Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball

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Niagara Purple Eagles
2023–24 Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team
UniversityNiagara University
All-time record1492–1274–1 (.539)
Head coachGreg Paulus (5th season)
ConferenceMAAC
LocationLewiston, New York
ArenaGallagher Center
(Capacity: 2,400)
NicknamePurple Eagles
ColorsPurple and white[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away


NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1970
NCAA tournament second round
1970
NCAA tournament appearances
1970, 2005, 2007
Conference tournament champions
2005, 2007
Conference regular season champions
1999, 2005, 2013
WNY3: 1948, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1955
For information on all Niagara University sports, see Niagara Purple Eagles

The Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team is the

Lewiston, New York, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The team formerly played at the now-defunct Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center
from 1973 to 1982 and from 1988 to 1996.

History

Niagara has played in the NCAA Tournament three times. They last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2007. They played in the National Invitation Tournament on 14 occasions, advancing to the championship game in 1972 before losing to Maryland.[2] Niagara has been ranked in the AP Final Polls twice, 16th in 1954 and 17th in 1970.[3]

Roster

2023-2024 Niagara Purple Eagles
Number Name Position Height Year Previous School Hometown
1 Randy Tucker Guard 6'4" Graduate Student Green Bay Rock Island, Illinois United States
2 Lance Erving Guard 6'3" Senior Chipola Community College Leesburg, Florida United States
4 Braxton Bayless Guard 6'2" Senior Indian Hills Community College Ankeny, Iowa United States
5 Luke Bumbalough Guard 6'1" Graduate Student Ball State New Castle, Indiana United States
10 Jalen Brown Guard 5'10" Sophomore De La Salle Chicago, Illinois United States
11 Ahmad Henderson II Guard 5'9" Sophomore Brother Rice Chicago, Illinois United States
12 Kwane Marble Jr. Guard 6'5" Graduate Student Loyola Marymount Denver, Colorodo United States
13 Dre Bullock Forward 6'6" Junior LA Tech Franklinton, North Carolina United States
15 Yaw Obeng-Mensah Forward 6'7" Senior UMBC Toronto, Ontario Canada
20 Malik Edwards Guard 6'2" Junior William Penn (NAIA) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States
24 Aime Rutayisire Forward 6'8" Sophomore Barton (NJCAA) Adelaide, South Australia Australia
55 Harlan Obioha Forward 7'0" Sophomore Hoxie High School Hoxie, Kansas United States

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Purple Eagles have appeared in three

NCAA Tournaments
. Their combined record is 2–4.

Year Round Opponent Result
1970
First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Regional third place Game
Pennsylvania
Villanova
North Carolina State
W 79–69
L 73–98
L 88–108
2005 First Round Oklahoma L 67–85
2007 Opening Round
First Round
Florida A&M
Kansas
W 77–69
L 67–107

NIT results

The Purple Eagles have appeared in 14 National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 9–14.

Year Round Opponent Result
1950 First Round Western Kentucky L 72–79
1953 First Round
Quarterfinals
BYU
Seton Hall
W 82–76
L 74–79
1954 Quarterfinals
Semifinals
3rd Place Game
Dayton
Duquesne
Western Kentucky
W 77–74
L 51–66
W 71–65
1955 First Round
Quarterfinals
Lafayette
Cincinnati
W 83–70
L 83–85
1956 Quarterfinals St. Francis (NY) L 72–74
1958 First Round Xavier L 86–95
1961 Quarterfinals Providence L 68–71
1972 First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
UTEP
Princeton
St. John's
Maryland
W 76–57
W 65–60
W 69–67
L 69–100
1976 First Round Kentucky L 61–67
1987 First Round
Second Round
Seton Hall
La Salle
W 74–65
L 81–89
1993 First Round Boston College L 83–87
2004 Opening Round
First Round
Troy
Nebraska
W 87–83
L 70–78
2009 First Round Rhode Island L 62–68
2013 First Round Maryland L 72–86

CIT results

The Purple Eagles made their first appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) in 2018. Their record is 0–1.

