BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — The Niagara men's basketball team is heading to the MAAC semifinal round.
The Purple Eagles, the no. 5 seed in the MAAC Tournament, topped no. 4 Marist 67-72 in Thursday night's quarterfinals. With the win, the Purple Eagles will play again Friday at 6pm against no. 9 Iona, who upset no. 1 Siena earlier in the day.
Niagara scored first in this game and never looked back. After leading 28-20 at the half, Niagara extended that lead in the 2nd half, leading by as many as 19 points. Marist eventually cut into that lead, at one point making it just a four-point game with less than three minutes to go, but were able to hold on for the win.
Raheem Solomon came off the bench and put up 17 points to lead the Purple Eagles in the win. Kobi Nwandu added 15 points in the win while Nick Kratholm had 10.
