NIAGARA FALLS — Marvin Jordan walked into the postgame press conference clutching the game ball as if a microphone might try and poke it away.

“Were you awarded that?” someone asked, “or did you take it?”

“I took it,” Jordan said.

He earned it.

Starting in place of senior star Anthony Nelson for the third game in a row Monday, Jordan scored 14 points and played a floor game that few freshmen are capable of to lead the Niagara Purple Eagles to their first win of the season.

After trailing by as many as 12 points early on, Niagara (1-2) turned up the defensive pressure in the second half and came back to beat Mount St. Mary’s 65-63 in front of 1,518 at the Gallagher Center.

Jordan scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half. He hit two free throws to give Niagara its first lead since the opening minute, 59-58, with 5:45 left and curled around a screen for an 18-footer that put the Purple Eagles up 63-60 with 3:40 left.

Kashief Edwards’ tip-in with 2:28 left made it 65-61, but a pair of free throws from Shawn Atupem brought Mount St. Mary’s within one possession with two minutes left to play. The Purple Eagles couldn’t get off a good shot in the closing minutes, but they made sure they didn’t allow one either. 

Mount St. Mary’s had the ball down two with 11.7 seconds left. Edwards, playing alongside four freshmen guards, switched onto The Mount’s best 3-point shooter, Julian Norfleet, and used his long arms to deter a potentially game-winning shot from going anywhere near the basket.

“It was a gutty win,” coach Joe Mihalich said. “We were down and out and these guys found a way to make it happen. That’s a Niagara quality for sure.”

Edwards played 39 minutes and though he struggled with his shot, going 4 of 15 for eight points, he grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and anchored a defensive effort that held Mount St. Mary’s to 30.8 percent shooting in the second half.

“We really turned up our energy and we locked in a lot more on our task,” Edwards said. “We did what we were supposed to do.”

Antoine Mason (12 points) and Skylar Jones (11 points) gave the Purple Eagles three freshman in double figures. Jones hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 53, then came back and converted a traditional 3-point play to even the score at 56 with seven minutes left.

“There were a lot of heroes tonight,” Mihalich said. “Skylar, certainly, is a big hero. He made some big shots and he was coming off a couple tough days of practice. I thought Kevon Moore made some big plays. He showed some signs of what we’re going to need from him.”

Moore, the sophomore transfer who is settling into a sixth man role, contributed 11 points, seven rebounds, a block and a steal before fouling out. The other freshman, Malcolm Lemmons, had six points, four rebounds and two steals. Scooter Gillette had three points and three rebounds in 30 minutes. 

But the biggest hero was Jordan, who dished out three assists, but more impressively, played 31 minutes without turning the ball over.

Nelson has been day-to-day since Nov. 12, when he took a glancing blow to the face in practice. He took part in warmups Monday while wearing a protective mask and is considered probable to return after Thanksgiving when the Purple Eagles play three games in three days at the Legends Classic in Detroit. At that point, Jordan will return to the bench, but only until Nelson exhausts his eligibility. It’s clear that Mihalich has found his point guard of the future.

“He’s got what it takes,” Mihalich said. “He’s got heart.”

Jordan wound up at Niagara only after Ball State backed out of its scholarship commitment in the middle of the summer. Mihalich said Jordan made the hard-working basketball people in his hometown of Peoria, Ill., proud with his performance Monday.

“Being here,” Jordan said, “it feels like home to me.”

 Contact reporter Jonah Bronstein at 282-2311, ext. 2258.