BRIDGEPORT, Conn. –
Ramone Snowden scored a game-high 18 points, including the go-ahead basket with 26 seconds left, as the Purple Eagles edged the Fairfield Stags, 67-63, on Thursday night.
"That was a very tightly contested game," head coach
Chris Casey said. "Both teams played very hard and made big plays, and we made a couple of more plays down the stretch. I'm proud of our effort and togetherness and when we needed to play defense and rebound we did a very good job."
In a game that featured six ties and 17 lead changes, Niagara (5-13, 2-5 MAAC) outlasted Fairfield (3-14, 0-7 MAAC) to snap its four-game losing streak while extending its win streak in the series to three.
Niagara had to overcome another halftime deficit, though the Purple Eagles trailed only by one point. The Purple Eagles used a 9-0 run to take a 22-18 lead with seven minutes left in the first half and led 25-20 prior to Fairfield going on a 9-3 run including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to take a 29-28 halftime lead.
Down by four with six minutes remaining, the Purple Eagles closed out the game on a 12-4 run. Wesley Myers started the spark by draining a corner 3-pointer to bring Niagara to 59-58 with 5:42 left. NU regained the lead at 63-61 after a pair of free throws by
Antoine Mason with 1:11 on the clock, before Fairfield's Maurice Barrow tied the game on the next possession.
Then came the game's definitive stretch when the Purple Eagles, who outscored Fairfield in the paint 20-8 in the second half, scored their final points in the paint when Snowden tipped-in Mason's missed jumper with 26 seconds remaining. Fairfield's Coleman Johnson missed a jumper and
Rayvon Harris sealed the game by making two straight free throws.
Snowden, who led NU in scoring for the second time this season, had a team-high six rebounds and shared team-high honors in steals with two. Mason finished with 15 points, including going 9 of 10 from the free-throw line.
Niagara continues its road trip on Saturday when it faces the Quinnipiac Bobcats at 4 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN 1520 AM and Purple Eagles All-Access.
