Mount vs Niagara Game Thread

7:12 - A good start for the Mount. They lead 12-5 early in upstate NY. Julian Norfleet has 5 early, 4 for Golladay and a triple from Lamar Trice have accounted for the Mount scoring. I'm encouraged by what I'm seeing. Not sure this is quite the same Niagara team we saw in Emmitsburg last week. This is a game where you could steal a win on the road. The Mount is 5-of-8 from the floor.

7:19 - 11:49 to play first half. The Mount has a double digit 19-9 lead. Two dunks inside for Raven Barber. One off of penetration and a dish from Josh Castellanos. I think the other came courtesy of Trice. Lamar has knocked down two three-pointers and he has six. Danny Thompson has provided some good interior defense and there seems to be a balance inside and out for the Mount. Have to like what we've seen in the first 8+ minutes.

7:27 - The Mount still leads by 7. Lamar Trice - under control - and playing well leads the Mounties with 10 points. It is 25-18 after the Mount just used its 30 second timeout. The Mount has shot well early, but they are getting good shots through the flow of the offense.

7:29 - 25-20 now with less than 7 left in the first half. Niagara finding success putting the ball on the floor and getting to the basket. A couple turnovers by the Mount has hurt the offense a little bit and Niagara scored four on a recent trip down the floor after a bucket, foul, missed free throw and offensive rebound bucket. Important segment for the Mount.

7:39 - 33-25 in favor of the Mount. Good segment there. The lead had actually gotten to double figures before Niagara scored on the last trip. Raven Barber has four dunks inside. The last one off a great feed from Lamar Trice. Shawn Atupem has 2 points for the Mount and they lead by 8. Niagara seems to be doing a lot with the dribble drive and then trying to rebound any misses hard.

7:50 - Best half of the year for the Mount? They lead Niagara 39-29 at the break. Fouls becoming an issue. Atupem and Trice have 3 each. But a superb first half shooting the basketball. Trouble has been the turnover bug...Mount had eight at last check. Many say the mid-range jumper is a dying breed in basketball. But Dave Golladay has one, and he's utilized it to get 8 first half points. Will be interesting to see the adjustments made at halftime, but things are fairly comfortable for the Mount at this point.

8:08 - Quick start to the second half for Niagara. They've buried two threes around a Barber baseline jumper to slice the lead back to six.

8:12 - A 10-2 run for Niagara to start the second half. Some turnovers and a zone defense look from the Purple Eagles have made a difference. That and a hot start from the floor for Niagara.

8:15 - 15:38 left and the Mount leads by four. Lamar Trice, who didn't start the second half, has restored order a little bit with a baseline drive for two. Still the Mount seems a bit flustered on the road having given away most of the halftime bulge. They have to settle down and defend and work and create good shots on the offensive end. There were a few shots that appeared rushed during that segment.

8:25 - Under 12 timeout and the Mount has built the lead back up a little bit. I believe it is 8 right now after a David Golladay three. He is playing with a lot of confidence. The Mount had some trouble with the Niagara zone and getting doubled in the corner. But they've adjusted there and not gone to the corner without reversing the ball first and that seems to have taken away some of the pressure. Raven Barber has 13 for the Mount.

8:36 - 7:57 to play and the Mount is up 53-50. Niagara cut it to one at one point but hasn't led since they were ahead 3-2. But they do have a lot of momentum. Shawn Atupem and Lamar Trice have both missed much of the half with 4 fouls. Dave Golladay and Barber lead the Mount with 13 - which also just a key bucket from freshman Julian Norfleet. Let's see how this plays out.

8:49 - 3:52 left and the Purple Eagles have taken a 61-60 lead. Atupem and Trice have both returned after the foul issues. But the Mount is still having some problems offensively and Niagara has made them pay at the other end. The Mount made a lot of jumpers early but hasn't been succesful lately. I think they've got to look to Atupem inside. Niagara is likely to double team and the Mount needs to work its way out of it and find the open shooter. The Purple Eagles have shot 24 free throws the Mount nine.

8:54 - 2:29 left and Niagara just got a big offensive rebound bucket to lead by four. A loose ball inside led to a shot and a miss that was rebounded and the Eagles now have their largest lead of the night. The Mount needs a bucket at the other end.

8:58 - Niagara has the ball with a two-point lead and about 60 seconds left. Short shot clock - 6 left and the Mount needs a stop. Shawn Atupem missed a jumper that could have tied it on the previous trip.

9:00 - Mount ball down two with about 12 seconds left and they've called timeout. Chance to tie or win on the road.

9:02 - The Mount went for the win on the road. Couldn't really get a good look. Julian Norfleet's three at the buzzer was no good. Niagara wins 65-63. The Purple Eagles first win of the season, the Mount falls to 1-3 and will host Florida A&M on Saturday at the ARCC.