Game No. 30
2012 MAAC Basketball Championship
First Round Game
Canisius (5-24, 1-17 MAAC) vs. Niagara (13-18, 8-10 MAAC)
Date: Friday, March 2, 2012
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Place: MassMutual Center - Springfield, Mass.
TV: None
Online Video: None
Radio: Golden Griffin Broadcast Network
Talent: Jay Moran (p-x-p) and Mike Scott (color)

CANISIUS AND NIAGARA TAKE RIVALRY TO SPRINGFIELD

• The Canisius College Golden Griffins will head to Springfield, Mass., to take on long-time rival Niagara in the first round of the 2012 MAAC Basketball Championship tonight.
  This series dates back to 1904 and this is the 170th all-time meeting between these two teams, but it marks just the sixth time the Griffs and Purple Eagles have played in the MAAC Tournament.
  The Griffs are 5-24 overall and went 1-17 in the MAAC play after losing at Siena Feb. 26

FAST BREAK POINTS

• Canisius enters this year's MAAC Championship tournament as the No. 10 seed. The Golden Griffins became the first team in league history to win a tournament game as the No. 10 seed in 2008 when the Blue and Gold defeated Iona 64-59 in the first round.
• Canisius is 11-3 all-time in MAAC Tournament first round games and 3-2 all-time against Niagara in MAAC Tournament games, with the last meeting coming in the 2002 MAAC Tournament semifinal round in Albany, N.Y.
• On this year's active roster, only five players have played a MAAC Tournament game, with junior guard Alshwan Hymes leading the way with three games played.
• Niagara swept Canisius during the 2011-12 regular season. The game at Niagara Feb. 15, was won by the Purple Eagles by a 60-57 count in overtime - the 18th overtime game in the history of this series.
• Junior Harold Washington was named Second-Team All-MAAC when the conference announced its postseason awards on Monday.
• Washington scored a team-high 27 points at Siena Feb. 26 in the team's regular-season finale. He has posted 20-plus points nine times this year, which is the most for a Griff since Darrell Barley had 20-or more points 11 times during the 1995-96 season.
• Hymes leads the MAAC and ranks 21st nationally with his 2.8 3-point field goals per game.
• Sophomore Chris Manhertz leads the team with his 218 rebounds this season. He is just the eighth Canisius player to record 215-or more rebounds in a single season since 1980-81.

ABOUT THE PURPLE EAGLES

• Niagara enters the MAAC Tournament as the No. 7 seed after the team went 13-18 overall and 8-10 in MAAC play.
• The Purple Eagles dropped their regular-season finale at Marist Feb. 26, by a score of 89-77, but the team has won four of the team's last six, dating back to Feb. 9.
• Freshman Juan'ya Green was named to the All-MAAC Third-Team on Monday and was named to the conference's All-Rookie Team as well. He led the team with 17.5 points and 4.4 assists per game this season.
• Fellow freshman Antoine Mason was also honored to the All-Rookie Team. He is averaging 15.4 points per game this season, while sophomore Marvin Jordan is good for 10.6 points per outing.

CANISIUS - NIAGARA SERIES

• This will be the 170th all-time meeting between these two Western New York schools and it marks the sixth time these rivals have played in the MAAC Tournament.
• Niagara leads the all-time series 94-75 sweeping the regular-season series in 2011-12.
• These two schools played the 18th overtime in series history Feb. 15 at Niagara, with the Purple Eagles winning 60-57. All-time, the series is tied at 9-9 in overtime games.
• Since this series started in 1904, there have been 10 previous occasions where Canisius and Niagara have played three times in a single season. Niagara won all three meetings twice (1993 and 2002) and Canisius took all three meetings in 1994.