BUFFALO, N.Y. – The backcourt duo of senior Anthony Nelson and freshman Marvin Jordan combined for 42 points, but the output was not enough as Niagara fell to archrival Canisius, 69-54, on Friday night at the Koessler Athletic Center on an ESPNU televised game.

Niagara (4-18, 1-9 MAAC) suffered only its third loss in the last 16 meetings against Canisius (10-10, 4-6 MAAC). The Golden Griffins used a pair of runs late in the second half to pull out the win. Niagara still leads this season’s Battle of the Bridge series, 7-6, in the race to keep the Canal Cup.

Trailing 31-23 at halftime, Niagara received an immediate spark to start the second half from Jordan. Playing in his first Battle of the Bridge game, Jordan looked like a veteran. The sharpshooter scored 10 straight points to start the half. His three straight free throws tied the game at 38-38 with 12 minutes and he again tied the game at the line at 41-41 with nine minutes on the clock.

Nelson converted a three-point play to halt Canisius’ 10-3 run to cut the lead to four points with six minutes left,  though Canisius would benefit from timely turnovers to finish the game on a 15-5 run.

Jordan set a career-high with 23 points to lead all scorers. Jordan also led the team with four assists. Nelson had 19 points, with 12 coming in the first half. The nation’s leader in steals per game finished with three steals.

Niagara is back on the court on Sunday when it visits the Siena Saints for a 2 p.m. tipoff on Time Warner Cable.