NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - At a time when head coach Joe Mihalich needed his lone senior to step up, Benson Egemonye (Benin City, Nigeria) put the Purple Eagles on his shoulders and carried them to winner's circle. The 6-foot-10 center scored nine of the team's final 14 points in a pivotal stretch of Niagara's 75-69 victory over Canisius on Monday.

The Purple Eagles (15-6, 6-3) played in front of a sold-out Gallagher Center crowd for the first time this season, defeating its cross-town rival Golden Griffins (7-13, 2-8) for the 11th time in their last 12 meetings.

Niagara controlled the first half, and led by as many as 14 in the second half before the Golden Griffins climbed back into it. With Niagara leading 51-37, Canisius went on a 26-10 run over an 8:30 span to take the lead at 63-61.

That's when the big fella took over the game. Egemonye made a pair of free throws to knot the score at 63-63. After a steal and a smooth lay-up by Rob Garrison (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) at the five-minute mark that gave NU at 65-63 lead, Egemonye connected on another pair from the line.

After Canisius' Frank Turner hit a long two-point jumper, making it a two-point Niagara lead at 67-65, Egemonye converted an old-fashioned three-point play with an powerful lay-up after a perfect entry pass from point guard Anthony Nelson (Plainfield, N.J.).

Then, with under two minutes to play, the Golden Griffins grabbed three offensive rebounds and eventually connected on a lay-up to make the score 70-67. The Purple Eagles called on the 6-foot-10 center one last time, as Egemonye converted his final lay-up of the night with just two seconds on the shot clock, effectively putting the game out of reach with 49 seconds remaining.

"We wanted to throw the first punch (Monday)," junior Tyrone Lewis (Levittown, Pa.) said, "and we did by going to our big fella, and he delivered."

Egemonye scored a game-high 24 points, his third-straight contest leading the team in scoring, on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor and 8-for-9 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed a team-high six rebounds in the win.

Nelson was also instrumental in the victory, recording a multiple-assist, zero-turnover contest for the second-straight time against Canisius. The sophomore dished out seven assists on Monday, after handing out six dimes in last year's season finale. Nelson finished with 11 points for the second consecutive game, adding four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.

Juniors Lewis and Bilal Benn (Philadelphia, Pa.) had nearly identical stat lines. Lewis scored 12 points while grabbing five rebounds and collecting three steals, while Benn tallied 14 points, five boards and three thefts of his own.

Junior Demetrius Williamson (Chicago, Ill.) electrified the crowd with two three-pointers and three momentum changing blocked shots. Freshman Austin Cooley (Silver Spring, Md.) provided a spark for the second-straight game, going 2-for-2, including a fast-break flush.

The Purple Eagles hit the road for their next two conference games, at Manhattan (Jan. 31 at 7 p.m.) and at Iona (Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m.). The Iona contest will air live on Niagara Sports Network.