Le Moyne (1-3) vs. Niagara University Purple Eagles (2-1)
Info: Monday, Nov. 17 | 7:00 PM | Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Court
Watch: NEC Front Row
Listen: FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM
Live Stats: https://lemoynedolphins.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Niagara Links: Schedule | Roster | News

LAST TIME OUT
The Dolphins fell at UMass, 94-80, in their only game last week. Sophomore guard Jakai Sanders led the Dolphins with career highs of 17 points, six rebounds and five assists. Redshirt junior guard Trent Mosquera recorded 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Redshirt sophomore guard Deng Garang turned in 14 points, a career-high six steals, four rebounds and four assists. Junior guard Samuel Hincapie tallied 14 points in eight minutes off the bench in the second half.

YEAR #3
The Dolphins are in their third year transitioning to the Division I level (as members of the NEC) and Le Moyne is the only school in the third year of the transition process. The Dolphins went 15-17 in their first season at the Division I level, including 9-7 in NEC action to earn the fourth seed in the conference tournament. The Dolphins won their first game of the NEC Championship over FDU, 82-61, before falling in the semifinals at Merrimack. The program went 9-23 a year ago, including 4-12 in NEC play, and was the eighth seed in the conference tournament.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Dolphins and Purple Eagles are meeting on the hardwood for the ninth time, but for the first time in Syracuse. Niagara has won each of the first eight matchups, including 88-69 last December.

COMMON OPPONENTS
The Dolphins and Purple Eagles have two common opponents this year, Binghamton and Fairfield. The Dolphins visit Binghamton on December 6 and host Fairfield this coming Saturday. UMass visited Binghamton on November 8 and hosts Fairfield on January 4, while visiting the Stags on January 22.

JESUIT CONNECTION
The Dolphins face three fellow Jesuit institutions this season. They visit Xavier University on November 6, host Fairfield University on November 22 and head to Boston College on December 28.

WELCOME BACK
The Dolphins feature six returning letterwinners and two redshirts. Sam Donnelly is a second-year graduate student, Nate Fouts, Trent Mosquera and Kaelin Thomas are redshirt juniors, Deng Garang and Trevor Roe are redshirt sophomores and Jakob Blakley and Isaac Nyakundi are sophomores.

NEW FACES
The Dolphins welcomed seven new players to the program for 2025-26. Ametri Moss, who spent two years apiece at State College of Florida and North Florida, and Shilo Jackson, who joined the team following two years each at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Vincennes, are graduate students; Tennessee Rainwater, who enrolled at Le Moyne following two seasons at Utah Tech, and Samuel Hincapie, who came to Le Moyne after two years at Lake Land College, are juniors and Jakai Sanders is a sophomore after one year at Saint Peter's, while Eli Greenberg and Josiah Lee are freshmen.

NEC PRESEASON POLL
In the NEC preseason coaches' poll, the Dolphins were picked to finish ninth in the regular season standings, the same position they finished last year. LIU, which advanced to the semifinals last year, was the unanimous selection to win the league, while back-to-back regular season champion Central Connecticut State landed second in the preseason coaches poll. Stonehill College finished third and Mercyhurst University, which is eligible for the conference tournament this year, placed fourth. FDU, which fell to CCSU in the semifinals, landed fifth and Chicago State, last year's seventh seed, moved up a spot from a year ago. Defending tournament champion Saint Francis University placed seventh in the poll and Wagner College, the 2024 champion, finished eighth. Conference newcomer University of New Haven rounded out the poll in 10th.

COACH CHAMP
Le Moyne head coach Nate Champion '14 is the sixth-youngest head coach in Division I this season following back-to-back years as the second-youngest, celebrating his 34th birthday in early December. Tevon Saddler (30) at Nicholls is the youngest, while Saah Nimley (Charleston Southern), John Andrzejek (Campbell) and Zach Chu (Radford) are all 32 and Ronnie Thomas (Longwood) is 33. In his first five seasons leading the Dolphins, Champion has posted a 70-79 record and led the Dolphins to the conference tournament each season and the 2020 NCAA Tournament (canceled prior to first game due to COVID pandemic). Champion served as an assistant coach at fellow NEC member Stonehill during the 2016-17 season.

FIRST WINS
The Dolphins earned their first win as a Division I program on November 13, 2023 over Division III SUNY Canton, 105-46. They claimed their first victory as a Division I program over a Division I program on November 21, 2023 at CSUN, 80-70, during the first game of the Golden State Hoops Jam. They collected their first home victory as a Division I program over a Division I program on December 16, 2023 over Dartmouth College, 80-54. The 'Phins earned their first NEC victory on January 6, 2024 at FDU, 74-63.

SCOUTING NIAGARA
The Purple Eagles are led by seventh-year head coach Greg Paulus, who is a Syracuse native and CBA alum. Niagara is 80-99, including 52-64 in MAAC play, under his direction. Paulus came to Niagara following assistant coaching stints at George Washington, Louisville, Ohio State and the Naval Academy. He played four seasons of basketball at Duke, where he was a three-year starter and two-time captain, and one season of football at Syracuse, where he was the starting quarterback, captain and set the single-season completion percentage record.

The Purple Eagles return three players, including one starter, from its 2024-25 team that went 11-20 overall and 6-14 in the MAAC, while adding eight transfers and one freshman.
 
Niagara is off to a 2-1 start to the season. The Purple Eagles opened the season with an 83-63 loss at Duquesne. Reggie Prudhomme led the Purple Eagles with 16 points in his Niagara debut, while Justin Page had 14 points. They then won at Binghamton, 67-59, on November 8. Trenton Walters had 23 points in 25 minutes off the bench, while Page tallied 20 points. In their home opener last Monday, the Purple Eagle downed Delaware State, 68-57. Justin Hawkins led five players in double figures with 13 points. Page had 12 points, five assists and four rebounds. Josiah Sabino and Will Shortt had 12 and 10 points, respectively.

WHAT'S NEXT:
Le Moyne will remain home to host Fairfield University on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.