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Men's Basketball

Purple Eagles Enter The Broncs’ Zoo Saturday

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The Niagara Purple Eagles will visit the Rider Broncs in a Saturday matinee on February 21 at 2 p.m.
 
Niagara snapped a four-game losing streak on Thursday with a 55-53 win at Fairfield. Dominique Reid and Wesley Myers combined for 27 of Niagara's 55 points. Freshman James Suber tied a career-high eight points by going 4-for-4 from the field, while classmate Matt Scott set career-highs with eight rebounds, 33 minutes and a game-high three steals.
 
Six days ago, Rider pulled away from Niagara with a 20-4 run in the second half to win 69-60 for its fifth straight win in the series. Eight of the last 15 encounters have been decided by less than four points, including last season's meeting at Rider where the Purple Eagles nearly erased a 10-point deficit with three minutes remaining before falling, 85-83. 
 
Tipoff Tidbits
•  Dominique Reid notched his team-leading fourth career double-double against Fairfield on Feb. 19 with 14 points and 11 rebounds. His four double-doubles are tied with Ameen Tanksley (2011-12) and Anthony Nelson (2010-11) for most in the last four seasons.
•  Emile Blackman has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 11 games while leading the Purple Eagles in scoring (16.9 ppg), 3-pointers per game (1.8), steals per game (1.3) and minutes per game (33.9).
•  Blackman became the first Purple Eagle to score 30-plus points this season when he netted a game and career-high 32 points at Quinnipiac on Feb. 8. His 12 field goals are tied for the second most by a MAAC player.
•  The Purple Eagles' plus-19 rebounding margin versus Rider is their largest in nine seasons (plus-24 versus Siena on February 25, 2006).
•  Ramone Snowden had a game-high 10 rebounds against Rider on Feb. 15 for his fifth double-digit rebound game of his career.
•  Karonn Davis set a new career-best in assists with a game-high nine versus Quinnipiac on Feb. 1 to set career-highs in assists in consecutive games. The nine assists are the most by a Purple Eagle since Juan'ya Green had nine against Saint Peter's on March 2, 2013.
•  Niagara is one of two teams (Iona) in the conference to have five players with 20-point games this season - Blackman (3x), Myers (2x), Snowden, Reid and Scott.
•  Niagara's 105 points against Quinnipiac are tied for 27th most by a team in a MAAC game.
•  All of Niagara's wins this season have come when the Purple Eagles have led at halftime.
•  Niagara's 22 assists against Quinnipiac on Feb. 1 are the most since having 23 versus Marist on February 6, 2011.
•  The Purple Eagles are in search of consecutive conference wins for first time since February 2013.
•  According to KenPom.com, Niagara is the THIRD youngest team in the nation. NU has 12 underclassmen on the roster. 

On The Court
Rider Broncs (19-9, 13-4 MAAC)
•  Rider enters Saturday's game winners of seven of its last eight, including five straight.
•  The Broncs have three double-digit scorers in Matt Lopez (12.3 ppg), Teddy Okereafor (11.1 ppg) and Jimmie Taylor (10.8 ppg).
•  Lopez leads the MAAC with a 58.4 field goal percentage and is third in the conference with 7.7 rebounds per game.
•  Okereafor is third in the MAAC with 4.0 assists per game, fourth in steals per game (1.8) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.5).
•  Rider is second in the conference in field goal percentage (.444).
 
Against the Broncs (Series tied, 20-20)
•  The two schools are tied 20-20 in a series that began with a Purple Eagles' 69-44 win on January 2, 1992.
•  NU has dropped 10 of the last 11 meetings, including five straight.
 
Last Meeting - February 15, 2015
Niagara 60, Rider 69
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara men's basketball team dropped a 69-60 decision to the Rider Broncs on Sunday at the Gallagher Center.
 
The SeriesTied, 20-20
Last GameFebruary 15, 2015
Niagara 60, Rider 69
Last Niagara winFebruary 11, 2012
Niagara 84, Rider 82
Last Rider winFebruary 20, 2014
Niagara 66, Fairfield 72
Last Niagara win at RiderJanuary 14, 2007
Niagara 80, Rider 79
Last Rider win at HomeJanuary 2, 2014
Niagara 83, Rider 85  
Current StreakRider, W5
Coach Casey vs. Rider0-3
 
Birthday Bonanza
•  Dominique Reid celebrated his 20th birthday by helping Niagara to a 55-53 win at Fairfield on Feb. 19.
•  Reid led NU with 14 points and 11 rebounds for his team-leading fourth double-double.
 
Niagara In February
•  The Purple Eagles are 39-28 in the month of February since the 2006-07 season, including a 24-13 mark at the Gallagher Center.
 
Rebounding Dominance
•  The Purple Eagles dominated the boards against Rider on February 15.
•  NU had a plus-19 (38-19) rebounding edge for its largest margin since February 25, 2006 when the Purple Eagles had a plus-24 margin (51-27) against Siena.
•  The 19 rebounds are the fewest allowed in a MAAC game this season. 
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Players Mentioned

Emile Blackman

#2 Emile Blackman

G
6' 4"
Redshirt Sophomore
Karonn  Davis

#12 Karonn Davis

G
6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
Wesley Myers

#10 Wesley Myers

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Dominique  Reid

#22 Dominique Reid

F
6' 8"
Redshirt Freshman
Ramone Snowden

#11 Ramone Snowden

F
6' 6"
Sophomore
Matt Scott

#13 Matt Scott

G
6' 4"
Freshman
James Suber

#14 James Suber

F
6' 6"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Emile Blackman

#2 Emile Blackman

6' 4"
Redshirt Sophomore
G
Karonn  Davis

#12 Karonn Davis

6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
G
Wesley Myers

#10 Wesley Myers

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Dominique  Reid

#22 Dominique Reid

6' 8"
Redshirt Freshman
F
Ramone Snowden

#11 Ramone Snowden

6' 6"
Sophomore
F
Matt Scott

#13 Matt Scott

6' 4"
Freshman
G
James Suber

#14 James Suber

6' 6"
Freshman
F