RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Niagara men’s basketball team was edged by the Manhattan Jaspers, 51-49, on Monday afternoon at Draddy Gymnasium.

“This was a very tough loss,” head coach Joe Mihalich said. “We had a lot of chances, but unfortunately we couldn’t make a play when we had to, either on the offensive or defensive end.”

 

Niagara (4-15, 1-6 MAAC) had two decent looks in the final five seconds to pull out the win. Trailing 50-49 with five seconds remaining, Marvin Jordan’s 3-pointer clipped the rim and Anthony Nelson missed the put back with two seconds left.

 

The loss snaps Niagara’s eight-game win streak in the series and its five-game winning streak at Manhattan (3-15, 1-6 MAAC). The Jaspers picked up their first win since Nov. 13, snapping a 15-game losing streak.

 

The entire game was played in a nine-point window. The Purple Eagles brushed off a slow start to the game with a 10-0 run for a 16-15 lead with 7:47 left in the first half, though Manhattan would take a 22-20 halftime lead.

 

The Jaspers increased their lead to 31-24 with 15 minutes remaining in the second half when the backcourt of Nelson and Jordan led the comeback. The duo scored Niagara’s next 11 points to tie the game at 35-35 with eight minutes left. Malcolm Lemmons gave the Purple Eagles their largest lead of the game when he drained a 3-pointer to put NU up 45-42 with 2:54 left.

 

Manhattan would respond with a 6-0 run to take a 48-45 lead and benefited from offensive rebounds during the run. The Jaspers held a 42-24 advantage on the boards and outscored NU 15-5 in second chance points, including 8-0 in the second half.

 

Scooter Gillette made a layup with 17 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 50-49. Manhattan had a chance to extend its lead on its next possession, but missed two free throws to setup the final possession for the Purple Eagles.

 

Nelson had another solid night for the Purple Eagles. His 14 points led NU in scoring and tied a game-high. His eight assists were his second most this season and second most by a Purple Eagle. Nelson, who entered the game tied for first in the nation in steals per game, had a game-high six steals; he has 20 steals in the last three games. He also grabbed five boards.

Jordan added 12 points and a team-high six rebounds and fellow freshman Lemmons dropped eight points.

Niagara’s next game will be against conference leading Iona on Friday, Jan. 21 for a 7 p.m. tip at the Gallagher Center.