Game 20 Notes
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22020-210 2 0 - 2 1 NNIAGARAI A G A R A UUNIVERSITYN I V E R S I T Y MMEN’SE N ’ S BBASKETBALLA S K E T B A L L GAMEG A M E NOTESN O T E S 3 NNCAACAA TTOURNAMENTOURNAMENT APPEARANCESAPPEARANCES • 1144 NNITIT AAPPEARANCESPPEARANCES • 2 MMAACAAC TTOURNAMENTOURNAMENT TITLESTITLES • 2 NNAISMITHAISMITH MMEMORIALEMORIAL HALLHALL OFOF FAMERSFAMERS SCHEDULE NO. 5 NIAGARA PURPLE EAGLES (9-10; 7-9 MAAC) DECEMBER (3-3) VS. NO. 9 IONA GAELS (10-5, 6-3 MAAC) Thu 3 at Syracuse^# L, 75-45 Fri 11 at Saint Peter’s*# L, 70-54 MARCH 12 - 5:30 PM • JIM WHELAN BOARDWALK HALL (10,500) • ATLANTIC CITY, NJ Sat 12 at Saint Peter’s*# L, 53-49 SERIES RECORD - IONA LEADS 48-39 • RECENT STREAK - NIAGARA W2 FRI 18 FAIRFIELD*# W, 68-51 SAT 19 FAIRFIELD*# W, 81-61 BROADCAST: ESPNews STREAM: WatchESPN RADIO: 107.3 FM/AM 1400 Tue 22 at Albany^# W, 70-65 NIAGARA FACES IONA IN MAAC SEMIFINALS FRIDAY JANUARY (4-6) PURPLE EAGLES ARE 5-2 VERSUS IONA AT THE MAAC CHAMPIONSHIPS Fri 1 at Marist*^# L, 63-61 Sat 2 at Marist*^# W, 86-72 The No. 5 seed Niagara Purple Eagles will play the four-time defending MAAC Champions FRI 8 RIDER*^# L, 76-70 the No. 9 seed Iona Gaels in the 2021 Hercules Tires Men’s Basketball Championship Semifi nals SAT 9 RIDER*^# W, 66-55 Fri 15 at Manhattan*^# L, 58-49 at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. on Friday, March 12 at 6 p.m. Sat 16 at Manhattan*^# L, 58-55 Fri 22 at Quinnipiac*^# W, 59-56 SCENE SETTER Sat 23 at Quinnipiac*^# L, 78-69 • Niagara advanced to the semifi nals after beating the fourth-seeded Marist Red Foxes, 67-62, FRI 29 MONMOUTH*^# L, 77-67 SAT 30 MONMOUTH*^# W, 83-74 in the rubber match. The Purple Eagles, who eliminated the Red Foxes in the MAAC Cham- pionship First Round last season, led by as much as 19 points in the second half. FEBRUARY (1-1) • The Purple Eagles and Gaels will meet for the fi rst time this season as their series was dis- SAT 20 SIENA*# W, 64-62 rupted due to schedule changes throughout the MAAC from COVID-19 protocols. SUN 21 SIENA*# L, 68-66 • Niagara has won four of the last fi ve encounters, including winning both games last season MARCH (1-0) to sweep the series for the fi rst time since the 2007-08 season. Thu. 11 vs. No. 4 Marist@^# W, 67-62 • Niagara is 5-2 against Iona at the MAAC Championships, including a 1-1 record in the semi- Fri. 12 vs. No. 9 Iona@^# 5:30 PM ________________________________________________ fi nals. Niagara defeated Iona in the 2005 semifi nals en route to winning the championship. Home Games are in BOLD CAPS • The Purple Eagles are playing in the MAAC Championship Semifi nals for the fi rst time since Neutral Games are in italics All times listed in Eastern Standard 2013, where they were fell to the Iona Gaels, 79-73, as the No. 1 seed. • Niagara is 6-8 all-time in the semifi nal round. * MAAC ~ Exhibition @ MAAC Championships ^ AM 1400 WWWS $ WGR 550 AM # ESPN Networks TIPOFF TIDBITS • The Purple Eagles lead the MAAC and rank SIXTH in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (9.9). Niagara leads the conference in turnover margin (3.1), and in assist-to-turnover NIAGARA VS. 2020-21 OPPONENTS ratio (1.1). Opponent W L • Kobi Nwandu was named the Tropicana Atlantic City Player of the Game in the win over Syracuse .............................................. 28 .......55 Marist in the quarterfi nals. He fi nished with 15 points, fi ve rebounds, swatted a game-high three Saint Peter’s ........................................ 52 .......38 shots, had two assists, and two steals. Fairfi eld ...............................................45 .......35 • Marcus Hammond and Kobi Nwandu were selected to the 2020-21 All-MAAC Second Team. Albany ...................................................4 ......... 4 • Kobi Nwandu leads the Purple Eagles and is fourth in the MAAC in scoring at 14.5 points Marist .................................................. 31 .......24 per game. Nwandu has scored in double fi gures in 17 games, including the last seven games. Rider .................................................... 24 .......28 • Kobi Nwandu ranks fourth in the MAAC in fi eld goal percentage (.443). Manhattan........................................... 33 .......58 • Kobi Nwandu and Marcus Hammond fi nished the regular season fi fth and ninth, respectively, Quinnipiac ............................................8 ........12 in the MAAC in scoring. Nwandu and Hammond were the only duo in the top-10. Monmouth ...........................................6 ........12 Siena .................................................... 50 .......55 • Raheem Solomon has scored in double fi gures in four career meetings with Iona with an Canisius .............................................. 107 ......82 average of 15.3 points per game. TOTAL ...................................... 427 .... 