Loyola's second-half comeback fell short today as Niagara held on for an 86-77 victory at Reitz Arena. Six Purple Eagles scored at least nine points, including four in double figures.

The Greyhounds (10-12, 3-9 MAAAC) started their rally on three-pointers by Garret Kelly and Brett Harvey to cut the lead to 51-38. Brian Rudolph then took a steal down the court for a fastbreak layup and cut the lead to 11.

Niagara (12-12, 5-7 MAAC) missed on the two possessions but finally got a basket in at 12:24 with a layup by Tyrone Lewis on the fastbreak. But Jawaan Wright laid one in on Loyola's next possession to make it 53-42. Shane Walker's two free throws then trimmed the lead to nine.

After Rob Garrison made one of two at the line, Julius Brooks dunked off an offensive rebound. Harvey continued the rally with a reverse layup after Bilal Benn missed a jumper from midrange.

Walker had Loyola down by seven with 6:17 to go but Niagara extended the lead back up to 10. After trading free-throws back and forth, Niagara put up eight more points to thwart the comeback effort.

Harvey led Loyola with 18 points while J'Hared Hall added 14. Brian Rudolph finished with 15 points and a game-high four assists. Freshman Brooks scored a career-high 10 points and matched his career-best eight boards.

Niagara shot 47.1 percent from the field while the 'Hounds struggled with consistency, shooting just 35.2 percent. Niagara was led by Demetrius Williamson's 20 points. Benn finished with 17 and led on the boards with nine.