JERSEY CITY, NJ – Senior guard Noah Thomasson sent Niagara back to Western New York with a 59-57 win over Saint Peter's as the left-hander hit the game winner with nine seconds remaining in the contest.
 
Thomasson finished with 20 points, followed by Sam Iorio with 15 points and eight rebounds and Joe Kasperzyk with eight points, including a team-best two makes behind the 3-point line. As a team, NU went 21-for-49 from the field and 11-for-18 from the line.
 
Game Recap
First Half
• The Peacocks had an early 8-2 lead over the Purple Eagles before back-to-back 3-pointers from Joe Kasperzyk made it a 10-10 game with 13:25 on the clock.
• A 12-3 run over the next four minutes gave Saint Peter's a 22-13 advantage over Niagara.
• Niagara would put an end to the SPU run with a pair of Bryce Moore free throws and by the under-8 media timeout, the score was 24-15.
• Following a 30-second timeout by Niagara, the Purple Eagles would go on an 8-0 run to take a 25-24 lead over the Peacocks. Noah Thomasson paced the offense in the five-minute stretch, scoring four of his nine first half points.
• The run would continue after the under-4 media timeout, as the Purple Eagles took a 28-24 lead over the Peacocks.
• Saint Peter's would tie the game 28-28 with one minute remaining, before Lance Erving connected on a second-chance layup and went to the line to put NU up by three, 31-28, with 18.3 remaining in the first half.
• Thomasson would sink a shot up as the clock expired, but following an official review, the play was overturned and NU would go into the break up 31-28. 
 
Second Half
• After a low scoring first eight minutes of the second half, Niagara remained ahead 39-34.
• Erving would put Niagara up by nine, 49-40, with 7:51 to play, the Purple Eagles' largest lead of the contest thus far.
• With 5:56 remaining in the contest Niagara took its first double-digit lead of the contest, 51-40, on a Thomasson jumper.
• The Peacocks would trim the Niagara lead to 54-47 with a 7-3 run and eventually get to within four, 57-53, with 1:34 remaining in the contest, forcing head coach Greg Paulus to call timeout.
• Saint Peter's would tie the game at the line with less than a minute to go.
• Niagara called its final timeout with 28.7 remaining in the contest, and 22 seconds on the shot clock.
• Following a timeout to draw up the final play, the Purple Eagles put the ball in the hands of Thomasson who hit the game-winner with nine seconds remaining.
• The Peacocks would put up one final shot as time expired but it was off target.
 
Niagara Notes
• Niagara ends a four-game losing streak to improve to 10-9 on the season and 5-5 in MAAC play.
• Thomasson recorded his 10th 20-point game of the season and 15th of his career.
• Braxton Bayless finished with 17 minutes, his first game with 10 or more minutes since Jan. 2.
• The Purple Eagles and Peacocks both finished with 26 points in the paint and 18 bench points. Kasperzyk scored a bench-high eight.
• Iorio finished with 15 points for the second-straight game.
• The Purple and White shot 52.4 percent from the field in the second half.
• The Purple Eagles forced a season-high 18 turnovers , resulting in 19 points.
• Sunday's win marked the first win for the Purple Eagles in Jersey City since Jan. 21, 2017. 
 
 
Up Next
• The Purple Eagles return to Western New York for a Friday night contest against Manhattan. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Tickets for the contest can be purchased at purpleeagles.com/tickets or by calling (716) 286-8499.
 
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