NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara coaches had been hoping for a strong second half effort from the men's basketball team (5-3, 1-0 MAAC). On Friday, the Purple Eagles delivered in a hard-fought, physical 88-64 victory over Manhattan (4-3, 0-1 MAAC) to open up conference play.

In the second half, the Purple Eagles, who led 37-30 at the break, shot 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from behind the arc and scored 51 points to pull away from the Jaspers.

"Coach (Mihalich) just told us that we needed to have a better second half and we did," senior Bilal Benn (Philadelphia, Pa.) said. "We just wanted to defend hard and rebound harder."

Benn took head coach Joe Mihalich's words to heart, scoring 16 of his game-high 22 points after the break. After shooting 0-for-3 from the floor in the opening, the MAAC's leading rebounder shot 6-for-8 from the field in after the break. He collected his fifth double-double of the year with a game-high 13 rebounds.

"This was a good win for our players," Mihalich said. "A lot of great things happened (Friday) and that help us beat a good team."

Sophomore Kashief Edwards (Philadelphia, Pa.) had a strong contest in the paint for Niagara on both ends of the floor. The forward totaled 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and 4-for-4 from the line while pulling in seven rebounds, five offensive, and a game-best four blocked shots.

Seniors Demetrius Williamson (Chicago, Ill.) and Rob Garrison (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) also recorded double figures in the win. Williamson's 15 points came off the bench on 4-for-7 shooting from behind the arc with eight rebounds, while Garrison added 13 markers and five rebounds.

Senior Tyrone Lewis (Levittown, Pa.) was limited to four first half minutes because of foul trouble. He had three assists in the first half and finished the game with six points, six helpers and zero turnovers in his first start since returning from injury. Junior Anthony Nelson (Plainfield, N.J.) had eight points and six assists.

Sophomore Austin Cooley (Silver Spring, Md.) and freshman Scooter Gillette (Philadelphia, Pa.) each added five points in the win.

The Purple Eagles return to action at home on Sunday against Loyola for a 2 p.m. tip.