GAME 20
SCORE	No. 9 Iona Gaels 70, No. 5 Niagara Purple Eagles 64
RECORDS	Iona (11-5) | Niagara (9-11)
LEADING SCORERS	Iona – Asante Gist (19) | Niagara – Raheem Solomon (21)
LOCATION	Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall
TOURNAMENT	2021 MAAC Championship Semifinals

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The fifth-seeded Purple Eagles nearly erased a 24-point second-half deficit before falling to the four-time defending MAAC Champions Iona Gaels, 70-64, in the 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Championship Semifinals on Friday.

Game Summary
The Purple Eagles battled to the very end in a game where they trailed by 24 points in the second half. Niagara cut the deficit to three points and had possession with two minutes remaining, but the Gaels managed to survive the rally to advance to the championship game.

Trailing 51-27 with 16 minutes remaining in the game, Niagara began to chip away at Iona's lead with a 9-0 run. Marcus Hammond drained his first 3-pointer of the game, followed by consecutive triples by Kobi Nwandu.  

Iona pushed its lead to 19 points and led 58-43 with 10 minutes remaining when the Purple Eagles reeled off a 12-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Raheem Solomon, in four minutes. Niagara scored its next five points at the free-throw line as the Purple Eagles trailed 63-60 with two minutes left. After a scoreless possession for Iona, the Purple Eagles missed two game-tying 3-pointers on their next possession.

A 3-point play by Solomon brought NU within to 67-64 with 15 seconds remaining. After Iona's Ryan Myers made 1 of 2 free throws, the Purple Eagles turned over the ball on their next possession and Iona iced the game with two free throws.

Nwandu opened the scoring with a 3-pointer which beat the shot clock. Hammond converted a 3-point play on Niagara's next possession for a 6-0 lead. The Gaels answered with a 19-4 run in seven minutes on their way to a 43-25 halftime lead.
 
Eagle's Eye On…

• Raheem Solomon set a season-high in scoring for the second consecutive game. He scored a game-high 21 points and a team-high eight rebounds which are a season-high.
• Kobi Nwandu netted 16 points to be in double figures for the 18^th time and the eighth straight game.
• Marcus Hammond added 11 points, a team-high five assists, and had five boards.

Inside The Numbers

• Niagara finished the season leading the MAAC in assist-to-turnover ratio, turnover margin, and fewest turnovers per game.
• Raheem Solomon is averaging 19 points in four career MAAC Championship games, including scoring in double figures in each game.

  
Stay connected with Niagara Men's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Niagara Athletics all year long on Twitter, Instagram