PURPLE EAGLES MEN'S BASKETBALL
GAMES 4-5	Niagara Purple Eagles (0-3, 0-2 MAAC) vs. Fairfield Stags (1-5, 1-1 MAAC)
DATE | TIME	Friday, December 18 | 4 PM Saturday, December 19 |4 PM
LOCATION	Gallagher Center – Niagara University
GAME NOTES	Niagara | Fairfield
SERIES	Niagara Leads 43-35
STREAK	Fairfield W1
GAME PROGRAM	Game Program
BROADCAST	ESPN3 (Friday) | (Saturday) – Todd Callen/Mark Collins
RADIO	107.3 FM/AM 1400 (Friday) | (Saturday) – Pat Malacaro
LIVE STATS	PurpleEagles.com
TWITTER	@NiagaraMBB
INSTAGRAM	@NiagaraMBB

   The Niagara Purple Eagles will host their first games of the 2020-21 season when they face the Fairfield Stags in a two-game series on Friday and Saturday.
  •  The Purple Eagles began their 32nd season in the MAAC with a two-game series at Saint Peter's on December 11-12. NU fell in the opener, 70-54, and was edged in the second game, 53-49.
•  The Purple Eagles went 9-3 at home during the 2019-20 campaign, including going 8-2 in MAAC games. Niagara's 8-2 home record in league games last season was the best since the 2008-09 season. The series with Fairfield will be Niagara's first home games of the 2020-21 season.
•  Niagara and Fairfield have split the last 36 meetings (18-18) with NU holding an 11-7 record at home, including winning the last three meetings at the Gallagher Center.
•  The Purple Eagles began MAAC play last season with a 75-66 win at the Gallagher Center on January 3. NU had its bid for its first win at Fairfield since 2015 denied in the final seconds in a 61-60 defeat on February 21.
•  The Purple Eagles opened their season with a 75-45 defeat at Syracuse on December 3. Marcus Hammond led NU with 10 rebounds for his second career double-digit rebound game and shared team-high honors in scoring with eight points along with Nicholas Kratholm and Nick MacDonald. 
•  The MAAC introduced a new schedule format for the 2020-21 season featuring a Friday/Saturday playing format at the same venue for both games, with 24 hours of spacing between the two contests. The men's and women's schedules mirror each other so that one institution's program is home while the other is away, both facing the same opponent.
 

Tipoff Tidbits

•  Marcus Hammond, who led NU in scoring and rebounds last season, is averaging team-highs in points with 10 per game and rebounds with 6.3 per contest. 
•  Three Purple Eagles are averaging double figures scoring – Kobi Nwandu (12.5 ppg), Marcus Hammond (11.0 ppg), and Justin Roberts (10.0 ppg) – in the two MAAC games.
•  Kobi Nwandu averaged team-highs in scoring with 12.5 points per game and in assists with 2.5 per game, while also averaging 5.5 rebounds per game in Niagara's two games at Saint Peter's. He shot 41 percent from the field and 50 percent (4-for-8) from behind the arc.  Nwandu posted season-highs with 14 points and seven rebounds to lead NU on December 11 and scored 11 points, grabbed four rebounds, and had a game-high three assists on December 12.
•  The Purple Eagles are one of 17 NCAA Division I teams to return at least 70 percent of their production from the last season in each of the following categories: points (80%), rebounds (74%), assists (91%), steals (96%), and blocks (83%). 
•  The Purple Eagles were tabbed to finish sixth in the Preseason MAAC poll.
 
On The Court
Fairfield Stags (1-5, 1-1 MAAC)
•  The Stags are 1-5 on the season, including 0-3 on the road. Fairfield earned its first win of the season with a 67-52 win over Iona on December 12 in the second leg of the two-game set with the Gaels.
•  Three Stags – Taj Benning (11.8 ppg), Jesus Cruz (10.3 ppg), and Caleb Green (10.0 ppg) are averaging double figures through six games. Benning (13.0 ppg) and Green (12.0 ppg) are both averaging double-figure in league games.
 
Against The Stags (Niagara Leads 43-35)
•  After going 5-1 from January 2013 to March 2015, the Purple Eagles have won just three times in the last 11 meetings with the Stags.
•  The Purple Eagles are 16-8 at home in the series since the 1996-97 season.
 
Last Meeting - February 21, 2020
Fairfield 61, Niagara 60
 
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Niagara Purple Eagles were unable to hold off a second-half surge by the Fairfield Stags as they were edged in the final seconds, 61-60, on Friday night to stop a two-game win streak.
 

The Series	Niagara Leads 43-35
Last Game	February 21, 2020
	Fairfield 61, Niagara 60
Last Niagara win	January 3, 2020
	Niagara 75, Fairfield 66
Last Fairfield win	February 21, 2020
	Fairfield 61, Niagara 60
Last Niagara win at Home	January 3, 2020
	Niagara 75, Fairfield 66
Last Fairfield win at Niagara	February 26, 2017
	Fairfield 62, Niagara 58
Current Streak	Fairfield W1