BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Niagara men's basketball team (20-6, 11-3) used one of its best defensive games of the season to earn its 20th win on Thursday. The Purple Eagles held cross-town rival Canisius to 41 points on 24.5 percent shooting in the 57-41 road victory.

With the win, the 2008-09 Purple Eagle team became the 15th team in school history to record 20 wins. It marks the fourth time in the last six years that head coach Joe Mihalich has led Niagara to the illustrious win-plateau.

"Our goal wasn't to win 20 games this year," Mihalich said. "Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win as many games as we can."

The Niagara defense held the Golden Griffins to just five points over the game's final 10:28. Canisius shot 1-for-12 in that span, as Niagara expanded its lead from nine points to the final margin of 16.

The 41 points were the fewest allowed by the Purple Eagles since Dec. 7, 1986 in a 58-36 win over Colgate in the Gallagher Center. The 24.5 percent shooting marked the lowest of the season for Mihalich's crew.

"Our defense was rock solid (Thursday)," he explained. "It was the story of the game."

Junior guard Bilal Benn (Philadelphia, Pa.) earned his league-leading ninth double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. His point guard, sophomore Anthony Nelson (Plainfield, N.J.), stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, seven assists, six rebounds and just one turnover. His lone mishap was the first turnover in a game against Canisius in three games. In his last three contests against the rival, Nelson has 20 assists to just one turnover.

Junior Tyrone Lewis (Levittown, Pa.) had a team-high 14 points, five rebounds and four three-pointers. Though he held Canisius' point guard Frank Turner in check defensively (Turner shot 3-of-14 from the floor), the 5-foot-11 guard did not register a steal for the first time this season.

Senior Benson Egemonye (Benin City, Nigeria) added nine points and 10 rebounds in the win, while Rob Garrison (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) chipped in with eight points and three steals.

The Purple Eagles continue their stretch of four games in eight days on Saturday, with a Valentine's Day date at Fairfield. The 9 p.m. tip-off will begin a string of four-straight games on national television for Niagara. The Fairfield game will air live on ESPN2.