ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The No. 5 Purple Eagles (14-16, 9-11 MAAC) dropped a hard-fought game to No. 4 Monmouth (20-12, 11-9 MAAC), 61-58, in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Championships on Thursday.

Game Recap
First Half

• Monmouth went on a 6-1 run to open the game, but a Jordan Cintron layup and a Noah Thomasson 3-pointer tied things up, 6-6.
• Trailing by seven, 13-6, another layup from Cintron and five points from Marcus Hammond tied the score once again, 13-13, with a little over nine and a half minutes left in the half.
• Jumpers from Hammond and Thomasson and a free throw from Greg Kuakumensah kept the score tied, 18-18, with 7:40 on the clock.
• The Hawks got ahead, 24-18, but a bucket from Kuakumensah and five more points from Hammond gave the Purple Eagles a one-point advantage, 25-24.
• The teams went back and forth in the final minutes of the first half and, with time expiring on the shot clock, Thomasson sank a corner three to tie the score, 35-35, going into halftime.

Second Half

• Monmouth scored five straight points to open the half, but another 3-pointer from Thomasson left Niagara trailing by just two points, 40-38.
• A triple from Justin Roberts kept the Purple Eagles within two points of the Hawks, 43-41, with 15:48 to go.
• Another trey from Roberts a little over one minute later kept the Monmouth lead at just two points, 46-44.
• The Hawks began to pull away slightly, taking a 53-46 lead over NU, but jumpers from Hammond and Thomason cut Monmouth's lead to three points, 53-50.
• Trailing by six, 59-53, with 30 seconds left, a dunk from Cintron put Niagara within four points of the lead, 59-55.
• Monmouth was back ahead by six, 61-55, with under 20 seconds remaining when Roberts was fouled on a 3-point attempt. Roberts sank all three free throws to put Niagara within three points, 61-58, with 10 seconds remaining.
• Roberts' free throws, however, would prove to be the final points of the game for the Purple Eagles as they fell to the Hawks, 61-58.

Eagle's Eye On

• Hammond led the Purple Eagles in scoring with 17 points. He also dished out a team-high five assists.
• Thomasson and Roberts each added 13 points and each shot 50 percent from 3-point range.
• Cintron added 11 points for NU.
• Cintron and Sam Iorio led the Purple Eagles in rebounding with eight boards each.
• Thomasson had a team-high two steals.

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