Men's Basketball Begins 2011-12 Campaign On Monday

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Tipoff 2011
The Niagara Purple Eagles begin their 2011-12 season at the legendary ‘Taps’ Gallagher Center where they will play the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils on Monday at 7 p.m.

Joe Mihalich enters his 14th season as head coach for the Purple Eagles. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) career leader in wins is 18 victories shy of reaching 250 in his career.

Niagara will feature a young squad this season with the lone senior, walk-on Paul Kowalski, playing only a total of nine minutes in three seasons. The Purple Eagles will be looking for maturation of their sophomore class which features MAAC All-Rookie Team guard Marvin Jordan (11.8 ppg/2.3 apg) along with guards Malcolm Lemmons (5.9 ppg/3.5 rpg ) and Skylar Jones (5.2 ppg/2.6 rpg).

Niagara also returns redshirt freshman guard Antoine Mason, who led the team in scoring after three games with 16.7 ppg before missing the rest of the season with a foot injury. Niagara will be looking for low-post contribution from junior forwards Eric Williams (4.1 ppg/3.2 rpg) and Scooter Gillete (3.9 ppg/3.5 rpg) and redshirt freshman Joe Thomas.

The Purple Eagles welcome highly touted freshmen in guards Juan'ya Green and Ameen Tanksley, both hailing from Philadelphia, and junior college transfer forward Ali Langford.

Ready for Action
- Niagara has won two of its last three season-opening games at the Gallagher Center. Head coach Joe Mihalich is 7-6 in season openers and is 9-4 in home openers.
- Niagara is 2-2 all-time versus Central Connecticut and is 39-28 vs. NEC teams.
- The Purple Eagles ventured to Montreal for a four-game preseason tour in August. It was the first time Joe Mihalich has taken a team on an international trip.
- The Purple Eagles were selected seventh in the MAAC Preseason Poll
- Marvin Jordan’s 77 3-pointers last season were the most ever by a NU freshman and were tied for fifth in a single season.

Get Your Tickets!
Tickets for the game are still available. Fans can guarantee their seats by purchasing tickets in advance with no additional service fees by calling the Ticket Office at (716) 286-8499. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.PurpleEagles.com. The Gallagher Center Ticket Office opens one hour prior to tip-off.

How To Tune In
NU fans can listen live to all the action from “The Voice of the Purple Eagles” Todd Callen. The matchup can be heard live on WWKB 1520 AM. Internet listeners can listen free online through Purple Eagles All-Access.

On The Court
Central Connecticut State (0-1)
Monday’s opponent, Central Connecticut, is 0-1 after dropping its opener to Yale on Friday. Reigning NEC Player of the Year Ken Horton scored 20 points and nine rebounds and freshman Kyle Vinales had a team-high 24 points. CCSU was picked third in NEC Preseason Poll.

Against the Blue Devils (Tied 2-2)
Niagara is 2-2 versus CCSU in a series which started during the 2001-02 season. The Purple Eagles fell in the first-ever meeting between the programs, before winning the next two meetings. The Purple Eagles were edged in last season’s encounter, 74-71.

Last Meeting - December 19, 2010

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – The Niagara men’s basketball team was edged by the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils, 74-71, on Sunday to complete its eight-game road trip. The Purple Eagles had a then-season-highs in field goal and 3-point percentage in the loss.

Bienvenue A Montreal
Niagara began preparation for the 2011-12 season with a four-game tour of Montreal, Quebec from Aug. 30 - Sept. 3. The Purple Eagles went 2-2 with wins against the University of Quebec and Concordia University and losses to Carleton University and McGill University.

Preseason Accolades For Jordan
College Sports Madness, an online publication dedicated to covering college athletics, has placed sophomore guard Marvin Jordan on the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team. Jordan played in all 32 games in his freshman campaign, while starting in 31 games. Jordan led all MAAC freshmen in scoring during the season, averaging 11.8 per contest, and finished the season ranked 13th overall in the conference. Jordan also contributed 3.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

CBE Classic
For the second straight season, Niagara will participate in a classic run by the Gazelle Group when the Purple Eagles play in the 11th annual CBE Classic from Nov. 17-23. The Purple Eagles open their four-game classic at Big 12 power No. 25 Missouri on Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. NU, which is slated in the Macon Subregional, will face South Dakota State on Nov. 21, Mercer on Nov. 22 and Sam Houston State on Nov. 23. It will be the first meetings against all four schools.

In-Season Tourneys
The Purple Eagles have enjoyed playing in in-season tournaments in recent seasons. NU is 11-7 during these tournaments in the past four seasons. 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.

Bouncing Back
Head coach Joe Mihalich suffered only his second losing record last season. The first time was the 2005-06 season when the Purple Eagles finished 11-18. The following season, Niagara went 23-12, won the MAAC Tournament and earned the program’s third NCAA Tournament appearance.

Shots From the Hearts
Joe Mihalich will participate in the 2nd Annual Shots from the Heart Tournament, in benefit of the Skip Prosser Foundation.

Mihalich is one of 64 head coaches competing in the free throw shooting contest and is paired against Michigan head coach John Beilein in the first round. Starting in November, coaches will compete against one another with winners advancing to the next round.

To support Coach Mihalich’s participation in this year’s event, text “Skip” to 48510 to make a ten dollar donation to the Skip Prosser Foundation. For more information: www.collegeinsider.com/shots/about.html

In The Month of November
Since the 2007-08 season, the Purple Eagles are 13-7 in contests played during November. Niagara is 7-1 in games played at the Gallagher Center in November since the 2007-08 season, with the lone defeat in last season’s opener.

New Staff Additions
Joe Mihalich welcomed two new members to his coaching staff over the summer with the hiring of assistant coaches Ron Ginyard and Mike Farrelly. Ginyard brings over five years of NCAA Division I assistant coaching experience, including the last three seasons as an assistant at the United States Naval Academy. Farrelly comes to Niagara after one season at Mount St. Mary’s and three years as Director of Hoop Group Elite.

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