BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Niagara men's basketball team (5-6, 0-2 MAAC) defeated UAlbany (3-8, 0-0 America East), 66-58, in the Big 4 Tripleheader at the KeyBank Center on Saturday.

Game Recap
First Half

• The Purple Eagles dominated the first six minutes of the half, going on a 12-2 run which included five points from Marcus Hammond, three points from Justin Roberts and two points each from Jordan Cintron and Greg Kuakumensah.
• With a little over 13 minutes to go, Hammond sank his second 3-pointer of the half, giving Niagara a 15-5 lead over the Great Danes.
• Free throws from Sam Iorio and and Kuakumensah and a bucket from Cintron extended NU's lead to 15 points, 20-5.
• UAlbany went on an 11-0 run late in the half, cutting Niagara's advantage to three points, 24-21.
• A dunk from Kuakumensah scored the final points of the half for NU and Niagara led UAlbany, 26-22, going into halftime.

Second Half

• The Great Danes tied things up, 26-26, about three minutes into the half, but Cintron successfully converted a 3-point play to put NU back in the lead, 29-26.
• With the score tied again, 29-29, Hammond hit another trey to give NU a three-point advantage, 32-29.
• The Great Danes scored four points to take their first lead of the game, 34-32, with a little over 14 minutes remaining in the game.
• A bucket from Noah Thomasson tied the score, 34-34, but UAlbany quickly regained the lead, 37-34.
• Hammond made his fourth 3-pointer of the game, however, to tie the score once again, 37-37, and start Niagara on a 12-0 run. The run also included points from Touba Traore, Steven Levnaic, Cintron and Kuakumensah and gave Niagara a 46-37 lead over the Great Danes.
• With a little over five and a half minutes to go, Thomasson hit a huge three as time expired on the shot clock to give Niagara a nine-point lead, 49-40.
• A trey from Roberts and three more points from Thomasson put the Purple Eagles ahead, 57-48.
• The Purple Eagles remained in the lead for the rest of the game, defeating the Great Danes, 66-58.

Eagle's Eye On

• Hammond led the Purple Eagles in scoring with 20 points. He shot 5-for-11 from the field and 4-for-9 from 3-point range.
• Cintron was just short of a double-double with 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. He added three assists, which is just one short of his career-high.
• Kuakumensah added 12 points for the Purple Eagles and four rebounds.
• Thomasson brought down a career-high seven rebounds. He also added eight points, dished out a team-high four assists and had a team-high two steals.
• Roberts had six points and tied his career-high in rebounds with five.  

Up Next

• The Purple Eagles resume MAAC play with a game at Quinnipiac on New Year's Eve at 2:00 p.m. and a contest at Manhattan at 2:00 p.m. on Jan. 2.

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