Year Round Opponent Result
2018 First Round Eastern Michigan L 65–83

All time MAAC Awards

Award Name Winner
All-MAAC First Team Patrick Jones 1989-90
Brian Clifford 1991-92
1992-93
Chris Watson 1995-96
Alvin Young 1998-99
Demond Stewart 2000-01
Daryl Greene 2001-02
Juan Mendez 2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
Charron Fisher 2006-07
2007-08
Tyrone Lewis 2008-09
Bilal Benn 2008-09
Juan'ya Green 2012-13
Antoine Mason 2012-13
Kahlil Dukes 2017-18
Marcus Hammond 2019-20
2021-22
Noah Thomasson 2022-23
All-MAAC Second Team Brian Clifford 1990-91
Rob Robinson 1992-93
Chris Watson 1994-95
1996-97
Jermaine Young 1997-98
Jeremiah Johnson 1998-99
Demond Stewart 1999-00
Daryl Greene 1999-00
Tremmell Darden 2002-03
2003-04
Alvin Cruz 2004-05
Clif Brown 2006-07
Tyrone Lewis 2007-08
Benson Egemonye 2008-09
Tyrone Lewis 2009-10
Bilal Benn 2009-10
Anthony Nelson 2010-11
Antoine Mason 2013-14
Matt Scott 2017-18
Marvin Prochet 2018-19
Kobi Nwandu 2020-21
Marcus Hammond 2020-21
All-MAAC Third Team Alvin Young 1997-98
Michael Schmidt 2000-01
Tremmell Darden 2001-02
David Brooks 2003-04
James Reaves 2003-04
Clif Brown 2005-06
Lorenzo Miles 2006-07
Stanley Hodge 2007-08
Juan'ya Green 2011-12
Matt Scott 2015-16
2016-17
All-MAAC Rookie Team Juan Mendez 2001-02
Tyrone Lewis 2006-07
Anthony Nelson 2007-08
Marvin Jordan 2010-11
Juan'ya Green 2011-12
Antoine Mason 2011-12
T.J. Cline
2012-13
Dominique Reid 2014-15
Player of the year Alvin Young 1998-99
Demond Stewart 2000-01
Juan Mendez 2004-05
Kahlil Dukes 2017-18
Defensive player of the year Tyrone Lewis 2008-09
Anthony Nelson 2010-11
Rookie of the year Brian Clifford 1990-91
Juan'ya Green 2011-12
Sixth man of the year Juan Mendez 2001-02
James Mathis 2004-05
Clif Brown 2005-06
Coach of the Year Jack Armstrong 1992-93
Joe Mihalich 1998-99
2004-05
2012-13

*Up to 2021-22 season

Seasons

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
1969–70 Niagara 22–7 NCAA Regional semifinals
1970–71 Niagara 15–11
1971–72 Niagara 21–9 NIT Championship game
1972–73 Niagara 9–16
1973–74 Niagara 12–14
1974–75 Niagara 13–14
1975–76 Niagara 17–12
1976–77 Niagara 13–13
1977–78 Niagara 14–12
1978–79 Niagara 6–20
Niagara University Purple Eagles (ECAC North
) (1979–1987)
1979–80 Niagara 11–16 11–15 8th
1980–81 Niagara 11–15 11–15 T–6th
1981–82 Niagara 19–8 7–2 T–2nd
1982–83 Niagara 11–18 5–4 5th
1983–84 Niagara 10–18 5–9 6th
1984–85 Niagara 16–12 11–5 4th
1985–86 Niagara 14–14 10–8 T–5th
1986–87 Niagara 21–10 14–4 2nd NIT Second round
Niagara University Purple Eagles (North Atlantic Conference
) (1987–1989)
1987–88 Niagara 15–15 12–6 T–3rd
1988–89 Niagara 9–19 6–12 7th
Niagara University Purple Eagles (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
) (1989–Present)
1989–90 Niagara 6–22 5–11 T–4th
1990–91 Niagara 8–20 6–10 6th
1991–92 Niagara 14–14 8–8 T–5th
1992–93 Niagara 23–7 11–3 2nd NIT First round
1993–94 Niagara 6–21 3–11 T–7th
1994–95 Niagara 5–25 2–12 8th
1995–96 Niagara 13–15 6–8 6th
1996–97 Niagara 11–17 5–9 T–5th
1997–98 Niagara 14–13 10–8 T–3rd
1998–99 Niagara 17–12 13–5 T–1st
1999–00 Niagara 17–12 10–8 T–4th
2000–01 Niagara 15–13 12–6 T–1st
2001–02 Niagara 18–14 10–6 T–3rd
2002–03 Niagara 17–12 12–6 T–3rd
2003–04 Niagara 22–10 13–5 2nd NIT First round
2004–05 Niagara 20–10 13–5 T–1st NCAA first round
2005–06 Niagara 11–18 7–11 T–7th
2006–07 Niagara 23–12 13–5 2nd NCAA first round
2007–08 Niagara 19–10 12–6 T–3rd
2008–09 Niagara 26–9 14–4 2nd NIT First round
2009–10 Niagara 18–15 9–9 T–5th
2010–11 Niagara 9–23 5–13 8th
2011–12 Niagara 14–19 8–10 T–6th
2012–13 Niagara 19–14 13–5 1st NIT First round
2013–14 Niagara 7–26 3–17 11th
2014–15 Niagara 8–22 7–13 T–8th
2015–16 Niagara 7–25 5–15 10th
2016–17 Niagara 10–23 6–14 9th
2017–18 Niagara 19–14 12–6 3rd CIT First round
2018–19 Niagara 13–19 6–12 T–9th
2019–20 Niagara 12–20 9–11 T–6th
2020–21 Niagara 9–11 7–9 5th
2021–22 Niagara 14-16 9-11 5th
2022–23 Niagara 16-15 10-10 5th
Niagara Purple Eagles: 480–548 (.467) 294–302 (.493)
Total: 466–532 (.467)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Niagara wins vs. the AP Top 25

