2018-19 NIAGARA UNIVERSITY MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES 3 NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES • 14 NIT APPEARANCES • 2 MAAC TOURNAMENT TITLES • 2 NAISMITH MEMORIAL HALL OF FAMERS SCHEDULE NIAGARA PURPLE EAGLES (10-11; 3-5 MAAC) NOVEMBER (2-4) VS. CANISIUS GOLDEN GRIFFINS (8-11; 5-2 MAAC) MON. 5 MERCYHURST~ W, 85-73 MON. 12 ST. BONAVENTURE^ W, 80-72 JANUARY 30 - 7 PM • GALLAGHER CENTER (2,100) • NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY Wed. 14 at Loyola Chicago$@ L, 75-62 SERIES RECORD - NIAGARA LEADS 104-81 • RECENT STREAK - CANISIUS W1 Fri. 16 at Wyoming^@ W, 72-67 FRI. 23 GRAMBLING STATE^@ L, 74-68 BROADCAST: LCTV/NSN - Todd Callen RADIO: 107.3 FM/AM 1400 WWWS - Todd Callen AUDIO: Niagara Sports Network SAT. 24 ST. FRANCIS (NY)=@ L, 75-63 Fri. 30 at St. Francis (PA)^ L, 79-75 NIAGARA RENEWS RIVALRY WITH CANISIUS WEDNESDAY THE PURPLE EAGLES HAVE WON THREE OF THE LAST FOUR MEETINGS DECEMBER (5-2) Mon. 3 at Pittsburgh^ W, 71-70 The Niagara Purple Eagles host their longtime archrivals Canisius on Wednesday, January 30 SUN. 9 NEW HAMPSHIRE^ W, 71-67 at 7 p.m. in the first edition of the “Battle of the Bridge” of the season. SUN. 16 CORNELL^ W, 77-74 Wed. 19 at Cleveland State$ L, 82-60 Sat. 22 at Army$ W, 78-66 Scene Setter SAT. 29 NORFOLK STATE$ W, 83-75 • Niagara versus Canisius is the longest rivalry in the MAAC. Niagara has played Canisius more MON. 31 ALBANY^ L, 79-74 than any other program in a series that started during Niagara’s inaugural season (1905-06). JANUARY (3-5) • The Purple Eagles and Golden Griffins have split the last 20 meetings since the 2009-10 Sat. 5 at Manhattan^ L, 90-80 season with the Purple Eagles going 4-5 at home during that stretch. Mon. 7 at Fairfield^ L, 77-58 • Niagara had a three-game winning streak in the series prior to last season’s loss at home on FRI. 11 IONA^ W, 95-90 February 21, 2018. SUN. 13 RIDER^ L, 104-84 Thur. 17 at Siena$ L, 66-57 • The Purple Eagles have been an offensive juggernaut against the Golden Griffins, scoring Sat. 19 at Quinnipiac$ W, 75-72 an average of 95 points in the last five games. TUES. 22 SAINT PETER’S$ L, 74-72 SAT. 26 MONMOUTH$ W, 73-48 WED. 30 CANISIUS^ 7:00 PM Tipoff Tidbits • A dominant second half performance by the Purple Eagles led to a 27-point win over the FEBRUARY Monmouth Hawks on January 26 for their largest win in 10 seasons. SUN. 3 QUINNIPIAC^ 2:00 PM • Niagara shot a season-high 51.9 percent from the field and a season-high 58 percent from Fri. 8 at Marist$ 7:00 PM the 3-point line in the win at Quinnipiac on January 19. Sun. 10 at Iona^ 1:00 PM FRI. 15 MANHATTAN^ 7:00 PM • Marvin Prochet is averaging a career-high 17.8 points per game which are third in the MAAC SUN. 17 FAIRFIELD^ 2:00 PM and averaging 7.9 boards which are second in the MAAC. His career-high 47.1 percent from the Fri. 22 at Rider$ 7:00 PM 3-point line leads the league and ranks seventh in the nation. He is also shooting a career-high Sun. 24 at Saint Peter’s$ 2:00 PM 45.3 percent from the field. Wed. 27 at Canisius$ 7:30 PM • Marvin Prochet has scored at least 20 points in the last three games, including tying his MARCH career-high of 24 points in consecutive games (Quinnipiac and Saint Peter’s). In the win at SUN. 3 SIENA$ 2:00 PM Quinnipiac, Prochet shot a career-best 81.8 percent from the field, which is tied for league-high Thur. 7 MAAC Championships TBD ________________________________________________ this season. He tied his career-high in 3-pointers with six in consecutive games (Saint Peter’s Home Games are in BOLD CAPS and Monmouth). Neutral Games are in italics • Dominic Robb is 11 blocks away from tying Joe Arlauckas (‘87), who finished his career with All times listed in Eastern Standard 220 blocks, for most blocks in program history. * MAAC ~ Exhibition @Fort Myers Tip-Off # ESPN Networks + LCTV • Dominic Robb leads the MAAC in total blocks (53) and blocks per game (2.5) while ranking ^ AM 1400 WWWS $ WGR 550 AM = WBEN 930 AM eighth and 11th, respectively, in those categories nationally. • Chris Barton has averaged 15.7 points while shooting 78.9 percent (15-for-19) from the field in the last three games. Barton established a new career-high with a game-high 22 points, including 20 in the second half, versus Monmouth. • James Towns sits atop the MAAC in free throw percentage with a career-high 82.7 percent. Towns is also averaging career-high numbers in assists per game (4.0) and in assist/turnover ratio (1.67) which are both fifth and third, respectively, in the MAAC. • The Purple Eagles lead the MAAC in free throw percentage (.751). The program record is 76.5 percent set during the 1987-88 season. Niagara Head Coach ................................... Chris Casey Purple Eagle Probables Golden Griff Probables Career Record ..............................150-192/12th season # Name Pos. 18-19 Season Stats # Name Pos. 18-19 Season Stats Record at Niagara ............................61-121/6th season 5 Towns ................... G ............. 