RIVERDALE, N.Y. – A second-half surge earned the Purple Eagles (8-8, 3-4 MAAC) a 72-63 comeback win over the Manhattan Jaspers (9-5, 2-3 MAAC) on Tuesday.

Game Recap
First Half

• Manhattan went on a 10-4 run to open the half but two free throws from Marcus Hammond put NU down by just four points, 10-6, with about 14 minutes left in the half.
• A 3-pointer from Noah Thomasson left Niagara trailing the Jaspers by only three points, 12-9.
• The Jaspers went on a 6-0 run to extend their lead, 18-9. A triple from Jordan Cintron put Niagara back within six points of the lead, 18-12, with 10:41 on the clock.
• Thomasson sank another 3-pointer to keep the Purple Eagles trailing by just six points, 21-15.
• The Jaspers, however, began to pull away and led NU by 11 points, 33-22, with a little under two minutes left in the first half.
• Nicholas Kratholm added a bucket in the final minute of the half but Niagara trailed the Jaspers, 33-24, at halftime.

Second Half

• Trailing by 12 early in the second half, 36-24, a bucket from Thomasson and back-to-back treys from Hammond cut the Manhattan lead to just four points, 36-32.
• A triple from Sam Iorio kicked off a began a 6-0 run, including two points from Thomasson and one from Cintron, to tie the score, 38-38, with about 13 and a half minutes remaining in the game.
• A 3-pointer from Justin Roberts gave Niagara its first lead of the game, 41-40, with 12:28 to go.
• The Purple Eagles and the Jaspers traded buckets and were tied again, 53-53, with about six and a half minutes left on the clock.
• Niagara, however, began to heat up, going on a 13-0 run to take a 66-53 lead over Manhattan. The run included six points from Thomasson, including a dunk off a steal from Hammond, and another 3-pointer from Iorio.
• The Jaspers came back within five points of NU, 68-63, with about a minute left in the game, but the Purple Eagles held Manhattan scoreless in the remainder of the half.
• Iorio and Hammond each added two more points as Niagara snapped a seven-game losing streak to Manhattan, defeating the Jaspers, 72-63.

Eagle's Eye On

• Thomasson led the Purple Eagles in scoring with 20 points, just one short of his career-high. He shot 8-for-12 from the field and led NU in steals with four, which is his career-best. Thomasson also added four assists.
• Hammond had 19 points and dished out a team-high five assists. He brought down six rebounds, had two steals and shot 9-for-12 from the free throw line.
• Cintron added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
• Iorio had 12 points, four rebounds and two steals for the Purple Eagles.
• The Purple Eagles scored 20 points off of the Jaspers' 16 turnovers.
• Niagara shot an impressive 53.3 percent from the field in the second half and 45.5 percent overall. NU shot 55.5 percent from 3-point range in the second half and 44.4 percent over the course of the game.
• The Purple Eagles outscored the Jaspers, 48-30, in the second half.

Up Next

• The Purple Eagles return to the Gallagher Center to face Saint Peter's on Friday, Jan. 21 at 7:00 p.m. and Rider on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 1:00 p.m.

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