NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
The Niagara Purple Eagles will conclude play in the Fort Myers Tip-Off Niagara Regional on Saturday against the Saint Francis Brooklyn Terriers.
Scene Setter
• The Purple Eagles are back in the Gallagher Center after a two-game road swing as part of the Fort Myers Tip-Off. The Purple Eagles began play in the Fort Myers Tip-Off with a defeat to 2018 Final Four participant Loyola Chicago on November 14, but bounced back with a solid performance to beat Wyoming on November 16.
• Niagara opened the regional with a 74-68 setback against the Grambling State Tigers on Friday.
• Niagara opened the season with a victory at home as Chris Casey improved to 4-2 in home openers with victories over Buffalo (2013), Brown (2015), Alabama A&M (2017) and St. Bonaventure (2018).
Tipoff Tidbits
• Marvin Prochet was named MAAC Player of the Week on November 19 after posting three consecutive double-doubles to open the season while averaging team-highs in points (19.0 ppg) and in rebounds (11.0 rpg).
• Marvin Prochet notched his fourth straight double-double after posting game-highs in points (23) and in rebounds (12), which both tied season-high marks, in the defeat to Grambling State on November 23. The four straight double-doubles are the longest streak by a Purple Eagle since Benson Egemonye had four straight during the 2008-09 season. Prochet has 13 career double-doubles, including 16 career 10-rebound games.
• Marvin Prochet is 35 points away from becoming the 47th member of the 1,000 point club.
• Dominic Robb established a new career-high in blocks with eight, including seven in the first half, which are tied for the second most blocks in a game in program history. The eight blocks are also tied for second most in the nation this season. Robb has three of the top-8 most blocks in a game in Niagara history.
• Dominic Robb blocked three shots at Wyoming, his 24th career 3-block game, to move into fourth on the career blocks list.
• Dominic Robb leads the MAAC in total blocks (17) and blocks per game (4.3) while ranking second in the nation in blocks per game and 10th in total blocks.
• Keleaf Tate established a new career-high in points with 17, had a game-high three steals which are a career-high, and shared team-high marks in assists with three versus St. Bonaventure.
• James Towns set a season-high in points, scoring a game-high 19 points with 14 coming in the second half, and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds at Loyola Chicago.
• Freshman Raheem Solomon scored his first career points with a 3-pointer on his way to 12 points, including a team-high 10 points in the second half, at Wyoming.
• The Purple Eagles received four votes in this week’s Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
Saint Francis Brooklyn Terriers (2-3, 0-0 NEC)
• Saint Francis Brooklyn returns nine letterwinners from last season’s team that went 13-18 overall and 10-8 in the NEC for a fifth place finish in the conference.
• Three Terriers are averaging double figures – Jalen Jordan (16.8 ppg), Chauncey Hawkins (11.0 ppg), and Glenn Sanabria (10.0 ppg).
• Saint Francis Brooklyn are 2-3 on the season with wins over Medgar Evers and at Lafayette. All three defeats have come against opponents in the Fort Myers Tip-Off (Boston College, Richmond, and IUPUI).
• Saint Francis Brooklyn is second in the conference in scoring defense (69.0 ppg), scoring margin (8.8), turnover margin (+2.8), 3-point field goals per game (9.5), and 3-point field goal defensive percentage (.297).
Against the Terriers (Niagara leads 15-4)
• Niagara leads the all-time series which started in the 1920s.
• The Purple Eagles and Terriers will meet for the first time since the 1991-92 season.
