Morgantown, WV - Niagara men's basketball opened up the 2026-27 campaign falling to West Virginia 91-46 in a non-conference matchup inside Hope Coliseum.
The Purple Eagles start 0-1, while the Mountaineers open 1-0.
Ruey Ruey got the first points of the season for Niagara with a three ball, his first attempt of the game. West Virginia knotted the game up at five, then the Purple Eagles went on an 8-0 run started with a three-pointer from Bastien Rieber, followed by a slam from Cole Farrell and a trey from Logan Woods into the first media timeout with Niagara leading 13-5.
Out of the break the Mountaineers broke up the Purple Eagles run with a free throw, but Brian Angeletti answered with Niagara's fourth three of the first six minutes to push the lead to 16-6.
West Virginia answered with a 10-0 run of their own in the next 2:33 to tie the game up at 16 forcing the Purple Eagles to call their first timeout of the contest. The Mountaineers continued their momentum out of the break to push the run to 23-3 with Trenton Walters scoring his first basket of the game.
Back-to-back baskets from Woods and Rieber closed the gap to nine points and forced West Virginia to take their first timeout of the game with 3:29 remaining in the half. The teams traded baskets to end the half with the Mountaineers leading 43-30.
Niagara shot 52.2% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc in the first half. Woods led the way with seven points, followed by Rieber with six and Ruey with five.
Both teams traded buckets to begin the second half with Farrell and Woods both knocking down a pair to keep the deficit at 13 into the first media timeout of the second half. West Virginia went on a 10-0 to force the Purple Eagles to call their first timeout of the second half trailing 62-39.
Walters recorded the lone Purple Eagles bucket over the next four minutes as the Mountaineers pushed their lead to 73-41. West Virginia closed out the game on a 17-5 run as Angeletti and Tae Blackshear scored for Niagara.
The Purple Eagles shot 42.2% from the field and 40.0% from three. Logan Woods led the Purple and White with 12 points shooting 5-8 and 2-4 from beyond the arc.
Niagara Notes
Niagara is now 3-4 all-time against West Virginia
This was the first matchup between the Purple Eagles and Mountaineers since Jan. 5, 1952.
Ruey, Rotta, Miccoli, Angeletti and Daniel Emokhare all made their collegiate debtus
Woods, Rieber, Farrell, Vukasin Todorovic and Tae Blackshear all made their Purple Eagles debuts
Ruey and Rieber both brought down five rebounds to lead the Purple and White
Niagara out blocked West Virginia 4-2
Up Next
Niagara heads back to the Gallagher Center to face Morgan State Saturday October 8 at 6:30 PM for their home opener. Fans can purchase tickets online at https://app.fanbaseclub.com/fixture/niagara-university-athletics/22636
