YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Purple Eagles (2-3) closed out the YSU/J. Arnold Wealth Management Company Basketball Tournament with a 58-53 victory over host Youngstown State (2-3) on Sunday.

Game Recap
First Half

• Rob Brown III opened scoring in the game with a 3-pointer, starting Niagara on a 7-0 run which also included two points each from Jordan Cintron and Marcus Hammond.
• With about 7:15 left to go in the half, the Purple Eagles and the Penguins were tied, 11-11, but four straight points from Hammond put NU back in the lead, 15-11.
• The Penguins took their only lead of the game, 16-15, with about five minutes remaining in the half.
• Three free throws from Hammond reclaimed the lead for the Purple Eagles, 18-16.
• A 3-pointer from Justin Roberts and a 3-point play from Noah Thomasson gave NU an eight-point lead, 24-16.
• Roberts sank another trey with about two minutes to go in the half.
• The Purple Eagles led the Penguins, 27-20, after the first 20 minutes of play.

Second Half

• A 3-pointer from Sam Iorio opened the second half and gave NU its largest lead of the game, 30-20.
• The Penguins went on a 7-0 run to cut Niagara's lead to three points, 30-27, with a little under 17 minutes left on the clock.
• The Purple Eagles and the Penguins went back and forth, and Niagara led by four, 38-34, with 10:20 to go.
• Buckets from Iorio and Hammond extended NU's lead to six points, 42-36.
• With four minutes remaining, NU had a 47-43 lead over Youngstown State, but the Penguins scored four straight points to tie the score, 47-47.
• A layup from Greg Kuakumensah put Niagara up by two, 49-47, but the Penguins quickly tied things up again, 49-49.
• A jumper from Thomasson and a triple from Iorio helped the Purple Eagles begin to pull away, giving them a 54-49 lead over the Penguins with a little over 30 seconds remaining in the game.
• The Purple Eagles remained in control, defeating the Penguins, 58-53, to win two out of their three games played in the multi-team event.

Eagle's Eye On

• Hammond led the Purple Eagles in scoring with 19 points. He has scored in double figures in all five games so far this season and is just three points away from 1,000 career points. Hammond went 9-for-9 from the free throw line, tying his career-best.
• Iorio added 10 points and brought down four rebounds.
• Cintron led the team in rebounding with seven boards.
• Brown III recorded a career-high six rebounds and added five points, which is just one short of his career-high. He led the team in assists with two, which is also a career-best.
• Thomasson added seven points for the Purple Eagles.

Up Next

• Niagara plays at Colgate on Monday, Nov. 29 at 7:00 p.m.

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