SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Niagara Purple Eagles had their two-game winning streak snapped in an 89-67 defeat to the 22nd-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a nationally televised broadcast on ESPNU on Friday night.

Antoine Mason led the Purple Eagles (5-7) with 17 points and six rebounds, and was tied for the team-high in assists with three. Juan'ya Green and Marvin Jordan each added 11 points. Four Irish (12-1) were in double figures, led by Jack Cooley who had game-highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season.

Niagara, which was playing its highest ranked opponent since facing No. 2 Kansas in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, had two first half leads against Notre Dame. A layup by Devon White concluded a 6-0 run for the Purple & White to give them a 13-12 lead at the 14:26 mark. Two minutes later, a 3-pointer by Jordan put NU back in front, 16-15.

NU trailed 25-24 when the Irish went on a 13-2 run to build their largest first half lead to 12 points. The Purple Eagles, who made six of their ten 3-pointers in the first half, trimmed the lead in the final minutes before intermission with a couple of 3-pointers and a last second layup by Green as NU trailed 42-34 at the break.

The Purple Eagles were down 53-44 with 13:58 remaining, when the Irish broke open the game with a 17-5 run over the next five minutes. Notre Dame shot 75 percent from the field in the second half en route to its 10th straight win.

“I told our team that tonight is a night to learn,” head coach Joe Mihalich said. “We want to develop the qualities that Notre Dame has. They are selfless, are willing passers, they compete and they don’t make mistakes. It was tough to tell tonight, but I think we are on our way.”

Niagara is back on the court on Jan. 3 when it resumes MAAC play against Marist at 7 p.m. from the Gallagher Center. 

For ticket information, contact the Niagara Athletic Ticket Office (located at Dwyer Arena) at 716-286-TIXX (8499), tickets@purpleeagles.com or www.PurpleEagles.com/tickets.