Niagara University Athletics

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Noah Thomasson dropped a career-high 21 points en route to a 76-66 win for the Purple Eagles (6-7, 1-3 MAAC) over Quinnipiac (7-5, 2-2 MAAC) on Sunday.

Game Recap
First Half

• The Bobcats went on an 8-2 run to open the game, but a jumper from Justin Roberts, a free throw from Sam Iorio, a triple from Thomasson and a layup from Jordan Cintron put the Purple Eagles in the lead, 10-8, with about 15 and a half minutes remaining in the half.
• Up by one point, 14-13, a 3-pointer from Rob Brown III gave the Purple Eagles a four-point lead, 17-13.
• A jumper from Cintron and a bucket from Greg Kuakumensah kept NU ahead, 21-18, with a little over six and a half minutes to go in the first half.
• Quinnipiac reclaimed the lead, 23-21, but two points in the paint from Cintron tied things up, 23-23.
• The Bobcats had a narrow lead, 27-23, going into halftime.

Second Half

• Marcus Hammond converted a 3-point play early in the second half to leave the Purple Eagles trailing by just one point, 27-26.
• The Bobcats got ahead by six, 32-26, but a layup from Thomasson and a trey from Hammond put NU back within one point of the lead, 32-31.
• With a little over 16 minutes to go, Roberts sank a 3-pointer to tie the score, 34-34.
• A jumper from Kuakumensah and another triple from Brown III put the Purple Eagles on top, 39-34.
• Quinnipiac reclaimed the lead, 42-39, but a layup from Touba Traore and a 3-point play from Kuakumensah tied the score again, 44-44.
• Midway through the second half, the Purple Eagles began to pull away; 3-pointers from both Thomasson and Brown III put NU up by six, 50-44.
• Five points from Thomasson, a bucket from Cintron and a triple from Roberts gave NU its biggest lead of the game, 60-49, with about five minutes to go.
• A dunk from Cintron and four more points from Thomasson kept Niagara ahead by 10, 68-58.
• The Purple Eagles maintained control for the remainder of the half and came away with the 76-66 victory to split their season series with the Bobcats.

Eagle's Eye On

• Thomasson led NU in scoring with 21 points. He went 8-for-12 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range; both are career-bests. He also dished out a team-high five assists.
• Cintron added 14 points and had a team-high four steals. He also brought down five rebounds.
• Iorio led the team in rebounding with 11 boards.
• Brown III and Kuakumensah each added 11 points for the Purple Eagles. Brown III went a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range.
• The Purple Eagles shot 46.4 percent from the field (26-for-56) and outscored the Bobcats, 53-39, in the second half.

Up Next

• The Purple Eagle host Canisius for the first installment of the Battle of the Bridge on Thursday, Jan. 13 at 7:00 p.m.

Stay connected with Niagara Men's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Niagara Athletics all year long on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, purpleeagles.com and the Niagara Purple Eagles app