NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – A Justin Satchell's tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining lifted the Niagara Purple Eagles to a 55-53 win over the two-time defending MAAC champions Manhattan Jaspers on Saturday.

In a game with seven ties and eight lead changes, the Purple Eagles (5-12, 3-3 MAAC) persevere to pick up consecutive wins for the first time since reeling off four straight wins to end the 2014-15 regular season. Niagara continues its recent home success against the Jaspers, winning eight of the last 10 home meetings in the series.

"I'm really proud of how our guys grinded that game out," head coach Chris Casey said. "I thought our defense was good and we were tough on the glass. They are a very well-coached team and they are going to play hard, and we are always going to play hard. Justin (Satchell) made a big play at the end, Matt (Scott) came out in the second half and made some big shots and got us the lead. Cam (Fowler) did a really good job and was the primary guy on (Manhattan's Shane) Richards. That was a great team win because we got a lot from a lot of guys."

NU had the game's largest lead, 51-43, with 7:43 left in the second half when the Jaspers (6-9, 3-3 MAAC) went on an 8-0 run to tie the game with 3:29 remaining. With the game knotted at 53-53 with less than 30 seconds left, Manhattan had two close looks but was unable to convert as Satchell grabbed the rebound.

On the en suing possession, Satchell once again came up big on the boards with a tip-in off of a missed 3-pointer by Emile Blackman to put NU ahead, 55-53, with 1.2 seconds left. Niagara's pressure defense kept Manhattan from getting a shot off as time expired.

The difference in the game was in rebounding where the Purple Eagles held a substantial advantage. Niagara outrebounded Manhattan with a season-high 46 rebounds to 27, including 19 offensive rebounds. The plus-19 rebounding margin is the largest since having a plus-24 advantage at Siena on Feb. 25, 2006; the 19 offensive rebounds are the most since having 21 at Iona on Jan. 4, 2014.  

"We are always talking about rebounding and you can't win unless you rebound the basketball," Casey said. "If you look at the stats, we had one more field goal, the same amount of 3's and the same amount of free throws, and the one field goal we got was off of an offensive rebound. We won the game with defense and rebounding, and that is a good way to win because that has to be the base to get better at the other things."

Matt Scott collected his third double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while also leading the team with five assists. Marvin Prochet shared game-high honors with 12 points and tied a career-high with eight rebounds. Satchell added 10 points and eight rebounds to tie a season-best.

The Purple Eagles are back on the road next weekend beginning at Fairfield on Friday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. The game will air live on the Niagara Sports Network via AM 1400 WWWS and PurpleEagles.com/Watch.

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