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GAME NOTES

Wagner has won four of its last five games, most recently a 78-69 victory at Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday night to improve its record to 9-4 overall, 2-1 in the NEC. Tonight the Seahawks square off at long-time NEC kingpin Central Connecticut State (5-8, 1-2). 

The Matchup
Fifth-year senior guard Joey Mundweiler leads the team at 14.4 points per game while fifth-year senior forward Jamal Smith and senior forward Llew Radford check in at 13.3 and 13.1 points, respectively. For good measure, fifth-year senior point guard Justin Drummond supplies 9.8 points and a team-high 3.9 assists er game. This marks the 27th meeting between the schools and Wagner leas the series 14-12. The teams split last year's meetings, each holding serve on their respective home courts.

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 425-297, 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 82-77 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. Howie Dickenman has compiled a record of 197-169 in his 12-plus seasons at the helm of the Blue Devil program. A 1970 CCSU graduate, Dickenman has guided the Blue Devils to three NEC championships and entered the season with the sixth-best winning percentage (.629) in NEC play in league history. 

Wagner-FDU Recap (1/5)
Four different players scored in double figures, led by fifth-year senior guard Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS/ Olathe East) who tallied 18 points, Wagner earned a 78-69 NEC victory over Fairleigh Dickinson in a game that featured eight ties and 12 lead changes. The Seahawks took the lead for good on a layup by senior forward Llew Radford (Newport News, VA/ Heritage) that gave Wagner a 63-62 lead with 4:43 left in the game. This bucket ignited a 13-2 run that lifted the Seahawks to a commanding 74-64 lead with 39 seconds to go. Radford recorded his second consecutive double-double and fourth of the season, a spirited 15-point, 10-rebound effort. Fifth-year senior point guard Justin Drummond (Baltimore, MD/ McDonogh) scored 17 points and helped seal the game by sinking 7-of-8 free throws in the second half. Fifth-year senior forward Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD/ Towson Catholic) added 16 points and seven rebounds, which gives him an even 500 rebounds for his career. Junior center Michael Orock (Hoboken, NJ/ Hoboken) also made his presence felt in the post with nine rebounds to go with two points.

Balance Kills
In football, the adage is speed kills. In basketball, balance kills. A mjor reason for Wagner's 9-4 start this season is due to its scoring balance. Fifth-year senior guard Joey Mundweiler leads the team at 14.4 points per game while fifth-year senior forward Jamal Smith and senior forward Llew Radford check in at 13.3 and 13.1 points, respectively. For good measure, fifth-year senior point guard Justin Drummond supplies 9.8 points and a team-high 3.9 assists per game.

Mundweiler Movin' On Up
Fifth-year senior guard Joey Mundweiler made the most of his trip to his home state on Dec. 30, scoring 17 points, including the 1,000th point of his career, in front of a host of friends and family members vs. Kansas St. In a classy gesture, Kansas St. presented Mundweiler with the game ball after the game in recognition of his accomplishment. Mundweiler, who enters the Central Connecticut St. game 34th on the Wagner all-time list with 1,040 points, reached another milestone in Wagner's win over FDU on Jan. 5 when he cracked the NEC all-time Top 10 in career three pointers made. Mundweiler has drained 255 three-pointers which places him 10th, five behind current Monmouth head coach Dave Calloway who nailed 260 from beyond the arc during his Monmouth career which spanned 1987-1991. His 255 made three pointers leave him 15 behind the school-record 270 made by Dedrick Dye (1999-2003). He is already No.1 in all-time three-pointers attempted with 699.

