PURPLE EAGLES MEN'S BASKETBALL
GAME 10	Niagara Purple Eagles (5-4, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Cleveland State Vikings (4-8, 0-0 Horizon League)
DATE | TIME	Wednesday, December 19 | 7:30 PM
LOCATION	Wolstein Center | Cleveland, Ohio
GAME NOTES	Niagara | Cleveland State
SERIES	Niagara Leads 5-3
BROADCAST	ESPN3 – Al Pawlowski and Pat Vuyancih
RADIO	WGR 550 AM – Jim Rosenhaus
LIVE STATS	CSUVikings.com
TWITTER	@NiagaraMBB
INSTAGRAM	@NiagaraMBB

 
The Niagara Purple Eagles, winner of three straight, are back on the road for a pair of games, beginning on Wednesday against the Cleveland State Vikings at 7:30 p.m.
 
Scene Setter
•  Niagara's last four games have been decided by less than four points, including the last three coming down to the final possessions.
•  Keleaf Tate's 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds on the clock lifted the Purple Eagles to their third straight win with a 77-74 victory over the Cornell Big Red on December 16.
•  Niagara boasts victories against opponents from the ACC (Pitt), Atlantic-10 (St. Bonaventure) and Mountain West Conference (Wyoming).
•  The Purple Eagles held off the Vikings to win 79-77 at the Gallagher Center last December in the first meeting between the programs since the 1987-88 season. Marvin Prochet had a block and a steal in the final possession to deny the Vikings.
•  The Purple Eagles are looking to start the month of December 4-0 for the first time since December 1980 when NU won five straight games to open December.
 
Tipoff Tidbits
•  Four Purple Eagles are averaging double figures scoring - Marvin Prochet (19.8 ppg), Dominic Robb (12.8 ppg), James Towns (12.4 ppg), and Keleaf Tate (10.6 ppg).
•  The Purple Eagles have the longest win streak in the MAAC at three games.
•  Marvin Prochet became the 47th member of Niagara's 1,000-Point Club on December 16.
•  Dominic Robb moved into second place on the career blocks list after a four-block performance at Pitt. Robb is now 33 blocks away from tying Joe Arlauckas ('87) who finished his career with 220 blocks, for first place.
•  For the second straight week, a Purple Eagle was named MAAC Player of the Week. Marvin Prochet was selected as MAAC Player of the Week on December 17, one week after James Towns earned his first career MAAC Player of the Week award.
•  Dominic Robb leads the MAAC and is fourth in the nation in blocks per game (3.4) and is eighth in total blocks (31).
•  Marvin Prochet leads the MAAC and is 18th in the nation in double-doubles with five.
•  Dominic Robb established a new career-high in blocks with eight, including seven in the first half, which are tied for the second most blocks in a game in program history. The eight blocks are also tied for fifth most in the nation this season. Robb has three of the top-8 most blocks in a game in Niagara history.
•  In the win at Pitt, the Purple Eagles had their highest rebound margin (+7) of the season.
•  The Purple Eagles lead the MAAC and are 23rd in the nation in free throw percentage.
•  The Purple Eagles are the only team in the MAAC to have three players record a double-double (Marvin Prochet, Dominic Robb, Greg Kuakumensah) this season.
•  Niagara is 10-1 in games decided by less than four points since the 2017-18 season.

On The Court
Cleveland State Vikings (4-8, 0-0 Horizon League)
•  Cleveland State was tabbed seventh in the 2018-19 Horizon League Preseason Poll. The Vikings made a run to the 2018 Horizon League Championship game as the eighth seed.
•  Sophomore guard Tyree Appleby was selected to the Preseason All-League First Team to be the first Viking named to the team since the 2014-15 season.
•  The Vikings are 4-8 on the season, with all four wins coming at home.
•  Tyree Appleby leads CSU in scoring with 16.8 points per game and is followed by Stefan Kenic with 11.8 points per contest.
•  Rashad Williams was named Horizon League Freshman of the Week on December 16 after scoring 25 points, including making seven 3-pointers which are the most ever by a Viking freshman in program history.
 
Against The Vikings (Niagara leads 5-3)
•  The Purple Eagles won last season's meeting, 79-77, at the Gallagher Center in the first meeting since December 1987.
•  The home team in the series is unbeaten.
 
Last Meeting - December 19, 2017
Niagara 79, Cleveland State 77
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Kahlil Dukes scored a game-high 21 points as the Purple Eagles held off the Cleveland State Vikings, 79-77, on Tuesday night. 
 

