Campus Watch

FINAL: Niagara 76-69. Story on Web momentarily.

Benn makes both

9.0: Niagara 72-69. Benn going to line after Drexel misses trey.

17.8: Niagara turnover on inbounds. Drexel ball underneath Niagara hoop.

5.2: Niagara, 70-66. Garrison makes one of two. Jamie Harris drives for bucket for Dragons.

57.6: Niagara, 69-64. Garrison hits one of two. Eagles two for last six at the line.

1:17: Niagara, 68-64. Drexel nails 3 after Edwards misses two.

1:33: Niagara, 68-61. Edwards at the line for two. Attendance: 2261.

2:52 2nd: Niagara, 67-59. Big baskets by Cooley (a trey) and Edwards (inside from Garrison). Benn has 17 to this point, Garrison 14.

7:50 2nd: Niagara, 60-51. Sophomore G Austin Cooley strikes from three, Benn converts a 10-foot banker after retrieving his own miss and Niagara restores some breathing room. Dragons had closed within 55-51.

11:50, Niagara 51-46: Dramatic reversal. Shannon Givens scores five as Dragons unleash 10-2 run. Drexel much more patient at the offensive end in an effort to change tempo, and it's working. Purple Eagles out of synch. Might want to consider shifting Garrison back to point since it was flowing so well with him there.

15:19 2nd: Niagara, 47-36. Sloppy start to half on both sides. Niagara without a FG since Benn opened the half with a trey. Nelson at the line to shoot a pair.

Halftime: Niagara, 42-30: Purple Eagles negated Drexel's size advantage with a blistering pace. Rob Garrison looked like Calvin Murphy, who was seated courtside. Niagara comes in waves. First Garrison catches fire. Then it's Demetrius Williamson. Then Bilal Benn. And all this with PG Anthony Nelson on the bench most of the half with two fouls. Niagara basketball's the best entertainment value on the WNY sports scene.

Halftime stats: Garrison 12, Benn and Williamson 8 apiece. Benn nine boards as Eagles hold 27-21 advantage. Guard Gerald Colds has 10 for Drexel and is the only player with more than five. Niagara 15-35 from the field, 4-11 three. Drexel 11-35, 2-7.

2:29: Niagara, 38-28:This is an offensively gifted team. Bilal Benn starts to heat up, Edwards nails a 15-footer and suddenly Niagara's up 10. They score in blinks.

5:04 1st: Niagara, 28-26. Another three for Williamson. G Gerald Colds has last five for Dragons. This game has no need for a shot clock.

7:44: Niagara, 23-18. Garrison simply taking over the game with Niagara in foul trouble at the guard position. Clean sweeping steal of Chris Fouch on the break sets up Demetrius Williamson three. It's a 17-3 run with the Niagara Falls native's fingerprints all over it.

9:07: Niagara 20-17: Garrison from 3. He's sizzling. That's 10 for him in about 4 minutes.

10:51: Drexel 17-15: Rob Garrison goes off for Niagara, scoring seven of nine as Eagles work back from  15-6 deficit. Cooley picks up second foul along way. That's Nelson with two, Cooley with two and Lewis in street clothes.

:44 1st: Drexel 9, Niagara 6: Frenetic pace. Both teams pushing it hard. Drexel taking advantage of its height advantage with three baskets on the inside. Kashief Edwards has four of Niagara's six.

5 minutes to tip: Funny. You can't get college kids up for an 8 a.m. class, but put a basketball game on ESPN at 8 a.m. and they're pumped. Great atmosphere. The regulars have poured in as well.

This is a first for me -- an 8 a.m. tipoff on a Tuesday morning, part of ESPN's 24 hours of basketball. Kind of neat, actually, although we're 30 minutes from the start and the house is empty save the student section.

Tyrone Lewis is in street clothes for Niagara. He played only nine minutes against Auburn Friday night before suffering a foot injury. It's not a sprain, more like a bruise, and they're listing him as day to day. That'll mean more minutes for sophomore Austin Cooley, who had six points and four boards in 25 minutes at Auburn.

Drexel dropped its opener at Saint Joseph's, 77-67, in OT. The Dragons put three players in double figuresin that game, led by guard Jamie Harris with 20 points.

-- Bob DiCesare