LEWISTON — Niagara could only endure so many cold stretches.
After falling behind Quinnipiac by 13 in the first half and 11 in the second half, the Purple Eagles were able to quell the flurries and claw all the way back to force overtime. But they didn’t have enough to overcome one last drought.
Matt Balanc hit a pair of 3-pointers to open overtime for the Bobcats, but Niagara didn’t have the juice to match. The Purple Eagles went 1 of 10 in the extra frame, falling 75-68, in MAAC action Sunday at the Gallagher Center.
It was the second consecutive game in which they battled from a big hole in the second half, only for the rally to fall short. Niagara is now 0-2 to start MAAC play and 1-5 overall, marking the second time it has such a record through six games in the last five seasons.
“I thought we had some great looks there,” Niagara coach Greg Paulus said. “Whether it was at the rim or from the 3-point line and sometimes that doesn’t happen, I thought there was great resiliency to get into overtime with that comeback. There were some really high-level plays in order for us to come back with that.”
A sloppy start that included seven combined field goals and six missed layups in the first four minutes quickly flipped in Quinnipiac’s favor. The Bobcats went 6 of 7 to rattle off a 13-3 run to grab a 24-11 lead over a three-minute stretch in which Niagara only attempted four shots.
Niagara clawed back to within five but didn’t score over the final two minutes of the first half and tallied nine missed layups and 10 made field goals in the first 20 minutes. The deficit was still just six because Quinnipiac (6-2) went 1 of 10 from the field to end the half.
The Purple Eagles fell behind 44-33 early in the second half, as Quinnipiac had an immediate answer on each of Niagara’s first four baskets. It was an occurrence that happened seven times in the second half.
Niagara still responded by scoring the next 10 points over a four-minute stretch, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Kwane Marble Jr. and Braxton Bayless to trim the lead to one, only for the Bobcats to score the next six points.
“We talked about it amongst ourselves in there and I felt like we came out with more energy (in the second half), but we can’t start the game like that,” Niagara guard Luke Bumbalough said. “It just digs a deep hole. We came back, but so we just got to come in with the right energy.”
Paulus called for a timeout trailing 50-43 and Ahmad Henderson II drilled a 3-pointer after the break. It provided a spark for Niagara, which scored the next nine points to take its first lead with 7:20 to play on a traditional three-point play by Harlan Obioha, his second in as many possessions.
Niagara started to pick up the pace, and Obioha was one of the main beneficiaries, tallying 13 of his career-high 16 points in the second half while hauling in nine rebounds. Obioha’s only other double-digit scoring game came against Quinnipiac in an overtime win last season.
It also Bumbalough rolling, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers, and dishing five of his seven assists after halftime.
“It was just the dribble penetration with the kicking (out),” Bumbalough said. “We were kind of kicking more outside. (Quinnipiac was) starting to help a little bit more in the paint. So we’re just playing the reads. So it was just like sharing the ball, just some more looks on the outside.”
Bumbalough stepped into a 3 to give Niagara a 61-59 lead with 3:23 left and had a chance to extend the lead twice, but couldn’t convert. The Purple Eagles also had two chances to take the lead in a 61-61 game in the final minute, but Bumbalough stepped on the end line and Henderson missed a jumper.
Balanc hit a runner and missed the ensuing free throw with 9.7 seconds remaining, but Yaw Obeng-Mensah tipped in Henderson’s missed with 1.4 seconds left to force overtime.
Once Balanc hit his second 3 of overtime, though, the Purple Eagles tried to get it all back right away. Henderson tried to answer after the first 3, but missed. Randy Tucker hit a 3, but Niagara missed its last eight shots, five coming from beyond the arc.
“Sometimes when you’re really competitive, you want to make it right away, but there’s no six-point shots, 10-point shots,” Paulus said. “So we just talked about making the simple play and taking what the defense gives us. … So just continuing to understand what defenses are trying to do and then just playing off of that.”
Henderson finished with 13 points, while Obeng-Mensah added 10 points and five rebounds for Niagara, which hosts St. Bonaventure at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Balanc led all scorers with 19 points and added seven rebounds for Quinnipiac, while Savion Lewis had 18 points, eight assists and five rebounds and Paul Otieno had 15 points and nine rebounds.