NEC Career Leaders - Three-Pointers Made
1. Tristan Blackwood CCSU 328 2004-08
2. Chris McGuthrie Mount St. Mary's 300 1993-96
3. Angel Santana St. Francis (NY) 294 1996-00
4. James Williams Long Island 277 2003-07
5. Justin Chiera CCSU 274 2002-06
6. Dedrick Dye Wagner 270 1999-03
7. Landy Thompson Mount St. Mary's 267 2002-06
8. Kevin Booth Mount St. Mary's 265 1989-93
9. Dave Calloway Monmouth 260 1987-91
10. Joey Mundweiler Wagner 255 2004-08

Joey 11 Straight
Joey Mundweiler's team-high 18 points vs. FDU marked the 11th straight game that he has scored in double figures. Mundweiler has led Wagner in scoring in five games this season and the Seahawks have a 3-2 mark in those games. 

Smith Up to 31st in Scoring, Joins 1,000-Point, 500-Rebound Club
Fifth-year senior forward Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD/ Towson Catholic) has moved up to 31st on the all-time scoring list with 1,077 career points.
29. John DiMaggio (1962-65)........... 1088
30. Arnold Obey (1965-68)........... 1081
31. Jamal Smith (2004-).......... 1077
32. Lamont Street (1990-94)........ 1063
33. Nigel Wyatte (2000-04).......... 1060
34. Joey Mundweiler (2004-)........ 1040

All-Time NEC 1,000-Point/500-Rebound Club
In Wagner's victory over FDU on Jan. 5, Smith tallied 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, which give him an even 500 rebounds for his career. Smith is the 64th overall player and the eighth Wagner player to hit for the 1,000/500 combination since the inception of the NEC in 1982-83.

Wagner's Members of the 1,000-Point/500 Rebound Club
Name Points Rebs Years
Jermaine Hall 2,278 777 1999-03
Dan Seigle 1,652 580 1994-98
Mark Porter 1,577 531 2004-08
Frantz Pierre-Louis 1,271 758 1994-99
Durell Vinson 1,144 893 2003-08
Jamal Smith 1,077 500 2004-09
Nigel Wyatte 1,060 834 2000-04
James Ulrich 1,023 610 2004-08

Llew Double Trouble
For the second time this season, senior forward Llew Radford has recorded double-doubles in consecutive games. The 6-4 Radford opened the season with a double-doubles vs. Lafayette and Saint Peter's respectively. On Saturday, he turned in a sensational 23-point, 14-rebound effort in the win over St. Francis (NY). The 23 points were three shy of his career high of 26 (Saint Peter's, 11/19/08) while the 14 rebounds were a career high. Radford followed up that effort with a 15-point, 10-rebound performance vs. FDU. Radford is averaging 13.1 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds per game.

The M&M Backcourt
Freshman guard Tyler Murray (Toronto, Ontario/ Eastern Commerce) delivered a breakout game on the biggest stage of his young career, hitting for 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting at Kansas St. The poised Murray was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe in totaling a career-high 13 points vs. the Wildcats in an ultra-productive 14 minutes of playing time. Murray then turned playmaker in the victory over St. Francis (NY) dishing out a career-high five assists vs. the Terriers. The other half of Wagner's “M&M” freshman duo, Chris Martin (Sicklerville, NJ/ Apex Academies), pumped in four three-pointers during a career-high 13-point outing vs. St. Francis (NY). Martin was 2-for-4 from three-point range vs. FDU and has upped his NEC-leading three-point shooting average to 55.7% as he has drained 18-of-33 three-pointers on the season.

Spiller Hitting Two-Thirds of His Shots
While sophomore forward Clifton Spiller does not receive many entry passes in the post, he does an excellent job of crashing the offensive boards which create put-back opportunities. Largely due to his relentless aggression on the offensive glass, the 6-7 Spiller has hit 16-of-24 attempts from the field, a robust .667 average.

Elwell on the Assist
Redshirt junior guard Doug Elwell has shown a penchant for his pinpoint passes this season and his court awareness is showing up in the stat sheet where his near 2:1 assist/turnover ratio of 29-15 is far and away tops on the team. Despite averaging just 16.0 minutes of playing time, Elwell's 25 assists are second on the club behind Justin Drummond's 53.