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Wagner (7-4) rings in the New Year with a home date vs. long-time NEC rival St. Francis (NY). The Seahawks are coming off an 82-53 defeat at powerful Kansas St. of the Big 12 Conference on Tuesday. The Terriers (3-9), meanwhile, completed a two-game swing in the state of Ohio where they dropped games at Akron (77-70) and at Ohio University (70-53). 

THE MATCHUP
Wagner has featured balanced scoring all season as three players are averaging 12.0 points or better in fifth-year senior guard Joey Mundweiler (13.9), fifth-year senior forward Jamal Smith (13.5) and senior forward Llew Radford (12.0). Radford is the team leader in rebounds at 8.0 per game while fifth-year senior guard Justin Drummond has dished out a team-best 3.9 assists per game while scoring at a 9.1 points per game clip. St. Francis (NY) is led in scoring and rebounding by 6-5 junior Kayode Ayeni who checks in at 13.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Ayeni suffered a knee injury, however, vs. Albany on Dec. 22 and did not play on the two-game Ohio trip. He is listed as questionable for today's tilt. Sophomore guard Ricky Cadell, who is coming off a 30-point game at Ohio, averages 12.6 points while deep threat Stefan Perunicic is tallying 12.5 points per game. The 6-6 freshman from Serbia has hoisted 97 three-pointers and has hit on 40, a 41% average. The Seahawks have an all-time record of 36-42 vs. St. Francis (NY). Last season, Wagner won its only meeting between the schools, besting the Terriers 64-59 on Dec. 8 in a game that was televised live to a regional audience on MSG.

THE COACHES
Wagner College head coach Mike Deane is in his 25th season as a head coach and his sixth as the head man of the Seahawks. He holds an overall coaching mark of 423-297, having eclipsed the 400-win plateau last season. His 416 wins entering the season ranked him 27th among all active coaches. In his sixth season at Wagner, Deane is 81-76 on Grymes Hill. In 2007-08, Wagner delivered a memorable and milestone season, recording that 23-8 overall record and a 15-3 mark in the NEC, which was good for second place. The 23 wins set a school record for most wins in a season, besting the old mark of 21 wins accomplished on three occasions, 1967-68, 1978-79 and 2002-03. Brian Nash is in his fourth season at St. Francis (NY). Nash has compiled a 29-70 record in his three-plus seasons as head coach of the Terriers. He was named the 16th head coach in men's basketball history on March 30, 2005. Nash came to St. Francis from Seton Hall where he had served as assistant coach under Louis Orr since 2001. While at Seton Hall, Nash helped lead the Pirates to the 2nd round in the NCAA tournament in 2004 and the 1st round of the NIT in 2003.

WAGNER IN THE NEC
According to the latest NEC statistics (updated through games of Dec. 31), Wagner is No. 1 in the NEC in scoring margin (+1.5). In fact, the Seahawks are the only NEC team who has scored more points than they have allowed. Wagner is also No. 1 in the NEC in assists/game (0.94) and field goal percentage (.463). The Seahawks are second in the NEC in FG % defense (.420), 3-point field goal percentage (.396), three-pointers made/game (9.00) and assists/game (15.18). 

Wagner-Kansas St. Recap (12/30)
Powerful Kansas St. of the Big 12 Conference nailed seven of their first 10 shots from the field in jumping out 12-0 lead en route to an 82-53 victory over Wagner. The hot-shooting Wildcats opened leads of 24-2 and 33-8 lead before Wagner settled down to trail 44-21 at halftime. Kansas St. then opened the second half with a 13-5 spurt in building its biggest lead of the game of 31 at 57-26 with 14:43 left in the game. Wagner then put together its best stretch of the game, a 14-1 run over the next 3:57 to slice the deficit to 18 at 58-40 with 10:46 to go. Freshman guard Tyler Murray, who scored a career-high 13 points, played a big role in the 14-1 Wagner run by scoring nine points, including a rare four-point play when he was fouled on a made three-pointer and sank the free throw. Murray shot 4-of-5 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Fifth-year senior guard Joey Mundweiler finished with a team-high 17 points. Fifth-year senior guard Justin Drummond added 10 points, three assists and three steals. Kansas St. was led in scoring by guard Jacob Pullen's 24 points while fellow guards Dominique Sutton and Denis Clemente added 21 and 15 points, respectively.

Mundweiler Movin' On Up
Joey Mundweiler now stands at 37th on the Wagner all-time scoring list with 1,005 career point. The 6-2 sharp-shooter is up to 247 three-pointers made, second on the Wagner all-time list, leaving him 24 shy of passing Dedrick Dye (1999-2003) who nailed 270 treys in his career. He recently passed Dye for the No. 1 spot on the Seahawk career list in three-pointers attempted with 685. Dye attempted 670 in his career. With his 17-point outing vs. Kansas St., Mundweiler has now scored in double figures in nine straight games. Mundweiler's team-leading 13.9 points per game average ranks him ninth in the NEC. He is second in the conference in three-pointers made at 3.00 per game.

Who's Hot
In Wagner's last three games, Jamal Smith and Joey Mundweiler are averaging 16.0 and 15.3 points, respectively. 

Smith is Steady as They Come
The 6-5 senior forward and captain is up to 1,052 career points, which places him 33rd on the all-time Seahawk scoring list. He needs nine points to pass Nigel Wyatte (200-04) who stands at 32nd with 1,060 points. Lamont Street (1990-94) is 31st with 1,063 points. Smith's 13.0 scoring average is 10th in the NEC.
30. Arnold Obey (1965-68)...........      1081
31. Lamont Street (1990-94)........     1063
32. Nigel Wyatte (2000-04)..........      1060
33. Jamal Smith (2004 - )                   1052
34. Charlie Harreus (1952-55).......   1029
35. James Ulrich (2004-08)..........     1023
36. Marty Ansa, Jr. (1960-63)........      1014
37. Joey Mundweiler (2004 - )...         1005

Radford Rock-Solid
Senior forward Llew Radford is the third Seahawk ranked in the top 20 in scoring in the NEC. The 6-3 Radford checks in at 12.0 points per game, which ranks him 18th in the league. His team-best 8.0 rebounds per game ranks him fourth in the conference.

Two over 60%
While neither has attempted enough shots to be listed in the NEC official rankings, sophomore forward Clifton Spiller and junior center Michael Orock are averaging more than 60% shooting from the field. The pair of 6-7 post players have made the most of their offensive scoring opportunities, Spiller hitting at a 65% clip (13-of-20) and Orock checking in at 62% (21-34).