NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara Purple Eagles and the Syracuse Orange will meet on Thursday, December 3 at 7 p.m. at the Carrier Dome.
The Purple Eagles and the Orange renewed their series for the first time in 19 years when they met at the Carrier Dome on December 28, 2019. Syracuse won 71-57, but the Purple Eagles were competitive throughout the game, and especially during the second half where they were outscored by only one point (30-29). Niagara outscored Syracuse in points off turnovers (12-7), bench points (33-8), and points in the paint (32-24) in the game.
Nick MacDonald led the Purple Eagles in scoring with a then-career-high 11 points in a career-high 26 points.
Greg Kuakumensah registered his second of two double-doubles on the season with 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
Niagara will be led by second-year head coach
Greg Paulus who was the recipient of the
2019-20 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award which is presented annually to the top first-year coach in NCAA Division I college basketball. Paulus, a native of Syracuse, was named Gatorade High School Football Player of the Year (2004) and the Gatorade High School Male Athlete of the Year (2005) at Christian Brothers Academy. After a successful playing career at Duke (2005-09), Paulus played on the Syracuse football team in 2009 where he was the starting quarterback and captain.
NU returns eight letterwinners, including four of the top five leading scorers, from last season's team that exceeded preseason predictions. Leading the way is the tandem of
Marcus Hammond and
Raheem Solomon, who were both recently named to Preseason All-MAAC teams. Hammond, who earned All-MAAC First Team honors last season, was a unanimous selection to the first team, while Solomon made the third team.
Syracuse was 18-14 and had won its first ACC Tournament game before the national pandemic ended the season. Syracuse returns four of five starters, including junior guard
Buddy Boeheim (15.3 ppg.). Coach
Jim Boeheim is in his 45th season in charge of the program at his alma mater.
Stay connected with Niagara Men's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Niagara Athletics all year long on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook , and purpleeagles.com.