Pittsburgh, PA - Men's Basketball fell in their season opener 83-63 against Duquesne on Monday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

Duquesne (1-0) got out to a very early lead, scoring the first nine points of the contest which took the game to the first media timeout.

Niagara (0-1) recorded their first points of the season with a pair of free throws from junior Trenton Walters at the 13:05 mark of the first quarter.

The Dukes built a 28-5 advantage, but Niagara started to cut into the lead with buckets from Brian Griffith, Josiah Sabino and Will Shortt off the bench.

Kabeya Tshibangu was able to get a floater to drop with five seconds before half, but Duquesne still led 41-20 after the first 20 minutes.

The Purple Eagles came out on all cylinders to start the second half sparking a 8-0 run with baskets from Justin Hawkins, Sabino and Prudhomme to cut the deficit to 41-28.

Justin Page scored 10 of his 14 points after intermission, including a dunk at the 8:55 mark to make it 62-42.

The Purple Eagles continued to battle throughout the final eight minutes of the game, but never got close enough to be in striking distance of the lead, falling 83-63.

Prudhomme (6-9, 14 points) and Page (4-9, 14 points) led the scoring attack for the Purple Eagles, while Griffith added eight points off the bench, going a perfect 6-6 at the free throw line.

Game Notes

Niagara is now 7-14 all-time against Duquesne

The Purple and White outscored the Dukes 43-42 in the second half

The Purple Eagles recorded 10 steals, with Sabino leading the way with three

Niagara recorded 25 rebounds, with Hawkins, Walters, Sabino and Griffith all tallying three

Up Next

Niagara stays on the road to face in-state rival Binghamton Saturday November 8 inside the Events Center at 2 p.m.