EMMITSBURG, MD – Despite three Purple Eagles reaching double figures in the scoring column, Niagara (14-11, 9-7 MAAC) fell to Mount St. Mary's (9-18, 5-11 MAAC) 70-66 on the road in MAAC men's basketball action Friday night.  
 
Mount St. Mary's Jalen Benjamin led all scorers with 26 points, while Noah Thomasson led Niagara with 21 points, going 7-for-16 from the floor. Joe Kasperzyk tallied a season-high 17 points off the bench for Niagara and forward Sam Iorio contributed 10 points in the loss for the Purple and White.
 
Game Recap
First Half
• Niagara took an early 5-0 lead following a 3-pointer from Aaron Gray and two at the line from Thomasson.
• After Mount made it a 7-6 game with 14:02 mark, the Purple Eagles would get a two-handed slam from Gray and another two at the line, this time from Kasperzyk, to give NU an 11-7 lead.
• Following an 8-0 run by the Mount would take its first lead of the contest 18-13 before the game reached the under-eight media timeout.
• The Purple and White would go down by six, 21-15, but a Thomasson jumper made it a four-point game with 4:37 to go in the first half.
• Kasperzyk would match Thomasson with a jumper to put NU down by two, 21-19.
• Bryce Moore would score the game-tying basket with 2:51 to go in the half, however The Mount would answer on the ensuing possession to retake the lead.
• Mount St. Mary's would add a pair of 3-pointers to go up 28-21 before Niagara used its 30-second timeout.
• Iorio would finish off a and-1 opportunity to put Niagara down 30-26 but Mount St. Mary's would answer with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to go up 33-26 at the break.
 
Second Half
• Three minutes into the second half, The Mount would have their largest lead of the night 37-26, before David Mitchell connected on a 3-pointer for put Niagara back down by eight.
• Iorio would connect on a 3-pointer of his own to put Niagara down by seven, 39-32 at the under-16 media timeout.
• Out of the media timeout, Kasperzyk would connect on the team's third 3-pointer of the half to put the Purple Eagles down by four, 39-35.
• Thomasson's sixth and eighth points of the contest tied the game at 39-39 for the Purple Eagles with 12:52 to go in the contest.
• The 10-0 run by the Purple and White lasted four minutes and erased a 10-point deficit for the Purple and White.
•  The Mountaineers would answer with an 11-2 run of its own that gave Mount St. Mary's a 52-45 lead over the Purple Eagles.
• With 3:59 to go the Mountaineers would retain a seven-point advantage over Niagara, 60-53.
• Kasperzyk would connect on a 3-pointer and two at the line to put NU down 52-68.
• With 1:32 left Thomasson would hit two at the charity stripe to make it a 65-60 lead in favor of the Mount.
• Kasperzyk would find the bottom of the basket again to put NU down 65-62 before going to the line to complete the 3-point play at the line and make it a 65-53.
• Mount would make it a 68-63 game before Thomasson connected on a 3-pointer to put his team down 68-66 with less than 10-seconds to go.
• Mount would seal the 70-66 win over Niagara.  
 
Niagara Notes
• Friday marked the fourth meeting all-time between Niagara and Mount St. Mary's and the first in Emmitsburg, Md., since 2009. The Purple Eagles are now 3-1 against the Mountaineers.
• Kasperzyk finished with a season-high 17 points and is now three points shy of 1,000 career-points heading into Sunday's contest at Marist. The New Haven, Conn., native led NU with six boards.
• Niagara had 11 second chance points, 24 in the paint, 13 off turnovers, and 14 on fast break chances in the loss.
• The Purple Eagle reserves tallied 21 points, led by Kasperzyk's 17.
• Thomasson led NU in scoring for the 19th time this season while reaching the 20-point mark for the 12th time. Friday also marked the 16th time the Houston product led Niagara in assists with three.
• The Purple Eagles went 13-for-14 at the line for a season-high 92.2 free throw percentage.
 
Up Next
• Niagara travels back the state of New York to play Marist Sunday, Feb. 19. The Purple Eagles and Red Foxes will tip at 2 p.m. from McCann Arena.
 
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can also tune in to WGR 550 and the Niagara Sports Network as Todd Callen will describe the action.
 
Stay connected with Niagara Men's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Niagara Athletics all year long on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, purpleeagles.com, and the Niagara Purple Eagles app.