EL PASO, Texas - The Niagara men's basketball team (8-5) dropped the first game of the Bank of the West Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational to Air Force on Monday, 77-71, in El Paso Texas. The Purple Eagles, who shot 6-for-34 from behind the arc in the loss, will face Norfolk State on Tuesday in the consolation game at 7:30 p.m. eastern.

Senior Bilal Benn (Philadelphia, Pa.) returned to the lineup after missing the last three games with a knee injury and connected on a pair of free throws with 41 seconds remaining to bring NU closer at 72-71, but the Purple Eagles would not score again.

"Air Force forced us to play their style of basketball, and unfortunately we just didn't make shots tonight," Niagara men's head coach Joe Mihalich said.

The Purple Eagles trailed by six at the break, 35-29, but opened the second half on a 7-0 run, started by a triple by senior Tyrone Lewis (Levittown, Pa.). The 36-35 advantage was the last lead Niagara would hold in the contest.

Lewis finished with 16 points, but shot 5-for-22 from the floor and 2-for-13 from behind the arc. He also added three assists and two steals, leaving him two short from making history in both categories. Lewis needs just two more steals to set the NU all-time record with 217, and two helpers away from becoming the fifth player in MAAC history with 1,500 points, 200 steals and 200 assists.

Benn didn't seem to miss a beat in his return, just missing recording his seventh double-double on the year. He totaled nine points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals in the loss, playing 31 minutes off the bench. Senior Demetrius Williamson (Chicago, Ill.) added 11 points, and junior Anthony Nelson (Plainfield, N.J.) added 10 points and six rebounds.

The Purple Eagles will face Norfolk State (1-9) at the Don Haskins Center on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. eastern.