NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY – After a Sam Iorio 3-pointer tied the game at 8-8, the Iona Gaels (18-7, 11-3) took the lead and never looked back en route to a 72-55 win over Niagara (14-10, 9-6) Sunday afternoon in MAAC men's basketball action from the Gallagher Center on Monteagle Ridge.
 
Noah Thomasson led the Purple and White with 24 points (10-for-19), six rebounds, and six assists. As a team, Niagara shot 41.1 percent from the field and won the battle on the glass, 34-23. Iona finished the game 44.8 percent from the field, including 50.0 percent from 3-point range.
 
Game Recap
First Half
• After Iona took an 8-0 lead to start the contest, Iorio would connect on two 3-pointers and Thomasson would find the bottom of the basket with a layup to tie the game at eight.
• The Gaels would go on a 5-0 run to take the lead before Harlan Obioha connected on his first basket of the game in the paint to put NU down 13-10.
• Two makes at the line for the Gaels led to a 15-10 lead at the under-12 media timeout.
• Obioha would connect on another layup to put NU down by four before Iona used the next four-minutes to go up by double-digits, 29-19.
• With 5:32 on the clock the Iona lead would grow to 14 points, 33-19, Iona's largest lead of the half thus far.
• Niagara would trim the Gaels advantage to single digits twice before the half, first on a driving layup from Thomasson (36-27), and again on a David Mitchell second chance effort (38-29).
• However, by the end of the first 20-minutes of play, the Purple Eagles would find themselves in a 17-point hole, 46-29.
 
Second Half
• Walter Clayton Jr., who scored a game-high 30 points, would connect on one of his four 3-pointers to start the second half, giving the Gaels their largest lead of the contest, 49-29.
• A 7-0 run by Niagara, highlighted by a Joe Kasperzyk 3-pointer trimmed the Iona lead to 15, 49-36.
• With 11:25 to go in the contest Niagara would pull within 11 points, 51-40, after Thomasson made three at the line.
• Six minutes later, Aaron Gray would connect on a layup to put NU down by 12, 60-48.  
• After Iona went back up by 16, 64-48, the Purple Eagles would once again make it a 12-point margin, 64-52, with 2:41 to go.
• From there, Iona would hold the Purple and White to just three more points en route to its 72-55 win.
 
Niagara Notes
• The loss snaps Niagara's five game win streak and gives Iona the season sweep of the Purple Eagles.
• Thomasson scored 20-plus points for the 14th time this season, while leading Niagara in scoring for 18th time this season. Sunday also marked the 15th time the senior guard led NU in assists with six.
• Obioha was second on the team in scoring, finishing with eight points, while grabbing six boards.
• Iorio led NU for the 11th time this season, grabbing seven boards.
• Kasperzyk made his first start as a Purple Eagle, finishing with three points, one rebound and one steal.
• Aaron Gray came off the bench and added seven points in 28 minutes of action.
• Niagara's bench finished with 20 points.
• The Purple Eagles scored 32 of its 55 in the paint.
 
Up Next
• Niagara will make its first trip to Emmitsburg, Md., for the first time in 14 years when it takes on Mount St. Mary's Friday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. The Purple Eagles won the first meeting of the season 67-55 at home on Dec. 31.
 
Todd Callen will describe the action on WGR 550 AM radio. Fans can also tune in to ESPN3 to watch the game live.
 
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