NU Packs For Eight Straight Trips

Coming off of a dramatic comeback win over Mount St. Mary’s, Niagara will head to Detroit for its final three games in the Legends Classic. The Purple Eagles will face Bowling Green on Friday at 5 p.m., Albany on Saturday at 5 p.m. and Detroit at Sunday at 5:30 p.m.

Niagara rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to pull out a 65-63 win over Mount St. Mary’s in its previous game for its first win of the season. NU was powered by four freshmen and a stifling defense in the final minutes. The Purple Eagles improved their record to a 7-1 at the Gallagher Center in the month of November since the 2007-08 season.

The Purple Eagles will now focus their attention on the Legends Classic where they are a combined 11-6 versus Bowling Green, Albany and Detroit. Niagara has won at least two games in in-season tournaments since the 2007-08 season, including two tournament titles.

Ready for Action

s Niagara is 10-5 participating in in-season tournaments in the past four seasons.

s Niagara will begin its eight-game road trip with three games in the Legends Classic. The Purple Eagles’ road trip will include MAAC games (Marist, Iona) and rivalry trips (UB and St. Bonaventure). Niagara’s next home game will be on Dec. 22.

s Junior forward Kashief Edwards, who scored a career-high 22 points in the season opener, set a new career-high of 10 rebounds versus MSM. Edwards ranks second in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (3.3) and seventh in total rebounds per game (7.3).  

s The freshmen quadruplet of Malcolm Lemmons, Antoine Mason, Skylar Jones and Marvin Jordan are accounting for 66 percent of the scoring.  

s Mason has scored 50 points in his first three collegiate games. Mason set a new career-high with 20 points and five rebounds in the loss at Georgia Tech. He is fifth in the conference in scoring (16.7 ppg) and leads all freshmen in that category.

s Sophomore Kevon Moore had a career-night as a Purple Eagle with 11 points and seven rebounds in the win versus MSM.

s Jones (7-for-7) leads the conference in free throw percentage.

How To Tune In

Fans can listen live to all of the action, called by “The Voice of the Purple Eagles” Todd Callen, free through Yahoo! Sports live web-streaming and on WWKB 1520 AM.

Last Time Out

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - A furious second half rally by Niagara handed the Purple Eagles a 65-63 victory over the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers for their first win of the season at Monday night inside of the Gallagher Center. Four Purple Eagles scored in double-figures, led by a career-high 14 points from freshman guard Marvin Jordan.

Legends Classic

Niagara will be participating in the 2010 Legends Classic this season. Some of the teams in the fourth edition of the tournament are Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Michigan and UTEP.

In its first game in the classic, Niagara fell at Georgia Tech in its first-ever meeting with the Yellow Jackets.

The Purple Eagles, who are in the Detroit Subregional, will also face Bowling Green, Albany and Detroit over Thanksgiving weekend.

On The Court

Bowling Green Falcons (1-3)

Bowling Green is averaging 59.2 ppg while giving up 67.0 ppg. Junior forward Scott Thomas averages a team-high 11.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 30.5 minutes per game, and is second on the team with 11 rebounds.  Redshirt sophomore forward A’uston Calhoun is second on the team in scoring with 10.3 ppg.  Senior guard Joe Jakubowski leads the lead with 13 assists this year. 

Against the Falcons (NU leads 5-3)

Albany Great Danes (1-4)

The Great Danes are averaging 57.0 ppg and giving up 61.5 ppg. They have been outscored 146-117 in the first half of games so far this year. Sophomore guard Logan Aronhalt leads the team with 16.3 ppg and 5.3 rbg. Senior guard Tim Ambrose is second on the team with 15.5 ppg, and leads the team with 3.5 apg and a .471 3 point percentage. 

Against the Great Danes (NU leads 2-0)

Detroit Titans (1-3)

Junior Eli Holman leads the team in scoring with 14.5 ppg and in rebounding with 10.0 rbg.  Sophomore guard Jason Calliste is second on the team in scoring with 13.3 ppg in a team leading 34.0 mpg.  Freshman guard and coach’s son,  Ray McCallum, also averaging in double-digits with 11.3 ppg and a team leading 10 assists. 

Against the Titans (NU leads 4-3) In-Season Tourneys

The Purple Eagles have enjoyed playing in in-season tournaments in recent seasons. NU is 10-5 during these tournaments in the past four seasons. The Purple Eagles went 2-2 in last season’s Glenn Wilkes Classic. NU has brought back some hardware to Monteagle Ridge. In 2007, Niagara went 2-0 to win the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara, Calif. and in 2008 the Purple Eagles won the Philly Hoop Classic.

Racking Up The Miles

Niagara will embark on an eight-game road trip starting with three contests in Detroit in the Legends Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. The Purple Eagles will travel to play Marist and Iona to start their conference slate in the following week. NU will then have Big 4 matchups at UB (Dec. 7) and SBU (Dec. 11) before playing at Central Connecticut State on Dec. 19.