PURPLE EAGLES MEN'S BASKETBALL
GAMES 17-18	Niagara Purple Eagles (7-9, 6-8 MAAC) vs. Siena Saints (8-2, 8-2 MAAC)
DATE | TIME	Saturday, February 20 |12 PM Sunday, February 21 | 12 PM
LOCATION	Gallagher Center – Niagara University
GAME NOTES	Niagara | Siena
SERIES	Siena Leads 54-49
STREAK	Siena W1
GAME PROGRAM	Game Program
BROADCAST	ESPN3 (Saturday) | (Sunday) – Todd Callen/Richard Walsh
RADIO	107.3 FM/AM 1400 (Saturday) | (Sunday) – Pat Malacaro
LIVE STATS	PurpleEagles.com
TWITTER	@NiagaraMBB
INSTAGRAM	@NiagaraMBB

    After a two-week break, the Niagara Purple Eagles resume play against the Siena Saints on February 20-21 at 12 p.m. inside of the Gallagher Center. For the February 20 game, Niagara and Siena have joined forces for a virtual sellout campaign in an effort to help offset the financial challenges incurred by both athletic departments over the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 

SCENE SETTER

 
•  The Purple Eagles' series with Siena will be their first games since their series with Monmouth on January 29-30 due to a previously scheduled bye week and a COVID-19 related pause.
•  NU split its two-game series with the Monmouth Hawks. After falling 77-67 on January 29, the Purple Eagles bounced back with an 83-74 win on January 30.
•  Niagara has won two of the last three meetings with Siena at home dating back to the 2016-17 season.
•  The Purple Eagles and Saints split last season's series with each team protecting home court. Niagara erased a double-digit first half deficit to edge Siena, 72-71 on January 19. The Saints used an early second half run to pull away for a 77-55 win on March 4 at the Times Union Center.
•  The Purple Eagles are 13-5 at the Gallagher Center in the last two seasons, including an 12-4 record in MAAC games. Niagara is 4-2 at home this season.   
 

TIPOFF TIDBITS

•  The Purple Eagles lead the MAAC and rank SIXTH in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (9.9). Niagara leads the conference in turnover margin (3.0), and in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1).
•  Kobi Nwandu was named MAAC Player of the Week (February 1) and Big 4 Player of the Week (February 3) after averaging 22.5 points per game, while shooting 52 percent, as the Purple Eagles split their two-game series with the Monmouth Hawks on January 29-30. Nwandu led all scorers in both games, including scoring a career-high 25 points on January 30.
•  Kobi Nwandu has three straight 20-point games and can become the first Purple Eagle with four straight 20-point games since Marvin Prochet (January 19-30, 2019).
•  Kobi Nwandu (14.4 ppg) and Marcus Hammond (13.7) are fourth and fifth, respectively, in the MAAC in scoring.
•  Greg Kuakumensah has scored in double figures in three straight games.
•  After scoring a total of 20 points in the previous five games, Jordan Cintron netted a career-high 22 points against Monmouth on January 30. He was perfect from the field (8-for-8) to become the first Purple Eagle to shoot 100 percent from the field with a minimum of five attempts since Matt Scott (5-for-5) on December 6, 2014 versus Canisius.
•  Nicholas Kratholm  is one of 30 NCAA Division I men's basketball student-athletes selected as a candidate for the 2020-21 Senior Class Award announced on February 8.
 
On The Court
Siena Saints (8-2, 8-2 MAAC)
•  The Saints were unanimous selection to repeat as the MAAC Champions, led by Jalen Pickett who was the unanimous pick as MAAC Preseason Player of the Year.
•  Siena is 8-2 on the season and split a pair at rival Marist on January 30-31 in its most recent games.
•  Three Saints are averaging double figures scoring - Jordan King (13.3 ppg), Manny Camper (13.2 ppg), and Jalen Pickett (13.1 ppg).
•  Manny Camper leads the MAAC and ranks 11th in the nation in rebounds per game, (10.7 rpg) to average a double-double for the season.
•  The Saints lead the MAAC in scoring margin (6.2), scoring defense (61.9 ppg), and field goal percentage (.445).         
 
Against The Saints (Siena Leads 54-49)
•  The Purple Eagles have dropped 11 of the last 14 meetings with the Saints since the 2013-14 season.
•  Niagara holds a 9-8 advantage in the last 17 games at the Gallagher Center and has won two of the last three meetings.
 
Last Meeting - March 4, 2020
Siena 77, Niagara 55
 
ALBANY, N.Y. – The Niagara Purple Eagles started their final road swing of the season with a 77-55 setback against conference-leading Siena on Wednesday night.
 

The Series	Siena Leads, 54-49
Last Game	March 4, 2020
	Siena 77, Niagara 55
Last Niagara win	March 3, 2019
	Niagara 72, Siena 71
Last Siena win	March 4, 2020
	Siena 77, Niagara 55
Last Niagara win at Home	March 3, 2019
	Niagara 72, Siena 71
Last Siena win at Niagara	March 3, 2019
	Siena 72, Niagara 65 (OT)
Current Streak	Siena W1