The Niagara Purple Eagles will wrap up their four-game road trip at preseason MAAC favorite the Iona Gaels on Monday at 7 p.m. 
 
Tipoff Tidbits
•  NU opened 2016 with a 75-63 setback to the Siena Saints on Saturday, Jan. 2 in its MAAC road opener. Emile Blackman led the Purple Eagles in scoring with 19 points, Marvin Prochet finished with 16 points and a team-high five rebounds, and Matt Scott added 14 points, four rebounds and a team-high three assists.
•  NU split its MAAC opening weekend in December at the Gallagher Center. The Purple Eagles improved to 14-13 all-time in MAAC openers when they defeated Quinnipiac, 76-72, on December 4 before falling to Monmouth, 56-42, on December 6. 
•  Through three conference games, the Purple Eagles rank second in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.305), and third in scoring defense (67.7 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.402).
•  Emile Blackman, who has scored in double figures in 12 straight games, is now the team's leading scorer with 15.7 points per game. Matt Scott led the team in scoring through the first 13 games.
•  Matt Scott leads the Purple Eagles in rebounds (90-6.5 per game), assists (40-2.9 per game), steals (22-1.6 per game) and free throws made (60-4.3 per game).
•  NU will be playing its eighth road game of the season and is in search of its first road win since defeating Canisius on February 24, 2015 in its final road game of the regular season.
 
Scott Gains HoopsHD.com Recognition
•  Sophomore Guard Matt Scott was named to the Hoops HD All-MAAC Team for the 2015 non-conference season.
•  Scott is joined on the team by Monmouth's Justin Robinson, Saint Peter's Quadir Welton, and Siena's Marquis Wright and Brett Bisping.
 
On The Court
Iona Gaels (6-6, 3-0 MAAC)
•  After losing four straight, the Gaels have won their last two games
•  Iona leads the MAAC in assists per game (17.8), steals per game (8.0), 3-point field goal percentage (.385), 3-point field goals made per game (10.4), and is second in points per game (79.8).
•  The Gaels have won 23 straight at home which is the ninth longest active home winning streak in the nation.
 
Against the Gaels (Iona leads, 43-34)
•  The Purple Eagles have dropped 12 of the last 15 meetings, including five straight overall and five straight at Iona.
•  Iona holds a narrow 77-75.9 points per game advantage in the last 15 games.
•  Niagara's last win in the series was a 93-90 overtime win on January 31, 2013 at the Gallagher Center.
 
Last Meeting – January 25, 2015
Niagara 64, Iona 87
 
NEW YORK – Four Purple Eagles scored in double figures as Niagara fell to conference-leading Iona, 87-64, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.