Senior David Brooks scored a game-high 27 points in a loss at Akron Saturday.

AKRON, Ohio – Senior David Brooks (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored 23 second-half points en route to a game-high 27, but it wasn’t enough as the Niagara University men’s basketball team (17-8) lost 74-68 to the University of Akron (16-7) Saturday night before 4,053 at Rhodes Arena.

Trailing 60-50 with 10:09 left in the game, Niagara used a 14-3 run to pull within one, 60-59. Brooks scored eight during the run, including a pair of three-pointers to ignite the run.

Brooks’ layup and two free throws within a one-minute span cut the deficity to 62-61, and senior Alvin Cruz (Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico) hit a driving layup at 6:12 to give Niagara a 63-62 lead, its first since early in the first half.

Akron’s Dru Joyce answered with a layup on the next possession and the Zips never trailed after that. Rick McFadden’s three-pointer at 3:55 extended the lead to 67-63 and he secured the game with a three from the corner with 12 seconds to go when the Purple Eagles had cut the lead to 71-68 on a pair of Juan Mendez free throws.

Mendez (Montreal) finished with 16 points, including 10 of 13 from the free-throw line. Cruz netted 13 points and a team-high four assists.

Saturday’s game was a non-conference game that came from the pool of teams that were under consideration for the BracketBuster Saturday package of games.

Niagara returns to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play when it travels to Jersey City, N.J. to take on Saint Peter’s College Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Yanitelli Center.