YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Forward Sam Iorio surpassed 1,000 career points in Niagara's (1-3) 76-67 defeat to St. Thomas (2-3) on Saturday as part of the YSU/J. Arnold Wealth Management Company Basketball Tournament.

Game Recap
First Half

• The Tommies went on an 8-2 run to open the game but five straight points from Iorio cut the St. Thomas lead to just one point, 8-7.
• St. Thomas got ahead, 13-11, but jumpers from Noah Thomasson and Greg Kuakumensah gave NU its first lead of the game, 15-13, with a little over 11 minutes to go in the half.
• A jumper from Marcus Hammond and a 3-pointer from Justin Roberts put Niagara up by four points, 20-16.
• The Tommies went on a 6-0 run to reclaim the lead, 22-20, but a bucket from Jordan Cintron tied things up, 22-22.
• Trailing by five, 27-22, with about five minutes to go, Kuakumensah sank a triple to bring Niagara within two points of the lead, 27-25.
• Five straight points from Hammond kept the Purple Eagles trailing by just two points, 32-30.
• Iorio and Hammond each added another bucket in the half and NU trailed by just one point, 35-34, going into halftime.

Second Half

• Iorio scored the first points of the half for the Purple Eagles, brining him closer to the 1,000-point milestone and leaving NU trailing by just three points, 39-36.
• The Tommies took a 47-38 lead over the Purple Eagles, but three free throws from Rob Brown III cut the lead to six points, 47-41, with a little less than 15 minutes left in the game.
• With 11:25 remaining, Iorio made two foul shots to reach 1,000 career points.
• Trailing the Tommies by 15, 58-43, buckets from Iorio and Cintron put Niagara within 11 points of the lead, 58-47.
• A triple from Steven Levnaic with about eight and a half minutes to go kept the St. Thomas lead at 11 points, 61-50.
• A 3-pointer from Thomasson and a layup from Kuakumensah brought Niagara back within single digits of the lead, 63-55.
• Four points from Hammond and two from Kuakumensah put the Purple Eagles down by just eight points, 69-61, with 3:18 left on the clock.
• Iorio, Hammond and Roberts each added two more points for NU, but the Purple Eagles were not able to overcome the St. Thomas lead and fell to the Tommies, 76-67.

Eagle's Eye On

• Iorio entered the game needing 11 points to reach 1,000. He scored 15 points and now has a career point total of 1,004.
• Hammond led the Purple Eagles in scoring with 17 points. He also added four rebounds.
• Kuakumensah added 13 points and brought down a team-high six rebounds.
• Hammond and Thomasson led the team in assists with four each.
• Niagara shot 61.4 percent from the field (27-for-44) and scored 36 points in the paint.

Up Next

• The Purple Eagles play their final game of the YSU/J. Arnold Wealth Management Company Basketball Tournament against host Youngstown State on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 3:45 p.m.

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