LISTEN LIVE

The Wagner College men's basketball team (10-7, 3-4 NEC), coming off a split of its two-game Western Pennsylvania swing, takes to the road again this evening by making the short trek to St. Francis (NY) (4-13, 2-5 NEC) for a 7:00 pm meeting with the Terriers. 

THE MATCHUP 
This is the first rematch of the 2008-09 season for the Seahawks as Wagner posted an 80-78 come-from-behind win on Staten Island on Jan. 3. The tenacious Terriers, who held the lead for the better part of the first meeting between the schools, are 3-3 this season at Peter Aquilone Court and are coming off a hard-fought 74-70 decision on Monday night at LIU. Wagner continues to be one of just two teams in the NEC, along with Quinnipiac, who have four players averaging in double figures. Fifth-year senior long-range specialist Joey Mundweiler leads the way at 13.4 points per game. Following closely behind his fifth-year senior forward Jamal Smith at 13.1 points per outing. Senior forward Llew Radford is next at 12.9 points per game and a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game, which is third in the NEC. Fifth-year senior point guard Justin Drummond checks in at 10.3 points per game and has dished out a team-high 63 assists and has blocked a team-high 19 shots. Sophomore guard Ricky Cadell averages 12.6 points while deep threat Stefan Perunicic is tallying 11.5 points per game. The 6-6 freshman from Serbia has hoisted 137 three-pointers and has hit on 52, a 38 percent average. The Terriers lead the all-time series 42-37.

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. Deane holds an overall coaching mark of 426-300, 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 82-78 on Grymes Hill. In 2007-08, Wagner delivered a memorable and milestone season, recording a 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 30-74 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.