Niagara 92, Loyola, Md. 87

2/10/2008 6:00 PM

BALTIMORE (AP) -Charron Fisher scored a career-high 45 points, Stanley Hodge added 20 and Niagara beat Loyola for the second time in six days, 92-87, on Sunday.

Niagara (15-8, 9-5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) moved into a third-place tie with Loyola and the Purple Eagles have won four of their past six conference games. After trailing most of the game, the Greyhounds (14-12, 9-5) tied the game at 81 with 3:07 left, but Niagara went on a 11-6 run to seal the win.

Gerald Brown scored 29 points, Brett Harvey added 20 and Brian Rudolph scored 14 for the Greyhounds. Tyron Lewis scored 17 for Niagara.

Fisher, who leads the nation in scoring by averaging 26.8 points per game, scored 11 points in the game's opening eight minutes and the Greyhounds could not find a way to contain him the rest of the way. Fisher scored 25 points in the first half and the Purple Eagles shot 20-for-29 (69 percent) for a 55-43 lead at halftime.

The Greyhounds opened the second half on a 16-3 run and took the lead, 59-58, with 15:40 left in the game on a layup by Michael Tuck. The teams traded baskets until the Purple Eagles opened an 80-72 lead with 6:40 left in the game and never trailed again. Niagara then made six of eight free throws in the final 41 seconds to close out the game.