Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas
A pair of teams from the MAAC take the floor in the Big Apple looking to pick up a conference victory. The Niagara Purple Eagles make the trip within the Empire State as they face the Manhattan Jaspers Sunday afternoon. Niagara comes in off a 77-69 overtime win on the road over Fairfield Friday night, winning outright as a 3.5-point underdog. Manhattan was beaten 64-57 at home, losing outright as a 1.5-point favorite Friday night in their most recent game, to Canisius. In the all-time series between the teams, the Jaspers own a 42-30 advantage but the Purple Eagles have won the last two meetings. That includes an 80-74 overtime win at home in the most recent meeting on February 4, 2022.
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Niagara won their fourth straight and their sixth in the last seven games as they took down Fairfield in overtime on the road in their last game. The Purple Eagles improved to 9-5 overall and stand 4-1 in conference play with the win heading into this contest. Against Fairfield, Niagara trailed by as many as five and led by as many as five in the first half only to trail by two at intermission. The Purple Eagles trailed by 12 with 11:37 to play in regulation and by nine with 7:46 to play only to storm back and force overtime. In the extra session, Niagara jumped ahead with the opening bucket and led the rest of the way, outscoring Fairfield 14-6 to earn the win. The Purple Eagles shot 45.3% from the field, including hitting five of 18 from beyond the arc, while limiting the Stags to 31.8% shooting in the game. Aaron Gray led the way for Niagara with 30 points in the win.
The Purple Eagles have been brutal on the offensive end of the floor, ranking 324th of the 363 teams in Division I to take the floor this season in scoring offense as they muster 65.5 points per game. Niagara is collecting 32.8 rebounds a night while dishing an average of 11.8 assists a night. The Purple Eagles are solid defensively, ranking 74th as they allow an average of 64.7 points a night on the year. Noah Thomasson is one of two players for the Purple Eagles scoring in double figures as he puts up 17.9 points plus 3.6 rebounds a night. Aaron Gray (13.1 points, 5.5 rebounds) is the other player averaging in double figures this season for the team. Sam Iorio, Bryce Moore, Braxton Bayless, David Mitchell, Lance Erving, Keith Kiner, Joe Kasperzyk and Harlan Obioha are important players for coach Greg Paulus. Niagara is a shooting 44.3% from the floor as a team this year. The Purple Eagles connect on 6.6 three-pointers a night while shooting 35.5% from beyond the arc. Niagara is above av erage at the charity stripe as they knock down 72.2% of their attempts on the year.