NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - In a tightly contested matchup, the Niagara men’s basketball team was defeated by the Iona Gaels, 73-61, on Friday’s ESPNU College Basketball Built by the Home Depot.

“We are disappointed that we came up short tonight, but the growth of our team over the course of this past month really has us excited,” head coach Joe Mihalich said. “We are far from where we want to be, but if you compare our game to Iona last month to this month on their floor we are light years ahead of where we were then.” 

It was a brisk pace to open the game in a first half that witnessed 11 lead changes. Niagara (6-10, 1-3 MAAC) was led by Antoine Mason, Malcolm Lemmons and Juan'ya Green, who combined for 23 points through first 12 minutes, as the Purple Eagles led 25-20. Three straight free throws by Marvin Jordan put NU up 31-30 with 3:37 left in the half, but Iona (12-3, 4-0 MAAC)closed the half on a 5-0 run.

Niagara stayed within striking distance in the second half, but the turning point in the game occurred with the Purple Eagles trailing, 45-40 with 14:23 left. The Gaels went on a 9-1 run over the next four minutes to build a 54-41 lead. The run was halted by a 3-point play by Green, followed by a 3-pointer by Marvin Jordan to cut the deficit to 54-47 with 9:36 left.

The seven-point margin was the closet the Purple Eagles would get for the rest of the game. NU was unable to cut into the lead over the next two minute before Iona pulled away to remain unbeaten in conference play.

“We got to keep improving (and) that’s our goal,” Mihalich said. “We are nowhere near where we should be but if we keep improving as much as we did over the last month we are going to have a team everyone would be proud of.”

Niagara, which was playing its second of three road games to start 2012, had four Purple Eagles in double figures. Malcolm Lemmons had a season-high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and added five rebounds; Green and Jordan also had 14 points. Mason had 11 points and seven rebounds in his first collegiate game near his native Queens.

Niagara will conclude its three-game road swing on Sunday against Siena at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable and on WWKB 1520 am.