NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY – Niagara took its first lead with just 44.9 seconds remaining as the Purple Eagles rallied past Siena Basketball 72-71 at the Gallagher Center. Manny Camper scored a game-high 21 points for the Saints.

Siena (7-8, 3-4) led throughout and by as many as 11 points midway through the first half. But Niagara (6-11, 4-2), who shot 67% from the field in the second half, hung around and claimed their first lead in the final minute at 70-68 on a Raheem Solomon basket.

Following a missed three on the ensuing possession which would have given the Saints the lead, reserve Shandon Brown scored his first points of the afternoon with a pair of clinching free throws for the Purple Eagles who shot 18-23 (78%) from the charity stripe. Niagara entered the day ranked 20^th nationally in free throw percentage. Jordan King hit a three with nine-tenths of a second remaining to provide the final margin.

Reserve Greg Kuakumensah scored all 17 of his points in the second half on 8-9 shooting in the stanza for the Purple Eagles who have won three straight by a total of four points. Solomon added 16 points and Marcus Hammond contributed 12 for Niagara who shot an even 50% overall from the floor.

Elijah Burns scored 13 points and Jalen Pickett contributed 12 points and seven assists for Siena who also shot an even 50% from the field. Freshman Kyle Young added a key performance off the bench with season-highs of nine points and eight rebounds.

The Saints scored the first nine points, made eight of their first 10 shots, and opened as large as a 27-16 lead with 8:40 remaining in an impressive start to the first half. Siena shot 56% overall in the stanza to take a 36-30 lead into the locker room.

The Saints led by as many as 10 points early in the second half, but couldn't put the Purple Eagles away. A 9-1 spurt drew Niagara even for the first time at 52-all with 11:16 to play, however Siena responded to rebuild back as much as a seven-point advantage at 61-54 with 6:59 remaining. But Niagara was unrelenting, rallying to tie twice in the final two-and-a-half minutes on Kuakumensah layups.

Siena returns to the Capital Region where the Saints will play six of their next eight games within the friendly confines of the Times Union Center. Siena returns to action Friday to host I-87 rival Marist in the "Gold Rush" game at 7 p.m.