BALTIMORE, Md. - The Niagara men's basketball team (12-12, 5-7 MAAC) used a balanced effort in the scoring column and a big second-half spurt to get back in the winning column with an 86-77 over Loyola (10-12, 3-9 MAAAC) on Sunday. Six Purple Eagles scored at least nine points in the victory.

"We had a difficult January, but we finished it up the right way," Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich said. "We need to use this win to have a great February."

Senior Demetrius Williamson bounced back from a scoreless contest at Canisius to lead all scorers with 20 points, and Anthony Nelson helped will the team to victory lane with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and and 6-of-8 from the line.

Bilal Benn added 17 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double for the second time against Loyola this season, and Rob Garrison tallied 10 markers and three steals. Tyrone Lewis and Austin Cooley both added nine points in the win.

"We're getting back to being ourselves," Mihalich explained. "We had some spurts, which we haven't had in a long time, and we had some good ones today."

The biggest offensive spurt of the day came in the second half when Niagara turned a seven point lead into a 15-point cushion in a matter of moments. Three different Purple Eagles made five-straight shots, including three 3-pointers to put the game away before a free-trow parade in the final minutes.

Williamson started the run with a tip-in and followed that up with a triple from the top of the key. Colley connected on his third triple of the game to extend the run before Nelson buried another trey and Williamson capped the run with a driving lay-in for a 70-55 lead with 4:16 to go. Lewis and Benn both collected two assists in the run.

Niagara shot 47.1 percent from the floor, including a 53.8 percent first-half showing en route to jumping out to a 41-28 halftime lead. The Purple Eagles improved to 9-1 when shooting above 40.0 percent from the field.

The Purple Eagles return to the friendly hardwood of the legendary 'Taps' Gallagher Center on Friday for a rivalry rematch against Canisius. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.