BUFFALO, NY – The Niagara Purple Eagles (15-14, 10-10 MAAC) dropped its regular-season finale to Canisius (10-19, 8-12 MAAC) Saturday afternoon 81-68, despite getting a career-high 35 points from senior Noah Thomasson.
 
NU finished the contest shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 71.4 percent at the line, while outrebounding Canisius 32-30.
 
Game Recap
First Half
• Canisius would score first, followed by a jumper from Thomasson to make it 2-2.
• The Golden Girffins would double up Niagara over the next 3:15, taking an 8-4 lead, before Thomasson put Niagara down by two points with a layup.
• A jumper from the elbow by Harlan Obioha made it an 11-10 Canisius lead, followed by another Thomasson basket that tied the game at 12, however the Griffs responded quickly with a layup on the ensuing possession to retake the lead.
• A 10-0 run by Canisius made it a 24-13 game with 6:49 to play in the first half.
• Over those final six minutes, Canisius would outscore NU 13-7 to take a 37-20 lead into the break.
 
Second Half
• Niagara would start the second half making six of its first seven shots, with 10 points coming from Thomasson who went 4-for-4 from the field to start the stanza, putting Niagara down by 15, 50-35.
• With 11:25 on the clock, NU would trim the Canisius lead to single digits, 55-46, on the heels of an 11-5 run that saw Joe Kasperzyk score five and Thomasson add four more to his total.
• After four-straight points from Canisius to make it a 60-46 ballgame, Niagara would draw back within ten, this time with a dunk from Lance Erving to make it a 60-50 game.
• With 5:53 to play, the Purple Eagles would be down by eight, 64-56, after a layup from Thomasson, but the Griffs would respond with a 6-2 spurt to go up by 12, 70-58.
• Niagara would go down by eight, 70-62, following a layup from Sam Iorio and again, 72-64, with 3:06 to go after a jumper from Thomasson.
• Canisius would outscore Niagara 9-4 in the final three minutes of play to earn the season-split with NU.
 
Niagara Notes
• Niagara falls to 110-83 all-time against Canisius, suffering its first loss in the series since 2019-20.
• Thomasson's 35 points surpasses his previous career-high of 29 set earlier this season against Central Arkansas. The senior finished the game 15-for-26 from the field.
• Thomasson added five rebounds and a team-high five assists.
• Three Purple Eagles finished with six rebounds, led by Aaron Gray, Sam Iorio and Braxton Bayless.
• Erving finished with eight points off the bench, going 3-for-5 from the field.
• Niagara commited 15 turnovers to just eight assists.
 
Up Next
• The Purple Eagles will play in the No.4/No. 5 seed game of the MAAC Men's Basketball Championship on Thursday, March 9, scheduled for a 9:30 p.m. tip at Jim Whalen Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. The Purple Eagles await the conclusion of the MAAC regular season for their opponent.
 
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