERS	Niagara – Kobi Nwandu (18), Quinnipiac – Tyrese Williams (13)
LOCATION	People's United Center

HAMDEN, Conn. – Kobi Nwandu and Marcus Hammond combined for 30 points as the Niagara Purple Eagles staved off the Quinnipiac Bobcats, 59-56, in the opener of their two-game set on Friday.

Game Summary
The Purple Eagles, who led for over 31 minutes, had to hold off a last-minute push by the Bobcats to secure their third win in the last four meetings in the People's United Center. Quinnipiac's Tymu Chenery scored five straight points to cut Niagara's lead to 55-54 heading into the final minute. On Niagara's next possession, Raheem Solomon calmly drained a mid-range jumper for a 57-54 lead with 40 seconds remaining. Quinnipiac scored on its next possession on a Luis Kortright layup while being fouled, but he missed the game-tying free throw. The Bobcats, who entered the game second in the league in free throw percentage, went 0-for-3 at the charity stripe in the final 34 seconds.

After both teams exchanged turnovers, Marcus Hammond was sent to the free-throw line where he made 1 of 2 for a 58-56 lead with 25 seconds remaining. On the next possession, Jacob Rigoni was fouled after grabbing a rebound, but the conference-leader in free throw percentage at 90 percent missed both of his free throws. Nicholas Kratholm made 1 of 2 free throws to extend Niagara's lead to three points and Quinnipiac's Tyrese Williams missed a 3-pointer as time expired.

Niagara went into halftime with a 31-27 lead in a tightly contested first half. The Purple Eagles broke a 15-15 tie with a 9-2 run and would stay in the lead until the midway point of the second half.  The Bobcats used an 8-2 run in four minutes to take a 40-38 lead with 11:31 left. However, Niagara responded with a 10-0 run. Nick MacDonald provided the go-ahead basket when he connected on a corner 3-pointer and Nwandu capped the run with a 3-pointer of his own for a 48-40 lead with 7:27 on the clock. Quinnipiac scored the next five points, but the Purple Eagles scored the next four points as they maintained at least a four-point lead until the final minute.

Eagle's Eye On…

• Kobi Nwandu posted a game-high 18 points while chipping in four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.  
• Marcus Hammond scored 12 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and dished out a game-high four assists.
• Nicholas Kratholm registered a career-high 13 rebounds for game-high honors and scored nine points.   
• Greg Kuakumensah had season-highs in steals with three, blocks with three, and in rebounds with nine. He added nine points going 4-for-4 from the field and 1-for-1 at the free-throw line.   

Inside The Numbers

• The Purple Eagles, the MAAC-leading scoring defense at 63.1 points per game, held the Bobcats to 56 points which are nine points under their season average.
• Niagara grabbed a season-high 47 rebounds for a 47-38 advantage on the boards.
• Niagara won its first game of the season when scoring in the 50s while improving to 3-3 when opponents score in the 50s.

Up Next

• The Purple Eagles finish their series with Quinnipiac on Saturday at 4 p.m.
• Coverage of the game will be provided by ESPN3 and by the Niagara Sports Network via 107.3 FM/AM 1400 and www.PurpleEagles.com/Watch.

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