Niagara holds off Canisius 64-63

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- — Justice Smith scored at the basket with 49 seconds left to give Niagara a four-point lead and the Purple Eagles held on to earn a 64-63 win on Friday night.

Paul McMillan IV hit a 3 to get the Golden Griffins within a point with :38 left but Niagara's Justin Page missed two free throws with :06 left and McMillan missed a layup at the buzzer.

Jaeden Marshall score 18 points, shooting 6 of 10 from the field, including 1 for 5 from 3-point range, and went 5 for 6 from the line for the Purple Eagles (8-13, 3-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Jahari Williamson scored 16 points while going 5 of 7 from the floor, including 3 for 5 from 3-point range, and 3 for 3 from the line. Smith shot 5 of 9 from the field and 2 of 4 from the free-throw line to finish with 12 points. The Purple Eagles ended a five-game slide with the win.

McMillan finished with 27 points, four assists and three steals for the Golden Griffins (2-19, 2-8). Dylan Godfrey added 12 points for Canisius. Gianni Thompson had eight points.

These two teams both play Thursday. Niagara visits Merrimack and Canisius visits Quinnipiac.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.