Box Score NEW ROCHELLE, NY – A 12-point halftime advantage helped the Niagara men's basketball team hold off Iona College earlier this evening,74-58, as the Purple Eagles picked up their first MAAC win of the season and knocked off the Gaels in the 2016-17 home opener.
A layup from Kahlil Dukes with 9:20 remaining in the first half afforded Niagara a 14-13 advantage, a lead the Purple Eagles held for the remainder of the contest despite nine lead changes in the opening 10 minutes. Dukes finished the contest with 17 points and five assists while Matt Scott provided a game-best 20 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists for the visitors.
For the Maroon & Gold, Jordan Washington tallied 13 points and six rebounds in 27 minutes of action. E.J. Crawford and Jon Severe equally split 24 points as Crawford knocked down four 3-pointers and Severe went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Additionally, with his eighth point on the evening, Severe notched his 1,000th career point.
Niagara produced a 43.9 shooting percentage (29-for-66) from the field for the game, exactly 10 percent better than the Gaels (33.9 percent/19-for-56) for the afternoon. The Purple Eagles also hauled in a rebounding advantage of 44-34 that aided a 34 points in the paint.
After Iona cut the deficit to 31-28 with 2:01 remaining in the opening half, Niagara ran off a 9-0 run that included a Shane Gatling 3-pointer before time expired to claim a 40-28 halftime lead. The Gaels were held to 32.3 percent (10-for-31) shooting from the field in the first half despite Crawford knocking down 3-of-4 attempts from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Scott converted 6-of-9 of his field goals to post 14 points for Niagara.
A Dwayne Pow free throw less than two minutes into the second half helped create the largest lead of the game for Niagara of 17 points at 45-28. Immediately following the lead extension, the Gaels tallied off 13 straight unanswered points, capped off by a jumper from Rickey McGill to cut the Niagara lead to 45-41.
The Purple Eagles once again answered the threat from Iona, outscoring the hosts 20-7 in the next eight minutes to once again claim a 17-point lead at 65-48. The Gaels managed to cut the deficit to 11 at 67-56 with 1:28 remaining, however, time was not on the side of the Maroon & Gold as Niagara went on to the 74-58 win.
Iona returns to non-conference road action on Wednesday with a short trip to Teaneck, NJ to face Fairleigh Dickinson. Wednesday's tilt is the final contest during a stretch of seven of eight games away from the Hynes Center to start the year.
