POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Despite a strong second half comeback, the Purple Eagles (11-13, 6-9 MAAC) were defeated by the Marist Red Foxes (11-13, 6-9 MAAC), 77-70, on Monday.

Game Recap
First Half

• The Purple Eagles and the Red Foxes went back and forth, tying the score six times in the first eight minutes of play.
• Julian Mackey hit his first 3-pointer of the game with a little over 12 and a half minutes to go to tie the score, 11-11.
• A jumper from Marcus Hammond and a layup from Mackey put Niagara in the lead, 15-13, a little under halfway through the first 20 minutes of play.
• The Red Foxes went on a 9-0 run to claim the lead, 22-15.
• A dunk from Greg Kuakumensah cut the Marist lead to five points, 22-17, with about seven minutes remaining in the half.
• Hammond scored four more points for the Purple Eagles in the first half, but NU trailed Marist, 33-21, going into halftime.

Second Half

• Noah Thomasson opened scoring in the second half, making a two-point jump shot to put Niagara within 10 points of the lead, 33-23.
• The Red Foxes scored eight straight point to extend their lead, 41-23, but back-to-back threes from Kuakumensah put the Purple Eagles within 12 points of Marist, 41-29.
• Five points from Thomasson and another bucket from Kuakumensah left Niagara trailing by 14 points, 50-36, with 11 minutes left on the clock.
• Trailing 56-38, the Purple Eagles went on a 9-0 run, including five points from Mackey and four from Hammond, to cut the Marist lead to single digits, 56-47.
• A jumper from Thomasson and two layups from Jordan Cintron put Niagara down by just seven points, 60-53, with about five and a half minutes left to go.
• Mackey sank two more triples to put NU within five points of the lead, 64-59.
• Buckets from Thomasson and Hammond made it a single possession game, with the Purple Eagles trailing by just two points, 65-63, with two and a half minutes remaining.
• The Red Foxes got ahead by four, 67-63, but two free throws from Hammond kept NU within one bucket of the lead, 67-65.
• Marist took a six-point lead, 71-65, with 1:16 left, but a trey from Hammond put Niagara back within three points, 71-68.
• The Red Foxes, however, allowed the Purple Eagles just one more bucket as Niagara's comeback fell short, 77-70.

Eagle's Eye On

• Hammond led all scorers with 21 points. He shot 6-for-6 from the free throw line and also grabbed six rebounds.
• Mackey added a career-high 16 points and went a career-best 6-for-11 from the field and 4-for-5 from 3-point range. He brought down three rebounds, tying his career-high.
• Sam Iorio led the team in rebounding with 10 boards.
• Thomasson added 13 points and six rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists.
• Kuakumensah had 12 points. He shot 5-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from three.
• Cintron added eight rebounds and three assists for the Purple Eagles.
• Niagara scored 30 points in the paint and 28 points off the bench.

Up Next

• The Purple Eagles wrap up their annual Battle of the Bridge series against crosstown rival Canisius on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 1:00 p.m

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