JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Niagara Purple Eagles began their conference road weekend with a convincing 77-58 victory over the Saint Peter’s Peacocks on Friday for their third straight win in the series.

Niagara (8-8, 4-1 MAAC) extended its MAAC win streak to four straight games, which is its longest since winning four consecutive league from Feb.-March 2009, and its 4-1 conference record is its best start since the 2008-09 season. The Purple Eagles’ 19-point win is their largest in the series since winning 79-59 at Saint Peter’s (6-9, 1-4 MAAC) on Jan. 25, 2008.

“It was a great road win…MAAC road wins are like gold,” head coach Joe Mihalich said. “I told our kids that the toughest team will win this game and we were the toughest team. I’m really proud of the guys.”

Antoine Mason tied a career-best with 26 points to lead all scorers and added seven rebounds. Backcourt teammate Juan'ya Green followed with 19 points and seven assists.

In a game full of runs, it was the Purple Eagles who maintained their lead. NU fell behind early, 7-0, before going on a 16-2 run over five minutes to take a 16-9 lead. Saint Peter’s, then, used a 10-2 spurt to regain the lead before a 3-pointer by Mason sparked a 15-0 run by the Purple Eagles.

Niagara, which led 35-23 at halftime, continued the trend of runs by scoring the half’s first seven points. The Peacocks responded with an 8-0 run of their own, but it would be the last real threat for Saint Peter’s for the rest of the game. NU’s lead ballooned to 22 points twice as the Purple Eagles shot 51.6 percent (16-for-31) from the field in the second half. NU’s defensive pressure, especially around the perimeter, in the game led to 14 turnovers and nine steals which lead to a dominating 22-4 advantage in points off turnovers.

Niagara concludes its three-game road trip against Fairfield on Sunday at 1 p.m. Fans can listen to the game on WWKB 1520 AM and online via Purple Eagles All-Access.