12.4 ppg, 4.0 apg 1 Johnson ................ G ................8.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg Record vs. Canisius .....................................................4-7 0 Barton ................... G ................6.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg 13 Reese ..................... G ..............12.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg Canisius Head Coach ...................Reggie Witherspoon 2 Tate ....................... G ................8.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg 15 Molson ................. G .............16.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg Career Record ..............................244-267/16th season 11 Prochet ..................F ...............17.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg 4 White .....................F .................4.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg Record at Canisius .............................46-39/3rd season 32 Robb ......................F ...............10.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg 21 Hitchon .................F .................7.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg Record vs. Niagara ......................................................9-8 MEN’S BASKETBALL CONTACT: DERICK THORNTON EMAIL: [email protected] OFFICE: 716-286-8588 PRESS ROW: 716-286-7345 2018-19 NIAGARA UNIVERSITY MEN’S BASKETBALL NIAGARA QUICK FACTS On The Court Location ....................... Niagara University, N.Y. Canisius Golden Griffins (8-11, 5-2 MAAC) Founded ......................................................... 1856 • Canisius enters Wednesday’s contest on a three-game winning streak after earning wins Enrollment ................................................... 4,025 against Quinnipiac, Fairfield and Monmouth. Nickname ...................................... Purple Eagles • Takal Molson, who leads the team in scoring (16.7 ppg), currently sits fifth in the MAAC. Colors ......................Purple (PMS 268) & White • Junior guard Isaiah Reese was named the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year on Oct. 23. Affiliation................................ NCAA Division I Reese was also named to the Preseason All-MAAC First Team and the Preseason All-Big 4 Conference ....................Metro Atlantic Athletic President ....................Rev. James J. Maher, C.M. First Team. Director of Athletics .......................Simon Gray Faculty Athletics Rep ............ Dr. John Stranges Against The Golden Griffins (Niagara Leads 104-81) Athletic Department Phone ........716-286-8600 • Niagara and Canisius split last season’s series with the road team winning each contest, which was the first time that outcome has occured since the 2014-15 season. First Year ..................................................1905-06 • Niagara’s 105 points scored at Canisius last season are the most the team has scored in the All-time Record .............................1,465-1,248-1 series since Feb. 16, 2005, a 113-101 win in the Gallagher Center. Arena .............................‘Taps’ Gallagher Center • Dating back to the 2015-16 season, six of the last seven games in the series have been Court ........................Frank and Barbara Layden decided by nine points or less. Capacity ........................................................ 2,100 Year Opened ................................................. 1949 Record .......................................................438-206 Last Meeting - February 21, 2018 MAAC Record .........................................258-254 Canisius 95, Niagara 88 ATHLETICS MISSION STATEMENT NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – In a matchup between the second and third place teams in the We provide an environment that inspires the MAAC, the Niagara Purple Eagles were edged by archrival Canisius, 95-88. holistic development of student-athletes, striving for excellence in all phases of their The Series .........................................................................................................Niagara leads 104-81 lives, while collectively serving as a source Last Game .............................................................................................................February 21, 2018 of pride for the campus and community. .......................................................................................................................Canisius 95, Niagara 88 The experience derived from the Depart- Last Niagara Win .....................................................................................................January 27, 2018 ment of Athletics, rooted in the Catholic and .....................................................................................................................Niagara 105, Canisius 89 Vincentian mission, helps fuel the power of Last Canisius Win .................................................................................................February