LEWISTON — For 34 years, Niagara was a staple at the MAAC tournament.
They were there every year.
It was almost a guarantee that the Purple Eagles would be headed to the postseason.
That is, until last year. Last year was the first time they did not play in the conference tournament in program history.
Now with seven games remaining, history might be repeating itself for the Purple Eagles. But it’s not something the coaches or the players are worried about right now.
“We haven’t thought long term,” Niagara head coach Greg Paulus said. “It’s always been about the next day and how can we can make that the best day. We’ve got to get a little bit better each day in order to prepare for when that opportunity comes in terms of the game. … It’s just, ‘Hey, let’s keep getting better, keep getting better’ — and our team has gotten better over the last few weeks.”
Heading into the last seven games of the season, the Purple Eagles are two games in the win column out of the 10th seed. The Purple Eagles are heading down the stretch with a 6-17 overall record and a 3-10 mark in conference play.
They are trying to chase down Manhattan College, which has a 9-15 overall record and a 5-8 record in conference play.
“We found the formula and we just got to keep stacking and winning,” Niagara junior Josiah Sabino said. “We’re going to have a tough road stretch, we just got to come together and play the way we played tonight and just keep it pushing. We’ve been through a lot of adversity throughout the course of the year. We just gotta keep it going and we’re right there. We’re like a pinch of salt away from just knocking the door away.”
Earlier this season, the Purple Eagles and Jaspers faced off, with the Jaspers getting a 79-70 win. In that game, Sabino had eight points on 2-for-5 shooting.
After starting the season 2-9, the Purple Eagles have now won four out of their last 12 games. The slow start to the season came as they were trying to assimilate eight new players into the team.
“I would never count us out,” Sabino said. “We went on a rough stretch but we’re right there and I feel like today, we’re knocking at the door and we just broke the door open. … I feel like this is a big month for us to stack wins and keep it going and make a big push and a big run. I feel like, you get a couple wins together, we’re going to be a big team to watch out (for).”
The process has been one that has taken time as they have dealt with injuries, but Paulus and his team are trying to figure it out down the stretch.
The Purple Eagles’ most recent game was a 65-56 win over Canisius on Tuesday.
“For us, it’s all about our habits and how we’re preparing,” Paulus said. “We did a really good job on a quick turnaround for this game and we’re gonna have to do the same thing for the next one.”
One of the things that has tripped up the Purple Eagles in their pursuit of a tournament appearance is their play in close games. In games that have been decided by ten points or fewer, they have gone 4-10.
“We want to put ourselves in that position first and for us to do that, we want to play our best basketball and we want to give ourselves that chance,” Paulus said. “We’ve had a couple of opportunities that didn’t go our way. So for us to respond in this way tonight and be able to finish it off here, the last couple of minutes was something I was really proud of our guys.”
Over the last seven games, the Purple Eagles have six games against teams ahead of them in the standings. If they do make it to Atlantic City, the Purple Eagles will be looking for their first win at the tournament in two years.
“We play really hard,” Sabino said. “We compete in practice, we hang off the court and just the way we’re vibing … We’re becoming brothers and this last stretch of February, I feel like we’re going to really do something special.”