NU Continues Road Trip With MAAC Opener

The Niagara Purple Eagles open their conference schedule on the road at the Marist Red Foxes on Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. The Purple Eagles are 9-3 in MAAC openers under head coach Joe Mihalich, including a 4-1 mark in road games.

The Purple Eagles have controlled the series over the past few seasons. Niagara has won four straight against the Red Foxes, which ties the longest win streak versus Marist, by an average of 18.0 ppg.

Ready for Action

s Niagara is 9-3 in conference openers under Joe Mihalich, including winning the last three.  The Purple Eagles are 4-1 in conference road openers.

s Niagara continues its eight-game road trip this weekend in its conference opening weekend at Marist and Iona. The trip began with three games in the Legends Classic in Detroit and will also include rivalry trips to UB and St. Bonaventure. Niagara’s next home game will be on Dec. 22.

s Senior floor general Anthony Nelson made his season debut during the Legends Classic after missing the first three games of the season. He set a new career-high with 31 points at Detroit in his third game back.

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 fifth in the conference in scoring (14.7) and third in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (3.8)  

s Edwards was the lone Purple Eagle to be named to the Legends Classic Detroit Subregional Team. Edwards averaged 14.7 ppg and 7.0 rpg in three games.

s Freshman guard Marvin Jordan was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on Nov. 29. Jordan averaged 12.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.8 spg in four games.

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.

Glad You’re Back

Niagara finally had its leader back on the court. Anthony Nelson, NU’s lone senior, made his season debut on Nov. 26 in the 65-61 win over Bowling Green in the Legends Classic. Nelson missed the first three games of the season due to an injury.

Nelson immediately made an impact to the Purple Eagles offense. On Nov. 28, he set career-highs with 31 points and 11 field goals, while tying a career-high with three 3-pointers. His 31 points were the most by a Purple Eagle since Tyrone Lewis scored 31 points at Manhattan on Jan. 31, 2009. 

MAAC Honors For Jordan

Freshman guard Marvin Jordan was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on Nov. 27. Jordan paced Niagara to a 2-2 week while leading  the team in scoring twice with consecutive career-high scoring outputs in wins over Mount St. Mary’s and Bowling Green.  Jordan scored 14 points in the comeback win over MSM and set a new career-high with 17 points in the win over Bowling Green. Jordan had seven assists, four rebounds, four steals and zero turnovers in the two wins. Jordan also scored 14 points against Detroit in the final game of the Legends Classic on Sunday. In four games last week, Jordan averaged 12.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.8 spg.

Seizing the Rock

Niagara is taking care of the rock, while taking it away from the opposition. The Purple Eagles are second in the MAAC with a +1.83 turnover margin and third in the conference with 7.5 spg.

On The Court

Marist Red Foxes (0-6, 0-0 MAAC)

Marist is 1-35 since the start of the 2009-10 season and is currently on a 24-game losing streak.

Against the Red Foxes (NU leads 18-12)

The Purple Eagles have won the last four meetings with the Red Foxes, which ties the longest against Marist set from Jan. 8, 2003-Feb. 26, 2004.

Last Meeting - February 14, 2010

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - All four Purple Eagle seniors reached double figures propelling the Niagara men’s basketball team to a 70-51 Senior Day victory over Marist on Sunday. The victory was the fourth in five games for the Purple Eagles.