NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Purple Eagles (10-11, 5-7 MAAC) won an exciting overtime game versus Manhattan (11-8, 4-6 MAAC), 80-74, on Friday night, sweeping their season series with the Jaspers for the first time since 2012-13.

Game Recap
First Half

• The Jaspers had an early 10-6 lead over the Purple Eagles, but a 3-pointer from Noah Thomasson put NU within one, 10-9.
• Layups from Jordan Cintron and Touba Traore put the Purple Eagles ahead by one point, 13-12, with 11:41 remaining in the half.
• Manhattan reclaimed the lead, 23-17, but Marcus Hammond cut the Jaspers' lead to three, 23-20, with his first 3-pointer of the night.
• 14 points from Sam Iorio, which included four triples, helped to tie the score, 35-35, with a little over two minutes left in the first half.
• Justin Roberts sank a trey in the final minute and the Purple Eagles led by two, 37-35, going into halftime.

Second Half

• Thomasson opened the second half with another three to give Niagara a 40-35 lead over Manhattan.
• With a little over 16 minutes to go, the Purple Eagles led by one point, 45-44. The Jaspers soon took the lead, 47-45, but two free throws from Hammond tied things up, 47-47.
• The Jaspers got ahead by five, 52-47, but a dunk from Traore and a jumper from Thomasson left NU trailing by just one, 52-51, with about 11 and a half minutes to go in regulation.
• Manhattan began to pull away, taking a seven-point lead over the Purple Eagles, 58-51.
• Trailing by nine, 64-55, with 5:15 left, Roberts hit another three to put Niagara within six points of the lead, 64-58.
• A triple from Hammond and a successful 3-point play from Cintron cut the Jaspers' lead to just two points, 66-64.
• With just five seconds remaining, Hammond sank a clutch three to tie the score, 70-70, and send the game to overtime.

Overtime

• The Jaspers scored first in OT to take a 73-70 lead, but Thomasson answered with three points of his own to tie the score, 73-73.
• A layup from Hammond put Niagara in the lead, 75-73.
• The Purple Eagles allowed the Jaspers just one more point in the overtime period and Niagara earned a six-point victory, 80-74, in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Gallagher Center.

Eagle's Eye On

• This was NU's third overtime game in as many weeks. NU fell to Saint Peter's in OT, 74-68, on Jan. 21 and earned an exciting one-point overtime win, 70-69, over the Monmouth Hawks on Jan. 30.
• Hammond and Thomasson led the Purple Eagles in scoring with 20 points each.
• Hammond led the team in rebounds with eight.
• Hammond and Roberts led Niagara in assists with six each. It is a career-high for Roberts.
• Iorio added 17 points and six rebounds. He shot 4-for-5 from 3-point range and 6-for-9 from the field.
• Cintron had 13 points, six rebounds and a team-high three steals.
• The Purple Eagles shot 55.6% from the field in the first half and 63.6% from 3-point range.
• Niagara scored 26 points in the paint and 11 second chance points.

Up Next

• Niagara hosts the Iona Gaels, who are undefeated in conference play, on Sunday, Feb. 6 at 1:00 p.m.

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