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Marvin Jordan
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Top Two Teams Visit Gally
The Niagara Purple Eagles will host two big matchups against the top teams in the conference this weekend beginning on Friday when they entertain the Iona Gaels at 7 p.m.
Iona is in a first-place tie with Fairfield, who Niagara will play on Sunday at 2 p.m.
This will be the second meeting this season between the teams. Iona defeated Niagara in New Rochelle during the conference’s opening weekend in December to take a 34-33 advantage in the all-time series. The Purple Eagles have won six of the last 10 meetings, but have not won at home in the series since Feb. 16, 2008.
Ready For Action
s Niagara dropped a 51-49 contest at Manhattan. The loss snapped the Purple Eagles’ eight-game win streak in the series and its five-game winning streak at Manhattan.
s Anthony Nelson leads the nation with 3.4 steals per game. Nelson has 20 steals in the last three games. Nelson is on pace to shatter the school record in steals per game in a season, which was set by former backcourt teammate Tyrone Lewis during the 2008-09 season (2.6 spg).
s Marvin Jordan is fifth in the conference and leads all MAAC freshmen with 40 3-pointers (2.1 per game). Jordan grabbed a career-high six rebounds at Manhattan.
s Scooter Gillette reached over 100 rebounds in his career and played in a career-high 34 minutes at Manhattan.
s Nelson became the 41st member of the 1,000-point club when he scored 20 points at Saint Peter’s. He also reach the 500-rebound club in the game.
s Nelson played the entire 40 minutes for the second straight game against Manhattan. It was the fourth time this season he has played the entire game (Marist, Central Connecticut, Saint Peter’s).
s Kashief Edwards missed his second straight game of the season on Jan. 17 at Manhattan. Edwards had started in every game this season.
How To Tune In
NU fans can also listen live to all the action this season from “The Voice of the Purple Eagles” Todd Callen. The matchup can be heard live on WWKB 1520 AM. Internet listeners can listen free through Yahoo! Sports live web-streaming.
Moving Up The Charts
Nelson became the 41st member of the 1,000-point club on Jan. 15. The Plainfield, N.J. native accomplished the feat in front of family and friends at Saint Peter’s.
The point guard is also closing in on Alvin Cruz’s all-time assists record. Nelson currently has 570 assists and needs 60 to tie Cruz’s 630 assists.
Nelson is third in steals with 187 and needs 63 steals to tie former teammate Tyrone Lewis for first.
All-Conference Numbers For Ant
Senior Anthony Nelson is putting up all-conference numbers since missing the first three games of the season due to injury. Nelson, who has scored at 24 points three times this season and set a career-high 31 points at Detroit, is third in the MAAC in scoring. Nelson leads the conference in steals per game, second in minutes per game and fourth in assists per game.
Stealing Your Attention
Anthony Nelson’s eight steals versus Siena put him in a second place tie with six other Purple Eagles. Alvin Young holds the record with nine steals set on Jan. 30, 1999 versus Saint Peter’s. His career-high eight steals rank tied for fourth most in the nation this season. His 3.4 steals per game leads the nation.
On The Court
Iona Gaels (12-6, 6-1 MAAC)
Iona is on a four-game winning streak and is in a first-place tie with Fairfield. The Gaels are first in the conference in points per game, assists per game and steals per game and second in field goal and 3-point field goal percentage. Junior forward Mike Glover leads the conference with 20.7 ppg and is first in the nation field goal percentage (61.2 percent). Classmate guard Scott Machado is second in the nation with 8.4 assists per game.
Against the Gaels (Iona leads 34-33)
The Gaels topped the Purple Eagles in their first meeting this season to break the 33-33 series tie. Niagara has won six of the last 10 meetings.
Last Meeting - December 5, 2010
Niagara 58, Iona 82
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The Niagara men’s basketball team was defeated by the Iona Gaels, 82-58, in its second conference game of the season on Sunday at the Hynes Athletics Center.
