Game Notes | WatchESPN | Live Audio | Live Stats

Game 3
Niagara Purple Eagles (0-2, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Hartford Hawks (0-1, 0-0 AE)
Tuesday, November 15 – 6:30 a.m.
Chase Arena – University of Hartford
TV: ESPN2 – Jason Benetti and Tim Welsh
Radio: AM 1400 WWWS – Todd Callen
Internet : Niagara Sports Network
 
The Niagara University Purple Eagles will face the Hartford Hawks on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. as part of the ninth annual ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon.
 
Scene Setter
•  The all-time series between the programs is tied at 7-7. The teams met as members of the ECAC North Atlantic Division from 1984-89.
•  After winning three straight in the series from 2008-12, Niagara has been edged in the last two meetings.
•  Hartford rallied to spoil Niagara's 2014-15 home opener to come away with a 65-62 win. In last season's meeting, the Purple Eagles trimmed a 21-point second half deficit to two points before falling 77-73.
   
Tipoff Tidbits
•  NU started its three-game road trip with an 88-79 defeat to the Brown Bears on Sunday.
•  Kahlil Dukes and Matt Scott are both averaging in double figures scoring. Dukes leads the team with 14.5 points per game and is shooting 50 percent (12-for-24) from the field. Scott is averaging 13.0 ppg, 4.0 rebounds per game and leads the team with 4.0 assists per game.
•  Freshman James Towns is third on the team in scoring at 9.5 per game and scored 10 points in his first career start at Brown.
•  Dominic Robb has had two blocks in each of the first two games. Robb led Niagara with 1.1 blocks per game last season.
•  The Purple Eagles had 10 steals in the season opener; NU had three 10-plus steals games last season.
 
ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon
 • ESPN's ninth annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon will feature 13 men's and women's college basketball games beginning on Monday, Nov. 14, and continuing Tuesday, Nov. 15, across ESPN and ESPN2, bringing more than 24 hours of game action to mark the start of the 2016-17 season.
•  This will be the second time Niagara has participated in the ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. The Purple Eagles opened their 2009-10 home schedule with a 76-69 win against Drexel, which tipped at 8 a.m. on ESPN2.
 
Hartford Homecoming
•  Kahlil Dukes is a native of Hartford, Connecticut.
•  Before playing two seasons at USC, Dukes was a prolific scorer in high school playing at Capital Prep Magnet School in Hartford, Conn.
•  He finished his four-year career with 2,228 points to become the 17th player in Connecticut high school history to score more than 2,000 points.
 
On The Court
Hartford Hawks (0-1, 0-0 America East)
•  Hartford lost its season opener on the road to Central Connecticut State, 75-60, on Nov. 11. Jalen Ross led the Hawks in scoring with 18 points, followed by Jason Dunne with 13 points.
•  The Hawks, who went 10-23 overall and finished seventh in the America East last season, were picked 8th out of nine teams in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.
   
Against the Hawks (Series Tied at 7-7)
•  The Purple Eagles have won the last three of the last five meetings against the Hawks.
•  After winning three straight in the series, the Purple Eagles have lost the last two meetings.
•  Niagara has only won one of the previous five trips to Hartford. 
 
Last Meeting – November 24, 2015
Niagara 73, Hartford 77
 
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Niagara Purple Eagles nearly pulled off another miraculous comeback before falling to the Hartford Hawks, 77-73, on Tuesday in the final game of their three-game road trip.
 

The Series	Series tied at 7-7
Last Game	November 24, 2015
	Niagara 73, Hartford 77
Last Niagara win	December 12, 2012
	Niagara 75, Hartford 59
Last Hartford win	November 24, 2015
	Niagara 73, Hartford 77
Last Niagara win at Hartford	December 11, 2011
	Niagara 79, Hartford 76
Last Hartford win at Hartford	November 24, 2015
	Niagara 73, Hartford 77
Current streak	Hartford, W2
Coach Casey vs. Hartford	0-2