YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A strong second half helped the Purple Eagles (1-2) to a 70-60 victory over SIUE (1-3) in the teams' first all-time meeting on Friday.

Game Recap
First Half

• The Purple Eagles went on a 7-2 run to open the first half, with all seven points coming from Marcus Hammond.
• The Cougars went on a 6-0 run to take the lead, 8-7, but a layup from Greg Kuakumensah put NU back on top, 9-8, with a little under 14 minutes to go in the half.
• SIUE scored 10 straight points to reclaim the lead, 18-9.
• A jumper from Noah Thomasson and a layup from Rob Brown III cut SIUE's lead to five, 18-13, with a little over eight and a half minutes on the clock.
• The Cougars went on an 8-0 run, taking a 26-13 lead over the Purple Eagles.
• Back-to-back triples from Thomasson and Kuakumensah left NU trailing by seven, 26-19, with just over four minutes remaining in the half.
• The Purple Eagles trailed the Cougars by six, 30-24, going into halftime.

Second Half

• Trailing 35-27 a little over two minutes into the second half, Niagara went on a 6-0 run, which included two points each from Brown III, Sam Iorio and Jordan Cintron, to cut SIUE's lead to just two points, 35-33.
• A jumper and two free throws from Thomasson put NU within one point of the Cougars, 38-37.
• A Kuakumensah bucket with 13:42 put Niagara in the lead, 39-38.
• SIUE took a two-point lead, 41-39, but three straight 3-pointers from Hammond put the Purple Eagles back on top, 48-41.
• Two triples from Justin Roberts and another bucket from Thomasson kept Niagara ahead, 56-49.
• Four points from Kuakumensah gave Niagara a nine-point lead, 60-51, with a little under five minutes remaining in the game.
• Four more points from Thomasson and two each from Roberts and Kuakumensah extended the NU lead to 13 points, 68-55.
• The Purple Eagles held the Cougars to just five more points to come away with their first victory of the season, 70-60.

Eagle's Eye On

• Hammond led the Purple Eagles in scoring with 16 points.
• Thomasson recorded a career-high 15 points. He also dished out a team-high four assists.
• Kuakumensah scored a season-high 15 points and Roberts added a season-high 10 points.
• Iorio led the team in rebounding with six rebounds.
• Cintron and Kuaumensah led the Purple Eagles in steals with two each.
• Cintron, Kuakumensah and Touba Traore each blocked two shots.
• Hammond, Thomasson, Brown III, Iorio and Roberts were all perfect from the foul line.
• The Purple Eagles outscored the Cougars, 46-30, in the second half.
• NU scored 28 points in the paint and 28 points off the bench.

Up Next

• The Purple Eagles continue play at the YSU/J. Arnold Wealth Management Company Basketball Tournament with games against St. Thomas (Nov. 20) and Youngstown State (Nov. 21).

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