ALBANY - It's what we pretty much expected, a back and forth shootout between the two top teams in the conference.

Alex Franklin was a beast early, scoring nine early points and basically being all over the place.

Tyrone Lewis kept Niagara in the game with 12 points and three 3-pointers.

The Saints opened up a seven-point lead with 3:22 to go in the half, but the Purple Eagles quickly scored eight straight to take a one-point advantage themselves.

Edwin Ubiles came off the bench with 12:33 to go, after not starting because of a coaches decision, and got going offensively, finishing the half with 10 points.

*****

The Saints played a terrific second half and pulled away for an easy 18-point victory.

The Purple Eagles shot just 23 percent (8-34) in the second half.

Ubiles finished with a game-high 25 points, while Downey and O.D. Anosike gave great contributions.