Marvin Jordan scored 14 points and Niagara held on to defeat Mount St. Mary's (Md.) 65-63 on Monday night.
The Purple Eagles (1-2) survived Julian Norfleet's errant 3-point attempt at the buzzer. Two other shots in the final two minutes - a jumper by Shawn Atupem and a 3-point try by Josh Castellanos - could have given the Mountaineers (1-3) the lead, but missed the mark.
Niagara rallied from a 12-point first half deficit, and came out on top after five lead changes in the final seven minutes. The Purple Eagles took the lead for good on Scooter Gillette's free throws, and Jordan followed with a jumper to make it 63-60 with 3:40 left.
Lamar Trice had a chance to cut the deficit to one, but only made 1 of 2 free throws. When Kashief Edwards scored off an offensive rebound with 2:28 to play, Niagara had its biggest lead 65-61.
David Golladay led the Mountaineers with 16 points.
