The Niagara Purple Eagles, winners of two straight games, start a four-game road trip on Saturday, December 14 when they play the Albany Great Danes at 7 p.m.
Scene Setter
• After earning their first win of the season, and head coach
Greg Paulus' first career win, at Norfolk State on December 1, the Purple Eagles rallied to beat the defending Patriot League champion Colgate Raiders on December 8.
• Niagara is in a stretch of games where the Purple Eagles will play six out of seven games away from the Gallagher Center. Niagara's lone home game was against Colgate.
• The Purple Eagles and Great Danes met last season on New Year's Eve. Niagara erased an 18-point first half deficit to lead late in the second half, but the Great Danes escaped the Gallagher Center with a win in the final minute.
Marcus Hammond (16),
Raheem Solomon (15), and
James Towns (14) combined for 45 points.
• Niagara is looking to start the month of December with three straight wins for the second consecutive season.
Tipoff Tidbits
•
James Towns and
Raheem Solomon are the only Purple Eagles to average in double figures scoring with Towns leading the team with 15.4 points per game followed by Solomon's 12.0 points per game.
•
James Towns netted a game-high 26 points in the win over Colgate for his second 20-point game of the season.
• Niagara set season-highs in points (93), field goals made (33), 3-pointers made (9), free throw percentage (.783), and steals (13) in the win over Colgate on December 8.
•
Greg Kuakumensah became the first Purple Eagle this season to record a double-double. He collected his second career double-double with 10 points and team-high 10 rebounds against Bryant to become the first Purple Eagle this season with double digit boards.
•
James Towns is 124 points away from reaching the 1,000-point threshold.
•
Marcus Hammond, who leads the team in assists at 3.4 per game, led Niagara in assists with a season-high seven against Norfolk State. Hammond's career-high in assists are eight.
•
Marcus Hammond is second in the MAAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.71).
• Five Purple Eagles were in double figures scoring –
Noah Waterman,
Marcus Hammond,
James Towns,
Raheem Solomon, and
Justin Roberts – at Stephen F. Austin for first time in 12 games.
• In Niagara's two wins, the Purple Eagles shot over 54 percent from the field. NU shot 54 percent against Colgate and 55.6 percent versus Stephen F. Austin which is the highest since February 23, 2018.
•
Greg Kuakumensah averaged 16.5 points while shooting 75 percent (15-for-20) from the field in the last two games. Kuakumensah scored a career-high 18 points on 8 of 9 shooting, including going 2-for-2 from 3-pointers, versus Colgate.
On The Court
Albany Great Danes (5-6, 0-0 America East)
• Albany returns nine letterwinners, including all five starters, from last season's team.
• The Great Danes were picked fourth in the America East preseason poll. Sophomore guard Cameron Healy was named to the preseason all-conference team.
• After winning three straight, the Great Danes have lost their last three games (Yale, Bucknell, and Boston College).
• Cameron Healy (17.2 ppg) and Ahmad Clark (14.0) are the only Great Danes averaging double figures scoring.
• Cameron Healy is sixth in the nation in free throw percentage (.946).
Against The Great Danes (Tied 3-3)
• After winning three of the first four meetings, the Purple Eagles have lost the last two.
• Niagara won the first two meetings between the programs. The Purple Eagles won 84-77 in Albany in Nov. 1999 and 74-66 at home in Nov. 2000.
• The Purple Eagles won their third game in the series on December 30, 2014.
• The Great Danes won the most recent meeting in Albany, defeating the Purple Eagles 65-56 on December 23, 2015. Albany won last season's meeting at the Gallagher Center, 79-74.
Last Meeting - December 31, 2018
Albany 79, Niagara 74
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Purple Eagles closed out 2018 on Monday with a narrow defeat to the Albany Great Danes, 79-74, to conclude their non-conference schedule.
| The Series |
Tied 3-3 |
| Last Game |
December 31, 2018 |
|
Albany 79, Niagara 74 |
| Last Niagara win |
December 30, 2014 |
|
Niagara 65, Albany 47 |
| Last Albany win |
December 31, 2018 |
|
Albany 79, Niagara 74 |
| Last Niagara win at Albany |
November 28, 1999 |
|
Niagara 84, Albany 77 |
| Last Albany win at Home |
December 23, 2015 |
|
Albany 65, Niagara 56 |
| Current streak |
Albany, W2 |
Against The America East
• Niagara holds a commanding 53-26 advantage against the America East Conference.
• NU has winning records against Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
