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The Niagara Purple Eagles will face the North Carolina A&T Aggies in the 2015 Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament Springfield Bracket Consolation Game on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
 
Tipoff Tidbits
•  The Purple Eagles lost their opening game in the Springfield Bracket round at the Mohegan Sun to the Vermont Catamounts, 85-67, on Saturday. NU, which trailed 22-5, went into halftime down 36-35 before the Catamounts pulled away in the second half.
•  Matt Scott scored 18 points to share team-high honors with Emile Blackman, and had a team-high seven rebounds to lead the team in scoring and rebounding for the fourth straight game. Scott also had three assists and two steals.
•  Freshman Dominic Robb scored a career-high eight points on 4-for-4 shooting from the field and had three rebounds and two blocks against Vermont.
•  The Purple Eagles picked up their first win of the season with a 75-66 win over the Brown Bears on Nov. 18 in their home openers.
•  The Purple Eagles held Brown to a 30.7 field goal percentage which is the lowest allowed by a MAAC team this season. The Purple Eagles are currently second in the MAAC in defensive field goal percentage (39.3).
•  Matt Scott ranks sixth in scoring (18.5) and fourth in rebounding (8.3) in the conference. Justin Satchell is 15th in scoring (12.5) and 11th in rebounding (6.5).
•  Cameron Fowler has led the team in assists in consecutive games (Brown, Vermont) for the first time in his career.
•  Maurice Taylor, Jr. began his collegiate career at North Carolina A&T. Taylor played for the Aggies during the 2013-14 season and saw action in 26 games, including starting in five. 
 
Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament
•  The Basketball Hall of Fame hosts the annual Tip-Off Tournament each November. The Tip-Off Tournament is an NCAA exempt men's basketball tournament sponsored by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
• Niagara is joined by Big 4 rival Buffalo, Florida, North Carolina A&T, Old Dominion, Purdue, Saint Joseph's and Vermont in this year's field.
• NU started its portion of the tournament at Old Dominion followed by a trip to Saint Joseph's on Nov. 15, before the tournament moved to the Mohegan Sun Arena on Nov. 21 and 22.
• The Purple Eagles are in the Springfield Bracket with Buffalo, North Carolina A&T and Vermont.  NU opened against Vermont on Saturday and will play in the Springfield Bracket consolation game North Carolina A&T.
• Niagara participated in the Hall of Fame Tournament one previous time. Niagara opened its 1975-76 season at the Hall of Fame Tournament in Springfield, Mass. against Fairfield (W, 83-78) and UMass (L, 92-81).
 
On The Court
North Carolina A&T Aggies (0-4/0-0 MEAC)
•  The Aggies are returning 6 of their top 7 scorers from a season ago that saw them post a 9-23 overall record, including going 6-10 in conference play.
•  Their leading returning scorer and rebounder, Bruce Beckford, finished in the top ten in the MEAC in both points per game (15.2 PPG) and rebounds per game (7.3 RPG).
•  As a team, the Aggies finished the 2014-15 season fourth in scoring defense (66 PPG Allowed), sixth in free throw percentage (68.2%), and fifth in blocked shots (3.97 BPG).
•  The Aggies have lost all four games this season, including their first game in the Springfield Bracket to Buffalo on Saturday.
 
Against the Aggies (First Meeting)
 

Last Game	First Meeting
Last Niagara win	First Meeting
Last North Carolina A&T win	First Meeting
Last Niagara win at Neutral Site	First Meeting
Last North Carolina A&T win at Neutral Site	First Meeting
Current Streak	First Meeting
Coach Casey vs. North Carolina A&T	First Meeting

 
Against The MEAC
•  Since their first meeting in 1995, the Purple Eagles have dominated teams from the MEAC, posting an impressive record of 8-1.
• Niagara's only loss against MEAC teams came in 1998 against Maryland Eastern Shore.