Year Opponent Score Site
1950–51 #17
St.Johns
W 72–57
W 77–75
Home
Away
1953–54 #6 La Salle
#16 La Salle
#14 Dayton
#4 Western Kentucky
W 74–66
W 69–50
W 77–74
W 71–65
Home
Home
Neutral
Neutral
1954–55 #14 Holy Cross W 72–68 Away
1955–56 #18 La Salle W 72–70 Away
1957–58 #16
Western Kentucky
W 77–74 OT Neutral
1960–61 #2 St.Bonaventure W 87–77 Away
1966–67 #9 Providence W 77–76 Home
1969–70 #6
Tennessee
#7 Pennsylvania
W 69–68
W 79–69
Neutral
Neutral
1970–71 #9 Drake W 87–77 Neutral
1984–85 #4 St.Johns W 62–59 Home

Retired jerseys

Niagara has retired nine jerseys.[4]

Niagara Purple Eagles retired numbers
No. Player Career
3 Boo Ellis 1955–1958
3 Phil Scaffidi 1975–1980
4 Al Butler 1958–1961
11 Tom Birch 1948–1951
19 Zeke Sinicola 1948–1951
21 James Moran 1948–1951
23 Calvin Murphy 1967–1970
69 Larry Costello 1951–1954
70 Ed Fleming 1951–1955

Head coaches

Name Years Seasons Wins Losses Pct
Greg Paulus* 2019–present 4 20 30 0.400
Patrick Beilein[5]* 2019* N/A N/A N/A N/A
Chris Casey 2013–2019 6 64 129 0.332
Joe Mihalich 1998–2013 15 265 203 0.566
Jack Armstrong
1989–1998 9 100 154 0.394
Andy Walker 1985–1989 4 59 58 0.504
Pete Lonergan 1980–1985 5 67 73 0.479
Dan Raskin 1976–1980 4 44 61 0.419
Frank Layden 1968–1976 8 119 97 0.551
James Maloney 1965–1968 3 35 38 0.479
Taps Gallagher 1946–1965 19 300 172 0.636
Edward T. Flynn 1944–1946 2 18 14 0.562
Taps Gallagher 1931–1943 12 165 89 0.650
William McCarthy 1927–1931 4 44 35 0.557
Peter Dwyer 1923–1927 4 41 30 0.577
John Blake 1919–1923 4 61 14 0.813

*-Beilein was hired in March 2019 but resigned in October 2019 without having coached a game;[6] Paulus was named interim head coach in his place.

Purple Eagles in the NBA or National leagues

Chris Watson

References

  1. ^ "Niagara University Athletic Department Quick Facts". August 2, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  2. ^ "A trip Down Memory Lane-The 1972 NIT Championship Game -Terps 100 Niagara 69". terptalk.com. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  3. ^ "Niagara Purple Eagles Index". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  4. ^ "MBB History Book as of Nov. 9, 2022 (PDF)" (PDF). Niagara University Athletics.
  5. ^ Lenzi, Rachel (2019-03-28). "Niagara hires Patrick Beilein as men's basketball coach". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
  6. ^ "Greg Paulus Named Interim Head Coach". Niagara University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-10-24.

External links