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SUNY Niagara falls to Monroe CC in regular season finale, clinches No. 2 seed in next weekend’s regional tournament
Posted: Feb 22, 2026

SUNY Niagara falls to Monroe CC in regular season finale, clinches No. 2 seed in next weekend’s regional tournament

*** PHOTO COURTESY OF GEOFF SCHNEIDER (GMSPHOTOWNY) *** 

With the No. 1 seed and hosting rights in the upcoming NJCAA Region III tournament on the line, SUNY Niagara lost in a nail-biter to Monroe CC, 79-76, Saturday in Rochester. This was the Thunderwolves’ first meeting since their 101-96 overtime win over the Tribunes on Feb. 4 in Sanborn.

Trailing by 10 at halftime (41-31), SUNY Niagara bounced back as a lay-up from Jaedon Hutchinson cut Monroe CC’s lead to 63-62 with 8 minutes, 6 seconds remaining in regulation. The Tribunes then had an 11-point lead (77-66) with 3:12 left before Chioke Marshall’s jump-shot sparked a 7-2 run and brough the Thunderwolves to within four points (77-73) with two minutes left.

Monroe scored its final points of the game on a lay-up from Nate Brazil with 1:11 remaining (79-73) as part of his game-high 25-point outing. Tamir Barrant made three free throws down the stretch and cut the deficit to 79-76 with 10 seconds remaining, but the Thunderwolves couldn’t connect on either of their two 3-point attempts before the clock expired.

Marshall finished with a team-high 24 points on 8-of-20 shooting and went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc along with a perfect 5-of-5 day at the free-throw line. This marked the 18th time in Marshall’s career (13 this season), where Marshall had a perfect day at the “charity stripe,” with his personal best of 18-of-18 during SUNY Niagara’s 109-102 win versus Allegany College of Maryland on Nov. 8, 2024.

Tamir Barrant recorded a season-high 16 points behind a 3-of-8 day from the field and a 9-of-10 day at the free-throw line in 30 minutes of action. Barrant also had five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Bryce Wejuli recorded his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds and posted a new single-game high of four blocks. Wejuli’s first double-double came in SUNY Niagara’s season-opening 100-68 win versus Lackawanna College on Nov. 1 (10 points, 10 rebounds).

Jaedon Hutchinson had eight points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes of action. Ateny Kuol rounded out the starting lineup for the 10th time and had a stat-line of seven points and four rebounds.

D’Andre Gibbs and Mustafa Eskici finished with three points each. Jacob Humphrey did not score for the first time in his Thunderwolves career (19 games) but had two rebounds and two steals in 14 minutes of play. 

SUNY Niagara shot 27-of-62 (43.5%) from the field, 5-of-19 (26.3%) from the 3-point line and 17-of-26 (65.4%) at the free-throw line but only recorded five assists and seven steals. The Thunderwolves scored 32 points in the paint and 16 points off 11 Monroe CC turnovers. 

Now 17-9 on the season and a final record of 5-1 in WNYAC play, SUNY Niagara is the No. 2 seed in the NJCAA Region III tournament held Feb. 28 - March 1 at Monroe CC. The Thunderwolves will face No. 3 Erie CC and No. 1 Monroe will square off against No. 4 Jamestown CC on Feb. 28. The winners of the two games will then meet on March 1. More details will be announced later this week. 

 

NOTES:

  • SUNY Niagara is now 21-18 against Monroe CC in the Bill Beilein era (2009-10 present). Including Saturday’s loss, the Thunderwolves have won seven of the last 10 meetings since a 81-76 win on Jan. 21, 2023 in Rochester.

 

  • With a 24-point performance, Marshall posted his 22nd game in double-digit scoring in his sophomore campaign (50th of career). The Queens, NY resident is currently tied for third among all NJCAA Division II players with his team-high 25.3 points per game and leads in free-throw percentage (92.9%).

 

  • In 56 career games, Marshall has scored 1,189 points (21.2 per game). After entering the Monroe CC game with 1,165 points, Marshall needs four points to pass 1998 graduate Ricardo Jackson (1,192 points) for second overall. 1975 graduate and Athletics Wall of Fame inductee George Pendleton holds the program record with 1,245 points, which he tallied in 62 career games from 1973-75.

 

  • With his 3-of-6 performance against Monroe CC Saturday, Marshall has made 113 career 3-pointers and is one of seven SUNY Niagara players to cross the century mark since the 2016-17 season. Marshall needs four to pass former teammate Jalen Duff (116 from 2023-25) for sixth on this list. 2018 graduate Donel Cathcart holds the record in these 10 seasons with 144. 

 

  • After an 11-point outing in 30 minutes against Lakeland CC on Feb. 15, Barrant surpassed both personal bests with 16 points in 30 minutes against Monroe CC, his 18th appearance with the Thunderwolves last season. Barrant previously scored a career-high 31 points twice last season with Jamestown CC in contests against Genesee CC on Dec. 11, 2024 and Lakeland CC on Jan. 22, 2025. Barrant is averaging 5.0 points and 1.6 assists in 15.8 minutes per game with SUNY Niagara.

 

  • Making his 25th start (26 appearances), Wejuli recorded his 13th game in double-digit scoring and the sixth time since the calendar year began (11 games) with his 15-point effort. The 10 rebounds tied his single-game high for the third time this season (Lackawanna College Nov. 1, Monroe University Jan. 17). The four blocks marked a new career-high and his eighth multi-block game of the season. Wejuli is averaging 11.0 points and 5.7 rebounds on 58.6% shooting in 22.4 minutes per contest.

 

  • Hutchinson recorded his fifth game with at least 10 rebounds in a game and the first time since he snatched 11 in SUNY Niagara’s 85-61 win versus Mohawk Valley CC on Dec. 17. The 10 rebounds against the Tribunes were also the most Hutchinson in a game since he posted nine in an 80-74 overtime loss at Lakeland CC on Jan. 12. The Brooklyn, NY native now has 174 total rebounds and is looking to become the program’s first player with 200 in a season since Aaron Miller had 205 in the 2022-23 campaign. Hutchinson is averaging a team-high 6.6 rebounds plus 9.2 points per game and is the only Thunderwolf to start in all 26 games.

 

  • SUNY Niagara is now 7-8 in single-digit contests and 10-1 in games decided by 10 points or more. The Thunderwolves are now 16-6 when shooting at least 40% and 6-2 when they convert 50% or greater.

 

  • The five assists against the Tribunes marked a new season-low for the Thunderwolves. SUNY Niagara is 15-4 when they tally 10 in a game and 6-2 with 15 or more. The Thunderwolves have also crossed double-digits in this category seven times since the start of the calendar year (11 games total).