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The Niagara Purple Eagles bring a three-game winning streak into its regular season finale on Sunday, March 1 against the Fairfield Stags at 2 p.m.

The three-game winning streak is the longest streak under second-year head coach Chris Casey. After grinding past Fairfield and topping Rider, the Purple Eagles put on an offensive clinic in the second half en route to beating rival Canisius, 82-71, on Tuesday.

NU lit up the scoreboard against its archrivals, overturning a 35-31 halftime deficit by outscoring the Griffins 51-36 in the second half. The Purple Eagles shot 78.9 percent (15-for-19) from the field for their second highest field goal percentage in a half in program history and set a new record at the Koessler Athletic Center.

The Purple Eagles are looking to sweep the Stags for the second time in three seasons.
 
Tipoff Tidbits
•  The Purple Eagles' 60 percent (27-for-45) field goal percentage at Canisius is the highest in a MAAC game and second highest by a MAAC team this season.
•  NU has won three straight road games for the first since winning four straight in January 2013.
•  Emile Blackman, who has scored in double figures in 12 of the last 13 games, has soared into the top spot as Niagara's leading scorer and is 11th in the MAAC with 13.8 points per game.
•  Emile Blackman was named Big 4 Basketball Player of the Week on Feb. 23. Blackman averaged 19 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game as he helped the Niagara Purple Eagles to two road victories against Fairfield and Rider.
•  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.
•  The Purple Eagles made 15 of 16 free throws in the win at Rider on Feb. 21. The 93.8 free throw percentage is the highest since NU shot 94.7 percent (18-for-19) in a 69-61 victory at St. Bonaventure on Dec. 11, 2010.
•  Emile Blackman's six 3-pointers at Rider are the most since Marvin Jordan drained eight 3-pointers, which are a program record by a sophomore, at Rider on Feb. 5, 2012.
•  The starting lineup of Wesley Myers, Matt Scott, Emile Blackman, Ramone Snowden and Dominique Reid is 3-0 this season.
•  According to KenPom.com, Niagara is the THIRD youngest team in the nation. NU has 12 underclassmen on the roster. 
 
Niagara MAAC Tournament Seeding Scenarios
•  Finishes No. 8 with win and Saint Peter's loss and Siena win
•  Finishes No. 9 with win and Saint Peter's win or Siena loss
•  Finishes No. 9 with loss and Marist loss
•  Finishes No. 11 with loss and Marist win

How To Tune-In
• Sunday's game will air live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel with Howard Simon and Mike MacDonald on the call.
• Fans can listen live to all the action from "The Voice of the Purple Eagles" Todd Callen on WGR 550 AM and on the Niagara Sports Network via PurpleEagles.com. 

On The Court
Fairfield Stags (7-22/5-14 MAAC)
•  Fairfield has lost six of the last seven games, including to Niagara on February 19.
•  Junior forward Marcus Gilbert leads the Stags in scoring with 16.5 ppg, which is also good for fifth in the MAAC.
•  Tyler Nelson is second among MAAC freshmen in scoring with 10.1 points per game.
•  Amadou Sidibe, who has missed the last six games, is currently sixth in the conference with 7.0 rpg
 
Against the Stags (Niagara, 39-27)
•  Niagara holds a 39-27 lead in a series that dates back to January 31, 1966.
•  The Purple Eagles have won four of the last five meetings with the Stags including a 55-53 win at Fairfield on      February 19.
•  NU is looking to sweep the series for the second time in the last three seasons.
•  Since the 2011-12 season, neither team has won by more than eight points.
 
Last Meeting – February 19, 2015
Niagara 55, Fairfield 53
 
BRIDGEDPORT, Conn. – The Niagara Purple Eagles picked up a gritty 55-53 road win against the Fairfield Stags to halt a four-game skid on Thursday night.
 

The Series	Niagara leads 39-27
Last Game	February 19, 2015
	Niagara 55, Fairfield 53
Last Niagara win	February 19, 2015
	Niagara 55, Fairfield 53
Last Fairfield win	February 20, 2014
	Fairfield 72, Niagara 66
Last Niagara win at Home	January 5, 2013
	Fairfield 67, Niagara 71
Last Fairfield win at Niagara	February 20, 2014
	Fairfield 72, Niagara 66
Current streak	Niagara, W1
Coach Casey vs. Fairfield	2-1

 
#SCTop10
•  Emile Blackman's array of highlight-worthy dunks this season was rewarded with an appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 Plays on Feb. 24.
•  Blackman's alley-oop dunk from Karonn Davis on an out-of-bounds play at the 11:50 mark in the second half at Canisius was named as the fourth best play.
 
Little 3 Business
• The Purple Eagles have dominated the Little 3 in recent seasons, owning a 27-11 record in the last 38 games against Canisius and St. Bonaventure.
• Niagara is 19-7 versus the Golden Griffins since Feb. 12, 2003 and is 8-4 against St. Bonaventure.
•  NU has dropped the last four meetings to St. Bonaventure, but snapped a four-game losing streak to Canisius on Feb. 24. 
 
Tickling The Twine
•  The Purple Eagles shot a season-high 60 percent from the field, including a 78.9 field goal percentage in the second half, in their 82-71 win over Canisius on Feb. 24.
•  The 78.9 field goal percentage is the second highest percentage in a half in program history. NU shot a program-best 80 percent (20-for-25) against Western Michigan on Dec. 21, 1981.
•  The second half field goal percentage also set a new Koessler Athletic Center record, breaking the record previously held by Canisius (77.3) against Buffalo on Nov. 30, 1983.
 
Blackman Named Big 4 Player Of The Week
•  Emile Blackman was named Big 4 Basketball Player of the Week on Feb. 23 to become the first Purple Eagle to win the award on the men's side.
•  Blackman averaged 19 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game as he helped the Niagara Purple Eagles to two road victories against Fairfield and Rider.
•  He shot 56 percent (14-for-25) from the field, 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from behind the 3-point line and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the free-throw line which includes four pressure free throws in the final 20 seconds in Niagara's 65-61 win at Rider on Sunday.
• Blackman netted a game-high 30 points at Rider for his second 30-point game of the season. Blackman made 10 of 16 shots from the field and connected on 6 of 9 3-pointers which are a season-high by a Purple Eagle.