NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara men's basketball team (8-4) wanted one thing for Christmas; a second half. After falling behind by 16 points at the intermission, things looked bleak for the Purple Eagles. But a 52-point second half gave NU a 77-71 victory over Little 3 Rival St. Bonaventure (6-5) in front of a sold out 'Taps' Gallagher Center crowd on Tuesday.

"Even our fans, who are the greatest fans in the world, were probably thinking that this just wasn't our night," Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich said. "But in the locker room at halftime, there were 20 people who knew we could win this game."

The Bonnies controlled the opening stanza from just about the opening tip. After a 3-pointer by Tyrone Lewis (Levittown, Pa.) in the game's first five seconds, SBU took over with a 14-0 run. The Niagara defense allowed easy baskets in transition, dribble-drive penetration and four 3-pointers in falling behind 41-25 at the break. St. Bonaventure doubled-up the Purple Eagles on the glass in the opening half, 28-14, and NU shot a dismal 5-for-12 from the free throw line. Nothing was going right.

Then, the second half started, and the Purple Eagles showed why they have dominated the Little 3 over the past seven years.

Niagara opened the second half with a 19-2 run to take the lead 44-43 on a steal and dunk by Lewis at the 12:57 mark. The game saw 11 lead changes and five ties after that slam, but the game was won in the opening minutes of the half with the new defensive intensity.

"I told the team that the first five minutes of the half were going to tell the tale, and it did," Mihalich added. "We won that game in the first five minutes of the second half."

After falling behind 63-60 at the six-minute mark, senior Demetrius Williamson (Chicago, Ill.) knotted the score with a triple from the top of the key. Just a few moments later, with the score tied at 65-65, Williamson again buried a 3-pointer to give NU the lead for good. Williamson finished the contest with a career-high 22 points.

With a huge spark off the bench, Eric Williams (Hope, B.C.) had his best game in a collegiate uniform. The redshirt-freshman tallied a career-high nine points while pulling in four rebounds in just 10 minutes of action. All of his stats came in the second half as NU mounted its biggest comeback of the season.

Lewis finished the game with 17 points and a season-best four steals. He is now just four steals away from setting the all-time steal record that was previously set in 1982. It would be his second all-time record broken this month.

St. Bonaventure was led by sophomore Andrew Nicholson's 24 points, but the Bonnies big man played just 16 minutes due to foul trouble.

Junior Anthony Nelson (Plainfield, N.J.) was a stat-stuffer with eight points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals. Senior Rob Garrison (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) also totaled four steals while adding seven points and six rebounds. Sophomore Austin Cooley (Silver Spring, Md.) had a big second half, with eight points, including a perfect 3-for-3 from the foul line.

With the win, Niagara improves to 19-1 in its last 20 Little 3 contests, including a perfect 7-0 against St. Bonaventure during that span.

The Purple Eagles will take a little time off for Christmas before returning to the hardwood in El Paso, Texas for the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Tournament on Dec. 28-29.