Niagara wins season-opener, beats St. Bonaventure 80-72
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. (AP) — Marvin Prochet had 20 points and 10 rebounds to help Niagara win its season opener with an 80-72 victory over St. Bonaventure on Monday night.
It was Niagara's first win at home against its instate rival since Dec. 22, 2009, and have back-to-back wins against the Bonnies for the first time since winning eight straight from 2003-2010. The Purple Eagles have also won consecutive season openers for the first time since 2007-08.
Prochet was 6 of 9 from the field and made three 3-pointers. James Towns scored 10 of his 18 points in the final two minutes and Keleaf Tate finished with 17 points for Niagara.
Jalen Poyser had 21 points to lead St. Bonaventure (1-2). Tshiefu Ngalakulondi and Osun Osunniyi chipped in 14 points apiece.
Niagara took the lead for good six minutes into the second half, but St. Bonaventure stayed within single digits. Ngalakulondi's jump shot pulled the Bonnies to 65-60 with three minutes to play. Towns answered with a 3-pointer and made 5 of 6 free throws as the Purple Eagles closed on a 15-8 spurge.
