KENT, OHIO – The Niagara men's basketball team wrapped up play in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic with a narrow defeat to the Kent State Golden Flashes, 102-97, on Saturday night.

Niagara (1-4) battled for all 40 minutes before falling against a Kent State program which has had 15 straight seasons of 20-plus wins.

"Kent State is an outstanding program. I thought we competed very hard and we were right there at the end to win the game," head coach Chris Casey said. "We have to correct some things, get better and have a breakthrough, so instead of getting close, we can turn those types of performances into wins." 

After trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half, NU closed the half on a 10-2 run which was capped by a Tahjere McCall's tip-in with one second left, to trail 44-43. NU started the second half in a flurry, connecting on seven of its first eight shots. Antoine Mason's jumper in the paint at 13:31 on the clock gave the Purple Eagles their largest lead of the game, 61-58. However, the Golden Flashes (6-1) would go on a 19-4 spurt over the next 3:30 minutes.

The Purple Eagles gradually chipped away at the 12-point deficit. Niagara cut the lead to three points on three separate occasions in the final minute. Mason converted a three-point play with 22 seconds left to bring NU to 96-93, and Niagara nearly stole the en suing inbounds pass. On Niagara's next possession, McCall drained a pair of free throws to bring Niagara to 98-95 with 13 seconds remaining, but Kent State went 4-for-4 at the line in the final seconds to seal the win.

"This NABC Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament has been a very competitive tournament and our guys competed extremely hard," Casey said.  "I'm happy with the progression during the three games in terms of our development offensively. There are things that we need to get better at and we will work on them in practice."

Mason and Ramone Snowden combined for 52 of Niagara's 97 points.  Mason, who entered the game leading the nation in scoring at 31.3 points per game, finished with 31 points for his fourth 30-point game of the season. Mason scored 24 points in the second half for his third straight 20-point second half output. Snowden set a career-high in scoring with 21 points, surpassing his previous high of 16 set Friday night.  Rayvon Harris scored all 10 of his points in the first half to be the third Purple Eagle in double figures. Marcus Ware led the game with 10 rebounds.

Niagara continues its six-game road trip with a visit to Penn on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN 1520 AM and on Purple Eagles All-Access.