NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara men's basketball team (2-1) used a strong second-half defensive effort with a little bench help to outlast Appalachian State (1-2) 95-80, inside the 'Taps' Gallagher Center on Saturday afternoon. After a slow start, five Purple Eagles reached double digits in the win.

Junior Bilal Benn (Philadelphia, Pa.) notched his first double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while adding seven assists. Classmate Kamau Gordon (Greenwich, Conn.) recorded a career-high 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting off the Purple Eagle bench in the victory.

The Mountaineers jumped out to a 15-3 start thanks to quick offensive sets and a poor Niagara start. NU started the contest 1-for-5 with five turnovers in the first five and a half minutes.

Then, the Purple Eagles received a spark off the bench from a pair of juniors. Gordon and Demetrius Williamson (Chicago, Ill.) gave the team a burst energy, and Niagara began to claw back into the game.

"For this team to do what they did, after starting the first 10 minutes of the game the way we did, that's a great characteristic to have," Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich said. "I'm so proud of this team."

The Purple Eagles tied the game at 43-43 on a quick steal by Gordon. The 6-foot-7 forward lobbed the ball ahead to Tyrone Lewis (Levittown, Pa.) for the fast-break jam with 42 seconds remaining. The Mountaineers sank a three-pointer at the buzzer to take a three-point lead into the break, but Niagara had seized the momentum for the second half.

The Purple Eagles tied the score twice in the early portion of the second stanza, and took the lead on a pair of Anthony Nelson (Plainfield, N.J.) free throws just 1:43 into the half. After a few lead changes and one more tie, Niagara took the lead for good at the 11:13 mark on a 9-0 run that saw five points from Benn, including his first collegiate three-pointer.

The defense was the key to the comeback however, as Niagara held ASU to 29.4 percent shooting through the first 12 minutes of second-half action. Appalachian State shot 58.1 percent in the opening frame.

Lewis finished the game with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting in 40 minutes. He put the game away with an exclamation-point dunk over ASU's 6-foot-7 forward Andre Williamson at the 6:31 mark.

Gordon finished the game with career highs in points (12), field goals (5) and blocks (2) while playing just 16 minutes. He bested his previous career high of four points in just seven minutes of action in the first half.

"Kamau really stepped up (Saturday)," Lewis said. "I'm really proud of him because he showed how hard he's worked."

Rob Garrison (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) finished the game with 19 points, while Nelson chipped in with 10 from the point guard position. Williamson added five points and three rebounds off the bench.

Niagara returns to the floor at Buffalo in the second game of an NU-UB double-header on Tuesday. The women's game tips at 6 p.m., followed by the men's contest at 8 p.m.

Tyrone Lewis's "Exclamation Point" Dunk