Niagara University, NY (February 22, 2003) - Niagara edges out MAAC rival Fairfield 83-79 in front of a crowd of 1,631 fans at the Gallagher Center on Saturday afternoon. "The two teams went at it toe-to-toe and played their hearts out…it was a big win for us," said Coach Mihalich after the game. This victory improves Niagara's record to 14-11 overall and 10-6 in the MAAC.

Both teams battled back and forth for the lead in the first half, but a shot by Juan Mendez (Montreal, Que.) with :02 left put Niagara up by two (42-40). The entire game continued to be a tight competition, but Niagara was able to turn up the heat and secured their win over the Stags in the last seconds of the game.

James Reeves (Rochester, NY) sparked the offence by tallying 25 points shooting 9-12 from the field, 5-5 from the line and 2-3 from three-point range in his 38 minutes of play. Juan Mendez (Montreal, Que.), Alvin Cruz (Rio Pedras, PR) and Tremmell Darden (Las Vegas, NV) each had double digits for the Purple Eagles. As a team, Niagara shot 50.9% from the field, 47.1% from three-point range and 81.0% from the line. Niagara collected 25 rebounds, six steals and three blocks.

Oscar Garcia had the high score for the Stags scoring 21 points, going 7-for-8 from the line. Fairfield went 54.4% from the field, 35.3% from the three, and 88.2% from the line. Fairfield out rebounded Niagara 29-25, had seven steals and two blocks.

Niagara returns to action on Friday, February 28th against Rider at the Gallagher Center. Tip-off is set for 7 pm.