Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball

The Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team is the college basketball team that represents Niagara University in 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.

Niagara Purple Eagles
2024–25 Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team
University	Niagara University
All-time record	1508–1290–1 (.539)
Head coach	Greg Paulus (6th season)
Conference	MAAC
Location	Lewiston, New York
Arena	Gallagher Center (capacity: 2,400)
Nickname	Purple Eagles
Colors	Purple and white[1]
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
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

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

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
2023–24	Niagara	16-16	11-9	6th
Niagara Purple Eagles:		496–564 (.468)	305–311 (.495)
Total:		496–564 (.468)
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.Bonaventure #7 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
Pete 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

• Joe Arlauckas
• Al Butler
• T. J. Cline (born 1994), American-Israeli basketball player
• Larry Costello
• Boo Ellis
• Bo Erias
• Ed Fleming
• Sam Iorio (born 1998), American-Israeli basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Manny Leaks
• Juan Mendez
• Calvin Murphy
• Zeke Sinicola
• Joe Smyth
• Chris Watson (born 1975), American-Israeli basketball player in the Israeli Premier League. In the Niagara University Hall of Fame.
• Andy Walker