HAMDEN, Conn. – A second-half comeback fell short for the Purple Eagles (5-7, 0-3 MAAC) as they fell to Quinnipiac (7-4, 2-1 MAAC), 77-68, at the People's United Center on Friday.

Game Recap
First Half

• A layup from Jordan Cintron and a triple from Sam Iorio gave the Purple Eagles an early 5-3 lead over the Bobcats.
• The Bobcats went on a 16-4 run, taking a 19-9 lead over Niagara with a little over 13 and a half minutes left in the first half.
• A bucket from Greg Kuakumensah cut the Quinnipiac lead to eight points, 11-19.
• With 10:42 left, the Bobcats led the Purple Eagles, 28-13.
• A layup from Cintron and a 3-pointer from Kuakumensah put the Purple Eagles within 10 points of Quinnipiac, 28-18.
• The Bobcats extended their lead to 17 points, 37-20, with a little under seven and a half minutes to go in the first half.
• Noah Thomasson sank a 3-pointer to leave Niagara trailing by just 11 points, 41-30.
• The Bobcats, however, led the Purple Eagles, 46-30, going into halftime.

Second Half

• The Purple Eagles began to heat up in the second half. Buckets from Thomasson, Cintron and Justin Roberts and a triple from Marcus Hammond put the Purple Eagles back within single digits of the Bobcats, 48-39, with about 16 minutes left in the game.
• Five points from Kuakumensah put Niagara within 10 points of the lead, 54-44.
• Back-to-back triples from Roberts cut the Quinnipiac lead to just seven points, 59-52, with a little over eight minutes remaining.
• A trey from Rob Brown III left Niagara down by only six points, 61-55.
• Four straight free throws from Cintron put NU within two points of the lead, 61-59, with 6:25 remaining in the second half.
• A three from Hammond kept Niagara withing striking distance of the lead, 65-62.
• The Bobcats got ahead by six, 68-62, but two points each from Hammond and Cintron kept Niagara within four points, 70-66, with a little under two and a half minutes remaining.
• Two free throws from Hammond once again left Niagara down by just two points, 70-68.
• The Bobcats, however, held the Purple Eagles scoreless for the remainder of the half and came away with the 77-68 victory.

Eagle's Eye On

• Cintron led the Purple Eagles in scoring with 14 points. He added five rebounds and went a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
• Roberts added 13 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the field.
• Hammond scored 12 points and dished out a team-high four assists.
• Kuakumensah added 10 points, going 4-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from 3-point range.
• Iorio led the Purple Eagles in rebounds with seven.
• Hammond and Roberts led the team in steals with two each.

Up Next

• The Purple Eagles return to the Gallagher Center to host Quinnipiac on Sunday, Jan. 9 at 1:00 p.m.

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