451 • In three conference tournament games, Raheem Solomon is averaging 18.3 points including scoring in double fi gures in all three games while also averaging 4.3 rebounds. • Marcus Hammond posted two 20-point games against Iona last season. He netted a team- high 20 points on January 12 and a team-high 27 points, including the buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send the game into overtime on February 29. • Greg Paulus is the fi rst coach in program history to win his fi rst two games at the MAAC Championship. Niagara Head Coach ........................................................Greg Paulus Purple Eagle Probables Gael Probables Career Record ........................................................ 21-30/2nd Season Record at Niagara .........................................................................Same # Name Pos. 20-21 Season Stats # Name Pos. 20-21 Season Stats Record vs. Iona .................................................................................2-0 0 Roberts .................G ................7.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg 2 Gist ....................... G ..............12.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg Record in MAAC Tournament ...................................................... 2-0 10 Hammond^ ......... G ..............12.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg 20 Ross!...................... G ..............19.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg Iona Head Coach ............................................................... Rick Pitino 15 Kuakumensah.......F .................6.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg 11 Koroma .................F .................2.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg Career Record ..................................................657-273/32nd Season 1 Nwandu^ ..............F ...............14.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg 00 JeanLouis ...............F .................8.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg Record at Iona ...........................................................10-5/1st Season Record vs. Niagara ...........................................................................0-2 34 Kratholm ...............F .................5.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg 23 Jr. Joseph@ ...........F ...............11.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg Record in MAAC Tournament ...................................................... 2-0 ^All-MAAC Second Team ! All-MAAC First Team @All-MAAC Rookie Team MEN’S BASKETBALL CONTACT: DERICK THORNTON EMAIL: [email protected] OFFICE: 716-286-8588 CELL: 850-529-0395 2020-21 NIAGARA UNIVERSITY MEN’S BASKETBALL NIAGARA QUICK FACTS On The Court Location .......................Niagara University, N.Y. Iona Gaels (10-5, 6-3 MAAC) Founded ......................................................... 1856 • The Gaels, who had the second highest winning percentage, are the ninth seed in the Enrollment ................................................... 3,950 conference tournament as they won six of their nine league games. Nickname ...................................... Purple Eagles • Iona defeated eighth-seeded Quinnipiac, 72-48, in the fi rst round before dispatching No. Colors ......................Purple (PMS 268) & White 1 seed Siena, 55-52, in the quarterfi nals. Affi liation................................ NCAA Division I • Isaiah Ross earned All-MAAC First Team honors while Nelly Junior Joseph collected Conference ....................Metro Atlantic Athletic President ....................Rev. James J. Maher, C.M. MAAC All-Rookie and MAAC Rookie of the Year awards. Director of Athletics .......................Simon Gray • Iona leads the MAAC in assists per game, free throw percentage, rebounds per game, Faculty Athletics Rep ............Dr. John Stranges 3-pointers, and scoring margin. Athletic Department Phone ........716-286-8600 Against The Gaels (Iona Leads 48-39) First Year ..................................................1905-06 • Niagara has won four of the last fi ve meetings versus Iona, including sweeping the series last All-time Record .............................1,490-1,273-1 season, after dropping nine of the previous 10 in the series. Arena .............................‘Taps’ Gallagher Center • The Purple Eagles are looking to win three straight in the series for the fi rst time since winning Court ........................Frank and Barbara Layden four straight from December 2006 to February 2008. Capacity ........................................................ 2,100 Year Opened .................................................1949 Record .......................................................451-211 Last Meeting - February 29, 2020 MAAC Record .........................................275-276 Niagara 100, Iona 91 (overtime) ATHLETICS MISSION STATEMENT NIAGARA UNIV, N.Y. – The Niagara Purple Eagles pulled off a miraculous rally in the We provide an environment that inspires fi nal 35 seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime en route to defeating the Iona the holistic development of student-ath-