NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Purple Eagles (8-9, 3-5 MAAC) dropped a hard-fought battle to Saint Peter's (7-6, 5-1 MAAC), 74-68, in overtime at the Gallagher Center on Friday. 
 

Game Recap

First Half

• The Purple Eagles trailed the Peacocks by five, 8-3, early in the half but a triple from Marcus Hammond put NU within two, 8-6. 

• NU soon went on a 9-0 run, including four points from Touba Traore and a triple from Rob Brown III, to take a 15-10 lead over Saint Peter's with a little over 11 and a half minutes on the clock. 

• A trey from Greg Kuakumensah put NU ahead by four, 18-14. 

• With about four and a half minutes remaining in the first half, Hammond sank another 3-pointer to give Niagara a six-point lead, 25-19. 

• Hammond hit his third triple of the game with about one minute to go and Niagara led the Peacocks by two, 32-30, going into halftime. 

Second Half

• Hammond hit his fourth trey of the game less than two minutes into the second half to put the Purple Eagles ahead of the Peacocks, 35-30. 

• Saint Peter's went on a 7-0 run to take the lead, 37-35, but a jumper from Justin Roberts tied the score, 37-37. 

• Niagara and Saint Peter's traded buckets, but another 3-pointer from Brown III and a massive dunk from Traore, which resulted in an and-1, put NU back ahead by five points, 42-37. 

• The Peacocks reclaimed the lead, 49-47, but a layup from Sam Iorio knotted the score at 49 points each with a little under eight and half minutes left in the half. 

• Saint Peter's got back ahead, 54-51, but a huge three from Kuakumensah tied things up once again, 54-54. 

• The Peacocks took a six-point lead, 56-62, with 1:44 on the clock, but the Purple Eagles were undaunted. 

• Free throws from Kuakumensah and Hammond left NU down by just three points, 62-59. 

• With just 11 seconds left on the clock, Hammond came up huge for the Purple Eagles, making his fifth 3-pointer of the night to tie the score, 64-64, and send the game to overtime. 

Overtime 

• A layup from Kuakumensah and two free throws from Noah Thomasson put the Purple Eagles in the lead, 66-63, with a little over two minutes remaining in the overtime period. 

• The Peacocks, however, took control in the remainder of the overtime period, allowing NU just two more points to come away with the 74-68 victory. 

Eagle's Eye On

• Hammond led the Purple Eagles in scoring with 21 points and went a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range. He brought down eight rebounds and had two assists. 

• Kuakumensah added 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He also recorded a team-high three blocks.  

• Thomasson dished out a career-high nine assists. He also added eight points for the Purple Eagles. 

• Iorio and Traore each scored seven points and Brown III scored six. 

• Iorio brought down seven rebounds. 

• Roberts led the team in steals with two. 

Up Next

• The Purple Eagles return to the Gallagher Center to host the Rider Broncs on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 1:00 p.m.