NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara mens basketball team celebrated Senior Day in style with a 80-72 victory over Marist on Sunday. The victory gives the Purple Eagles a 24-7 overall record, the best regular season mark in 60 years, and a 14-4 conference mark, the best in school history.

"We are ready for the second season," Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich said, referring to next week's MAAC Tournament, where his Purple Eagles have earned the No. 2 seed. "We are proud of what we have accomplished this season; 24-7 is very special. But we broke our huddle in the locker room talking about getting ready for the second season."

Niagara will play the winner of No. 7 Iona/No. 10 Marist on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on MSG-Plus. The Purple Eagles split the regular season series with both clubs.

The Red Foxes had no answer for Niagara's lone senior, Benson Egemonye (Benin City, Nigeria). The 6-foot-10 big man bid farewell to the Gallagher Center crowd of 2,182 with a team-high 19 points. Most of his damage came from the foul line as Egemonye shot 13-for-17 from the charity stripe.

"When I came here, I came into a family," Egemonye said. "Today made me feel happy. I wish I could play more games here."

NU fell behind early in the contest but used a 15-0 run midway through the first, keyed by seven-straight points by Anthony Nelson (Plainfield, N.J.), to seize control of the contest. NU led by as many as 19 in the second half.

Nelson connected on a triple to bring the Purple Eagles to within two with five minutes remaining in the opening stanza. He buried an open jumper on the next trip and executed a tough lay-up in transition to take a 26-24 lead. Niagara would extend the advantage to 33-24 before Marist could end the run. Nelson finished the game with eight points, six assists and five rebounds.

Three other players finished the day in double figures as the Purple Eagles again executed a balanced attack. The junior trio of Rob Garrison (Niagara Falls, N.Y.), Tyrone Lewis (Levittown, Pa.) and Bilal Benn (Philadelphia, Pa.) chipped in with 17, 16 and 12 points, respectively, in the win. Benn added a game-high nine rebounds to finish with the rebounding title, averaging a MAAC-best 9.1 rpg.

Niagara’s regular season record of 24-7 is the best since John ‘Taps’ Gallagher’s 1948-49 team recorded the same record. The 24 wins is the second most in school history, behind the 1921-22 team’s 27 victories. Niagara’s 14-4 record in MAAC play is the best in program history.