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GAME INFO
Niagara Purple Eagles (6-18, 4-9 MAAC) vs. Iona Gaels (13-9, 10-3 MAAC)
Sunday, February 7 – 2:00 PM
Gallagher Center – Niagara University
Radio: WGR 550 AM – Todd Callen
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsChannel – Sal Capaccio & Richard Walsh
 
Scene Setter
•  After sweeping the series during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, the Purple Eagles have won only three of the last 16 encounters.
•  In the first meeting this season on January 4, NU fell at Iona, 65-52, in the final leg of a four-game road trip. The contest was a two-point game with less than eight minutes remaining when Iona used a 14-3 run to pull away for the win.
•  The last two meetings at the Gallagher Center have come down to the final seconds with the Gaels coming away with a one-point win (90-89 on Feb. 7, 2014 and 80-79 on Jan. 16, 2015) each time.
• NU is in search of its first win in the series since a thrilling overtime win on January 31, 2013 (93-90) at the Gallagher Center.  
 
Tipoff Tidbits
•  The Purple Eagles started their two-game homestand with a 66-60 defeat to the Rider Broncs on Friday.
•  Emile Blackman led Niagara with 17 points to finish in double figures for the sixth consecutive game. Matt Scott had his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, and Dominic Robb contributed 12 points and a career-high eight rebounds.
•  Matt Scott is one of two players in the MAAC (Siena's Brett Bisping) to have at least nine 20-point games and six 10-rebound games.
•  Matt Scott is sixth in the MAAC in scoring with 16.8 per game, fourth in rebounds with 7.1 per game, and second in steals with 1.6 per game. Scott is the only player in the MAAC to rank in the top 10 in points, rebounds and steals per game.
 
Blackman Approaching 1,000 Career Points
•  Emile Blackman needs 72 points to reach 1,000 points in his career.
•  Blackman scored 170 of his 928 career points while playing at NCAA Division II LIU Post during the 2012-13 season.
 
Sixth Sense
•  Matt Scott recorded his sixth double-double of the season and of his career on February 5 against Rider with 16 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
•  His six double-doubles are third most in the MAAC this season. 
•  The six double-doubles are the most by a Purple Eagle since Bilal Benn had 13 during the 2009-10 season.
 
On The Court
Iona Gaels (13-9, 10-3 MAAC)
•  Iona leads the MAAC with 16.4 assists per game and 9.9 3-pointers per game, ranks second in scoring (79.1), field goal percentage (.456) and three-point percentage (.370), and is third in both steals (7.2 per game).
• AJ English is second in the MAAC and is 15th in the NCAA with an average of 21.6 points per game while his 6.4 assists per game top the MAAC and rank 15th in the NCAA.
• Deyshonee Much's .505 three-point field-goal percent is a MAAC high and is third overall in the NCAA.
 
Against the Gaels (Iona leads, 44-34)
•  The Purple Eagles have dropped 13 of the last 16 meetings, including six straight overall.
•  Iona holds a narrow 76.2-74.4 points per game advantage in the last 16 games.
•  Iona has squeaked by NU with one-point victories the last two seasons at the Gallagher Center, winning 90-89 in 2014 and 80-79 in 2015
•  Niagara's last win in the series was a 93-90 overtime win on January 31, 2013 at the Gallagher Center.
 
Last Meeting – January 4, 2016
Niagara 52, Iona 65
 
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The Niagara University Purple Eagles dropped the final leg of their four-game road trip to the Iona Gaels, 65-52, on Monday.
 

The Series	Iona leads, 44-34
Last Game	January 4, 2016
	Niagara 52, Iona 65
Last Niagara win	January 31, 2013
	Niagara 93, Iona 90 (OT)
Last Iona win	January 25, 2015
	Niagara 64, Iona 87
Last Niagara win at Home	January 31, 2013
	Niagara 93, Iona 90 (OT)
Last Iona win at Niagara	January 16, 2015
	Niagara 79, Iona 80
Current Streak	Iona, W6
Coach Casey vs. Iona	0-5

 
Leading Man
• Matt Scott has led or has shared team-high honors in at least one category (points, rebounds, assists, steals or blocks) in 21 games this season.
•  Scott has led NU in scoring and in rebounding in the same game 10 times this season.
• Scott leads the team in scoring, rebounds, steals, field goals, free throws and minutes.
 
February Frenzy
• Niagara is 42-30 in the month of February since the 2006-07 season.
• The Purple Eagles are 24-14 at home during that stretch.
• NU finished with an overall record of .500 or better in seven of the last nine seasons.
 
Great Scott
•  Matt Scott ignited a second half comeback as NU topped Marist, 69-66, on January 28.
•  Scott led the game in scoring with 32, rebounds with 13, assists with five, steals with four and in minutes with a career-high 40.
•  He recorded his fifth double-double of the season and of his career, while setting a new career-high with 32 points.
 
13 Going On 31
•  Matt Scott led all scorers with a then-career-best 31 points against Siena on January 26.
•  Scott became the 10th player in the MAAC with a 30-point performance.
•  Scott also set a career-high in free throws, going a perfect 13-for-13, which are the most by a Purple Eagle this season.
•  It is the highest free throw percentage in the MAAC this season and the highest by a Purple Eagle since Charron Fisher went 14-for-14 at Saint Peter's on January 25, 2008.
 
30 For 30
•  Matt Scott registered back-to-back 30-point games for the first time in his career when he scored 31 points against Siena on January 26 and setting a new career-high with 32 points at Marist on January 28.
•  Scott is the first Purple Eagle to have consecutive 30-point games since Antoine Mason in December 2013.