NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Niagara University athletics department announced today the first of three men’s basketball All-Centry Teams.

Making up the "Gallagher Team" were Al Butler, Larry Costello, Alex "Boo" Ellis, Ed Fleming and Zeke Sinacola.

The other two All-Century Teams, the "Classic Team" and the "Modern Team" will be announced during the men's basketball games vs. Iona and Rider on Jan. 27 and Jan. 29.

The All-Century Teams are part of the men's basketball "100 Years of Men's Basketball Excellance" celebration.

Al Butler

1958-61 n Rochester, N.Y.

n Left Niagara with the best career scoring average (22.8 ppg), a mark that has been surpassed only by Calvin Murphy.

n He tied the Student Center record with 34 points. He would break that record later in the season with 49 points.

n As a senior, led Niagara charge at the Olean Armory when Niagara ended the St. Bonaventure home court win streak at 99 with an 87-77 upset win. n Following his career, Butler was a second-round choice of the Boston Celtics. He played four seasons in the NBA with Boston, New York and Baltimore.

Larry Costello

1950-54 n Minoa, N.Y.

n Finished his career as the all-time leading scorer with 1,275 points in just three seasons.

n Two-time All-Ameria selection

n Named to the 1953 and 1954 National Invitation Tournament All-Star teams.

n Played 69 minutes in the longest college basketball game in history, Niagara’s six overtime game against Siena.

n Drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors and played two seasons. He then played 11 years with the Syracuse Nationals, five in Syracuse and the last six in Philadelphia as a 76er. In 1967, the 76ers won the NBA Finals. He retired in 1968.

n The six-time NBA All-Star was a member of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.

Emilio J. (Zeke) Sinacola

1948-51 n New York City, N.Y.

n Became the first Niagara player to pass the 1,000-career point mark, finishing his career with 1,188 points to set a Western New York scoring record.

n After his sophomore season, he was selected as the outstanding visiting player to appear at Madison Square Garden during the 1948-49 campaign after leading Niagara to a 66-64 win over C.C.N.Y. Sinacola hit the game-winning shot with 23 seconds to play in overtime.

n The Fort Wayne Pistons selected him in the 1951 NBA draft, where he played until 1953-54.

Ed Fleming

1951-55 n Pittsburgh, Pa.

n Left Niagara as its all-time leading scorer and still ranks fifth on the career scoring list.

n Helped Niagara to an amazing 66-18 record over his three years, and earned three-straight NIT bids and retired the Flight Memorial Trophy by winning the Little Three title for three-straight years.

n As a sophomore, the 6-2 guard played all 70 minutes of Niagara’s 88-81 six-overtime win vs. Siena. He changed his number to 70 for his final two seasons.

n When he graduated, Fleming held the Niagara career records for points (1,682), field goals (605), free throws (472) and rebounds (975).

n He was selected in the third round of the 1955 NBA draft by Rochester and played six seasons in the NBA.

Alex (Boo) Ellis

1955-58 n Hamilton, Ohio

n Left Monteagle Ridge first in career rebounds with 1,533 and second in scoring with 1,656 points.

n Remains the rebounding record holder and currently ranks sixth in scoring.

n The 6-5 center averaged 20.9 points and 19.4 rebounds per game during his three-year career.

n Set the Niagara single-season rebounding mark as a sophomore with 485, broke it as a junior with 522 and again as a senior when he led the nation with 526 rebounds.

n Set the Niagara single-game record during his junior year when he grabbed 31 boards

n During his junior year, he set both the Niagara single-season scoring (631) and rebounding (522) records.

n As a senior, he was selected as the Western New York Athlete of the Year. He was also the MVP of the All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City.