JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The Niagara Purple Eagles withstood a late second half run to defeat the Saint Peter's Peacocks, 61-59, in their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener on Thursday night.

Karonn Davis' 3-pointer with 1:12 left proved to be the game-winner as Niagara (1-1, 1-0 MAAC) pulled out its first conference opening win in five seasons. Rayvon Harris had a career scoring night with a game-high 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field and was 5-for-6 at the free-throw line. Ramone Snowden recorded his second career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Niagara led 53-41 with 6:52 remaining when the Peacocks (0-3, 0-1 MAAC) began to chip away at the lead. SPU took its first lead since the five-minute mark in the first half after a 3-pointer by Tyler Gaskins, which gave the Peacocks a 59-58 lead with 1:23 left. Niagara answered immediately on its next possession when Davis drained a 3-pointer 11 seconds later.

On the Peacocks' next possession, NU forced a turnover. However, after an empty possession by NU, the Purple Eagles would have to rely on their defense. SPU's Chazz Patterson missed a jumper with nine seconds left, but the Peacocks got the rebound to setup one final chance. After a SPU timeout, the Peacocks failed to get off another shot as time expired.

"It is always a war playing them," head coach Chris Casey said. "They are very well coached, tough and physical. We did a good job of being tough back."

Niagara ended the first half on a 13-1 run to take a 24-20 halftime lead. Trailing 19-11 with 6:47 remaining in the half, a breakaway layup by Matt Scott started the stretch of 13 straight points which included consecutive 3-pointers by Snowden. Two minutes into the second half, the run extended to 20-5 as the Purple Eagles built a 31-24 lead.

Niagara is back on the court on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. when the Purple Eagles host the Hartford Hawks in their home opener. For ticket information, contact the Niagara Athletic Ticket Office at 716-286-8499, www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets or tickets@niagara.edu.