Niagara 91, St. Peter's 80

LEWISTON, N.Y. (AP) Alvin Cruz scored a career-high 26 points to lead Niagara to a 91-80 win over St. Peter's Thursday night.

Cruz went 8-for-12, including six 3-pointers, and dished out seven assists.

Juan Mendez added 19 points, while J.R. Duffey and James Mathis each scored 13 for the Purple Eagles (8-4, 3-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference).

St. Peter's (5-7, 1-3) led 48-39 at halftime before Lorenzo Miles' 3-pointer capped a 14-3 run that gave Niagara the lead.

Niagara blew the game open with another 14-point run in the final five minutes.

Corey Hinnant led all scorers with 28 points for St. Peter's. Ron Yates added 19.

Mendez, challenging Canisius' Michael Meeks to become the career scoring leader among Canadian-born NCAA Division I players, now needs only 19 points to set the record.