HAMDEN, CONN. (Niagara Athletics) — Niagara (14-11, 10-5 MAAC) won its eighth-straight game on the road Sunday afternoon, defeating Quinnipiac (19-6, 11-3) 80-66 in MAAC men's basketball action.
The Purple and White finished the game shooting 43.1 percent from the floor, including 52.9 percent from 3-point range, and a perfect 27-for-27 from the line. Five Purple Eagles recorded double figures, including Dre Bullock who went 8-for-12 from the field and 6-for-8 from 3-point land for a career-high 26 points. Braxton Bayless recorded 18 points off the bench, Kwane Marble Jr. tallied 12 points, Harlan Obioha added 11 and Ahmad Henderson II finished the game with 10.
Quinnipiac was led by Matt Balanc's 22 points while Sam Lewis and Paul Otieno added 11 points apiece. As a team, the Bobcats shot 40.6 percent from the floor, 28.0 percent from the perimeter, and 63.6 percent at the line.
How it Happened
The first 15-minutes of the game saw Niagara struggle offensively, going 5-for-17 from the field, allowing the Bobcats take a nine-point lead, 31-20, their largest of the game.
Bullock would tie the game at 37-37 as the first-half buzzer went off as Niagara closed the final five-minutes of the stanza outscoring Quinnipiac 16-7 with Bullock scoring 11 of his 17 first-half points to even the score for the Purple and White heading into the final 20-minutes of play.
Marble would give Niagara its first lead of the contest, 40-37, to start the second half as Bullock made the extra pass to find Marble on the wing for the open 3-pointer.
With 17:41 on the clock, Quinnipiac would tie the game at 40-40, but moments late Henderson, who finished 6-for-6 at the line, would make a pair at the charity stripe to give Niagara the lead, one it would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.
Back-to-back threes from Bullock gave Niagara an eight-point advantage, 50-42, and forced the Bobcats to use a 30-second timeout with 15:27 to play in the second half.
Quinnipiac would draw within two, 66-64 with 3:35 to play, but Niagara would respond with a 12-0 run, including six points at the line, to take a 78-64 lead with 46-seconds remaining.
Balanc would end the NU run but it was too-little, too-late for the Bobcats as Henderson sealed the game with a pair of free throws to give the game its 80-66 final score.
Niagara Notes
• The Purple Eagles are now 12-14 all-time against Quinnipiac.
• The Purple and White swept its annual road trip to Connecticut for the second-consecutive season.
• Niagara finished the game shooting 100.0 percent on its free-throw attempts for the first time since making 14-of-14 at the line at UAlbany on Dec. 22, 2020.
• The 27 makes is the most by any team in the nation this season while shooting 100.0 percent at the line and the most made in a game in the Greg Paulus era.
• The Purple Eagles won the battle on the glass, 33-28, with Obioha and Marble grabbing a team-best eight boards.
• Bullock recorded career-highs in points (26) and made 3-pointers (six).
• Bayless finished a team-best 7-for-7 at the charity stripe, making 100.0 percent of his attempts at the line for the second time this season. The Ankeny, Iowa, native also led Niagara with four assists, three steals and two blocks on the afternoon.
• Niagara improved to 7-0 in MAAC road games for the first time in program history and has won eight-straight road games for the first time since joining the conference in 1989-90.
• Five Purple Eagles scored double-digit points for the second-consecutive game and third time this season.
Up Next
Niagara concludes its three-game MAAC road trip at Canisius on Friday, Feb. 23. The Purple Eagles and Golden Griffins tip-off at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ from the Koessler Athletic Center. Todd Callen will describe the action on AM 1400.
