Thunderwolves split Ohio trip before holiday recess, post 10th win of season
One half down, one to go.
SUNY Niagara men’s basketball split its Ohio road trip before the holiday break to complete the first half of its season at Cuyahoga CC (94-90 loss) and Lorain County CC (97-80 win) Friday and Saturday. The Thunderwolves ended their first half of the regular season with a 10-5 record.
This is the 17th consecutive season where the Thunderwolves have recorded at least 10 wins in the Bill Beilein era (2009 — present). The Thunderwolves (then Trailblazers) were 14-35 in the three seasons before Beilein’s arrival (2006-07 to 2008-09).
Cuyahoga CC 94, SUNY Niagara 90
The Thunderwolves had a 40-30 lead at halftime but recorded turnovers on five of their first six possessions of the second half, which helped the Triceratops get back into the game. The loss snapped SUNY Niagara’s four-game winning streak.
Chioke Marshall scored a game-high 31 points on 9-of-20 shooting and recorded 11 of the blue-and-gold’s 19 converted free-throws.
Bryce Wejuli finished with 14 points, a team-high nine rebounds and two blocks. Jacob Humphrey added 10 points, five rebounds and a team-high four assists.
Abu Dukaray posted nine points and five rebounds in seven points off the bench. Jimmie Green had seven points and two rebounds.
Jaedon Hutchinson had six points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Mustafa Eskici had five points and three assists, Jack Kempf had four points and Ateny Kuol and David Washington added two points each.
SUNY Niagara shot 33-of-66 (50%) from the field and 5-of-18 (27.8%) from the 3-point line. The Thunderwolves went 19-of-24 (79.2%) from the free-throw line and out-rebounded the Triceratops, 38-32.
SUNY Niagara 97, Lorain County CC 80
The Thunderwolves built a 50-31 lead at halftime, shot a staggering 55.3% from the field in the first half and recorded a season-high 23 assists in their return to the win column.
Bryce Wejuli scored a career-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting along with six rebounds and two blocks. Abu Dukaray added 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting and matched his season-high (Nov. 22 vs Beaver County CC).
Mustafa Eskici had 14 points in 15 minutes off the bench. Jimmie Green had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Jacob Humphrey had eight points and two assists. Chioke Marshall had seven points and a team-high five assists.
Tamir Barrant and David Washington each had five points, Jack Kempf had four points and seven rebounds, Ateny Kuol had three points and Jaedon Hutchinson and D’Andre Gibbs had a basket each.
SUNY Niagara shot 39-of-71 (54.9%) from the field, 7-of-21 (33.3%) from beyond the arc and 12-of-16 (75.0%) from the free-throw line. The Thunderwolves out-rebounded the Commodores, 42-22.
NOTES:
After only doing so once through his first nine outings this season, Marshall recorded his third game with at least 30 points in a five-game stretch with his 31 against Cuyahoga Friday. Marshall has now recorded nine 30-point games in his SUNY Niagara career. After this weekend, Marshall is averaging a team-high 22.8 points per game and has scored 901 points in 46 career games.
Saturday against Lorain marked Marshall’s fifth career game with at least five assists. Marshall’s career high in a game is six assists, which he has crossed four times as a Thunderwolf. The last two times came against Garrett College on Nov. 8 and Schoolcraft College on Dec. 14 this season.
With the 10 points against Cuyahoga, Humphrey has reached double-figure scoring in six of his first eight outings with SUNY Niagara. The freshman guard posted a career-best 24 points versus Corning CC on Dec. 3. Humphrey is second in points per game (14.6) along with 2.6 assists per contest and is shooting 54.7% from the field.
Wejuli posted a new career-high of 20 points against Lorain County CC Saturday. The freshman previously dropped a personal-high of 19 three times versus Genesee CC (Nov. 2), Beaver County CC (Nov. 22) and Oakland CC (Nov. 23). Including the 14 against Cuyahoga Friday, Wejuli scored in double-digits in back-to-back games for a third time this season (Nov. 1-2 versus Lackawanna and Genesee CC and Beaver County CC and Oakland CC Nov. 22-23). Wejuli is third among SUNY Niagara players in points (11.3) and rebounds (5.2) per game.
Kempf’s seven rebounds against Lorain County CC marked the seventh time he had at least five rebounds in a game. The freshman is tied for fifth on the team in rebounds per game (4.5). Jaedon Hutchinson leads with 6.9 per game in the category.
The 23 assists in the win against Lorain County CC Saturday established a new season-high for the Thunderwolves and their most in a single game since 37 in a 129-66 win against St. John Fisher JV on Jan. 5, 2024. The original team-high this season was 21 in a 121-65 versus Beaver County CC Nov. 22 in Sanborn.
Adding the 15 in Friday’s loss to Cuyahoga, SUNY Niagara is 9-3 when it records at least 10 assists and 5-1 when it posts at least 15. Last season, the Thunderwolves were 22-3 when they had 10 or more assists and 7-1 with 15 or more.
SUNY Niagara has won by at least 10 points in eight of 15 games this season.
SUNY Niagara has entered the holiday break with a victory under its belt in seven of the last nine seasons, dating back to the 2015-16 season.
SUNY Niagara resumes its schedule at Mohawk Valley CC at Noon on Jan. 10 in Utica. The Thunderwolves won the first meeting this season, 85-61, on Dec. 17 in Sanborn.