The Series	Niagara leads 5-3
Last Game	December 19, 2017
	Niagara 79, Cleveland State 77
Last Niagara win	December 19, 2017
	Niagara 79, Cleveland State 77
Last Cleveland State win	December 28, 1987
	Cleveland State 86, Niagara 76
Last Niagara win at Cleveland State	Never
Last Cleveland State win at Home	February 22, 1984
	Cleveland State 93, Niagara 77
Current Streak	Niagara, W1
Coach Casey vs. Cleveland State	1-0

 
Against The Horizon League
•  The Purple Eagles are 17-18 all-time against members of the Horizon League.
•  Niagara has faced five members (Cleveland State, Detroit, Milwaukee, Youngstown State, and Valparaiso) of the 10-team league.
 
 "The Power of Niagara"
•  Niagara defeated a current Power 5 (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) opponent for the first time in 37 years when the Purple Eagles upended the ACC's Pitt Panthers, 71-70, on December 5.
•  The Purple Eagles previously dropped their last 27 games versus current Power 5 teams and won their first game against a Power 5 school in the current format since the breakup of the old Big East in 2013.
•  The last win against a current Power 5 team was against Penn State during the 1981-82 season, which was prior to the Nittany Lions joining the Big Ten.
•  It was Niagara's first win against an ACC opponent since topping Syracuse during the 1975-76 season prior to the Orange joining the ACC.
•  The Purple Eagles became the first MAAC team to beat an ACC team since Fairfield topped Boston College in December 2016.
 
Prochet Collects Second MAAC Player Of The Week Award.
•  Marvin Prochet has been named MAAC Player of the Week for the second time this season announced on December 16.
•  Prochet notched his MAAC-leading fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 24 points and a team-high 10 rebounds to help Niagara defeat Cornell on Sunday for the Purple Eagles' third straight win. Prochet made five straight 3-pointers in the first half on his way to tying a career-high in 3-pointers with five.
•  Prochet also became the 47th member of Niagara's 1,000-Point Club during the game. Prochet scored his 1,000th point on the first of two free throws with two minutes left in the game. He made the second free throw to bring Niagara within one point (70-69).
 
Last-Second 3-Pointer Lifts NU Over Cornell
•  Keleaf Tate's 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds on the clock lifted the Purple Eagles to their third straight win with a 77-74 victory over the Cornell Big Red on December 16.
•  The Purple Eagles erased a nine-point deficit in the final eight minutes and completed the comeback with a last-second 3-pointer.
•  Marvin Prochet notched his fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 24 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Prochet made five straight 3-pointers in the first half on his way to tying a career-high in 3-pointers with five.
•  Keleaf Tate scored a career-high 23 points, including tying a career-high in 3-pointers with five.
•  The Purple Eagles' four turnovers are their fewest since having three turnovers at Quinnipiac on February 8, 2015.
 
Mr. Double-Double
•  Marvin Prochet has established himself as a double-double force as he ranks amongst the nation's leader in double-doubles.
•  He leads the MAAC and ranks in the top-20 in the nation in double-doubles.
•  Prochet started the season with four straight double-doubles which was the longest streak by a Purple Eagle since Benson Egemonye had four straight during the 2008-09 season.
•  He has five double-doubles in six games.
•  Prochet is on pace to average a double-double for the entire season to be the first Purple Eagle since Juan Mendez (23.5 ppg, 10.6 rpg) in the 2004-05 season.
 
Prochet Enters The 1,000-Point Club
•  Marvin Prochet, who entered his senior campaign 115 points away from 1,000 career points, joined the 1,000-point club on December 16.
•  He became the 47th member of the club after a 24-point performance in a last-second win versus Cornell.
•  Prochet scored his 1,000th point on the first of two free throws with two minutes left in the game.
 
Secretary Of Defense
•  Dominic Robb, who started his final campaign wearing the Purple & White fifth on the career blocks list, is currently second after passing Mark Henry ('84) on December 3.  
•  Robb set the program's single-season record in blocks with a MAAC-leading 74 blocks during the 2016-17 season.
•  He was second in the MAAC with a team-leading 48 blocks last season.
•  This season, Robb is third in the NCAA in blocks per game.
•  Robb's career-high eight blocks in the season-opening win versus Little 3 rival St. Bonaventure are tied for second most in program history and tied for third most in the nation this season.