VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Niagara men's basketball team (1-1) had its chances against No. 23 Villanova (3-0), but eventually fell in front of a sold-out Pavilion crowd in a nationally televised game on Wednesday night, 77-62. The Purple Eagles cut the Wildcat lead to two points early in the second half, and trailed by five with 10 minutes remaining.

"We had some strengths and some failures in the same game," Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich said. "I thought that we played well in stretches and I thought we played hard and showed toughness. But at the same time, I think that we will regret some things after we look at the tape."

Junior Tyrone Lewis (Levittown, Pa.) led the Purple Eagles with 16 points and four steals. The 5-foot-11 guard connected on four three-pointers in the loss.

Villanova jumped out to a 27-14 lead 11 minutes into the game before Niagara inched closer. A 12-3 NU run over the next 6:20 cut the Wildcat lead to four points. A fast-break lay-up by former Wildcat Bilal Benn (Philadelphia, Pa.) made the score 30-26 with 2:37 remaining, and Niagara would trail by six at the break.

Just three minutes into the second half, the Purple Eagles got with two points after a pair of free throws. After Villanova stretched it to 10 points on two separate occasions, a Rob Garrison (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) long-ball cut the lead to 53-48 at the 10:06 mark, but that is as close as the Purple Eagles would get.

Benn finished the contest against his former mates with a career-high 11 points and eight rebounds, while Garrison also set a new personal best with 15 markers on 6-of-11 shooting.

Scottie Reynolds connected on a pair of big three-pointers and led 'nova with 19 points. Three other Wildcats reached double-digits in the victory.

The Purple Eagles return to the Gallagher Center for a Saturday afternoon tilt with Appalachian State. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.