DAYTON, Ohio -- Clif Brown caught fire from beyond the arc and Charron Fisher continued to be Niagara's key component as the Purple Eagles earned a date with Kansas after besting Florida A&M 77-69 in the opening-round contest of the NCAA tournament.

The Purple Eagles (23-11) improved to 21-5 with Fisher in the lineup, winning their 12th straight overall and advancing to a first-round contest in the West region Friday against the top-seeded Jayhawks.

Brown drained 6-of-11 from beyond the arc and Fisher grabbed eight rebounds in the win.

Darius Glover led the Rattlers with 15 points and three players, led by Leslie Robinson, had 10 points. Brian Greene and Rome Sanders scored 10 each in the loss.

Florida A&M (21-14) also entered the game winning seven of its past eight games and had extra motivation on Tuesday night. Six team members came to the small Florida university from Illinois, and a victory would have sent the contingent to the West region for a homecoming against Kansas.

The homecoming was pushed aside by the determined, streaking Purple Eagles, who used big games by Brown and Fisher to advance.

Niagara jumped out to a 12-2 lead behind the scoring punch provided by Fisher, who scored seven of the club's first nine points, including a three-pointer from the top of the circle.

The Rattlers slowly crawled back into the contest by controlling the tempo and holding onto the basketball, committing just three first-half turnovers. A 13-6 stretch cut the deficit to 26-24 with about five minutes remaining.

Robinson's three-pointer capped the stretch. He then buried another deep jumper to give the Rattlers a 31-29 advantage with just under three minutes remaining.

The Purple Eagles finished the half strong, reeling off the final six points to claim a 35-31 lead after the first 20 minutes.

Brown buried two three-pointers early in the second half, his second from the right corner gave the Purple Eagles a 49-39 lead around the 14-minute mark.

Florida A&M countered every Purple Eagle surge, but another Brown three followed by a Lorenzo Miles jumper opened a 61-51 edge with approximately eight minutes to play.

The Rattlers drew within six in the final three minutes, but Joe Ballard missed a pair of free throws, and the Purple Eagles held on to advance.

Free throws killed the Rattlers, as they missed 10-of-12 at one point before draining two free shots with 1:22 on the clock.