Manhattan, Niagara meet in conference play

Manhattan (5-5, 1-0) vs. Niagara (3-9, 1-0)

Gallagher Center, Niagara, New York; Sunday, 1 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: MAAC foes meet as Manhattan squares off against Niagara. Both teams earned victories this past Friday. Niagara earned a 75-66 win at home over Fairfield, while Manhattan won 71-67 at Canisius.

STEPPING UP: Niagara’s James Towns has averaged 15 points while Marcus Hammond has put up 10.8 points. For the Jaspers, Tykei Greene has averaged 11.2 points and 6.5 rebounds while Pauly Paulicap has put up nine points and 6.1 rebounds.GIFTED GREENE: Greene has connected on 35.7 percent of the 42 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 7 of 11 over his last three games. He’s also converted 63.6 percent of his free throws this season.

ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Purple Eagles have recently created buckets via assists more often than the Jaspers. Niagara has 43 assists on 79 field goals (54.4 percent) over its previous three outings while Manhattan has assists on 33 of 67 field goals (49.3 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: Niagara has committed a turnover on just 16.8 percent of its possessions this season, which is the best rate among all MAAC teams. The Purple Eagles have turned the ball over only 11.6 times per game this season and just 8.8 times per game over their last five games.