NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - A season-best shooting performance propelled the Niagara men’s basketball team to a convincing 87-64 win over the Siena Saints on Thursday at the Gallagher Center.

The Purple Eagles (10-8, 6-1 MAAC) reeled off their sixth straight MAAC win to improve to 6-1 in the conference and remain in first place. NU’s 6-1 MAAC start is its best since the 1998-99 season (6-1).

“We made some shots tonight…I thought our guys did a good job,” head coach Joe Mihalich said. “We talked before the game about the fundamentals, just being shot ready , just being in good spacing and  you know little things like that and making that extra pass and I thought our guys did it in the second half.”

Five Purple Eagles were in double figures for the second time this season. Antoine Mason ed all scorers with 23 points for his sixth 20-point game of the season. Mason has netted double figures in 25 straight games. Juan'ya Green also recorded a 20-point game with 21 points on the night and tied a game-high with eight steals. T.J. Cline added 13 points and Ameen Tanksley and Marvin Jordan scored 10 points.

The Purple Eagles’ shooting touch was evident from the start. Six of their first seven field goals were 3-pointers, but Siena (4-14, 2-5 MAAC) stayed close, only trailing 26-25 with 6:22 remaining in the first half. A 3-pointer by Tanksley gave NU its largest lead of the half, 40-31, with a minute left and the Purple Eagles led 40-34 at halftime.

Niagara roared out of the gate to start the second half. The Purple Eagles went on a 24-7 run to take a commanding 67-41 lead with 13:33 remaining. The run was capped off with a dazzling fast break, behind the back pass by Green to Mason, who finished with a dunk.

NU, which led as much as 29 points, finished with its largest win over Siena in MAAC play and their largest margin of victory over the Saints in 56 years.

Niagara finished the game shooting 54.2 percent (32-for-59) from the field and 50 percent (12-for-24) from the arc. The 54.2 field goal percentage is the highest since NU shot 57 percent in a win against Howard on Nov. 20, 2009. 

NU, which is 7-2 and its last nine games, is on its longest conference win streak (six) since 2009.  

The Purple Eagles are back at the Gallagher Center on Saturday to take on the Manhattan Jaspers at 3 p.m.

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.