Baron, Canisius top Niagara 71-65

Updated: Feb 14, 2014, 11:56 pm

LEWISTON, N.Y. -- Billy Baron scored 34 points and Canisius rallied in the second half to edge Niagara 71-65 Friday night.

With the game tied at 63, Chris Perez drove the lane and finished with 57 seconds to play for a 65-63 Canisius lead. Antoine Mason missed a 3 with 40 seconds remaining, and Baron closed the game by making 6 of 6 from the line to preserve the win.

Down 37-32 at half, Canisius (17-9, 11-4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) fell behind by as many as 11 before a 9-0 run tied the game at 52 with 9:38 left. Perez added 17 points for Canisius.

The game featured two of the nation's top-five scorers as Mason entered the game first nationally at 26.3 points per game and Baron fifth at 23.6.

Mason scored 17 for Niagara (6-20, 3-12). Marcus Ware had 13 points and 12 rebounds while Wesley Myers added 10 points.