Wagner College and Long Island University will square off in an NEC Doubleheader on Saturday at the Spiro Sports Center. The respective women's teams will meet at 4:00 pm, followed by the men's game at 7:00 pm. For ticket information, call 718-420-4039. To sign up for a Live Web Stream of the game, click HERE.

Live Stats

Wagner-LIU Women's Basketball Game Notes

With a victory, the Wagner women's team (4-9, 0-3 NEC) would  snap a four-game skid while picking up their first conference victory. LIU, like Wagner has been struggling, losing six-of-seven after starting the year 4-3 and has dropped those six contests by an average of 14.5 ppg. The Blackbirds (5-9, 0-3), who advanced to last year's NEC title game are led by freshman Ashley Palmer, who paces the conference in scoring (19.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.9 rpg). Junior Andrea Reed paces the Green & White in scoring (15.2 ppg), rebounding (5.5 rpg), assists (4.9 apg) and steals (2.2 spg). 

Sophomore Ashley Olsen has also been solid during NEC games, scoring 13 points in all three of Wagner's conference-tilts and notched her first career double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) at FDU.

The Wagner College men's basketball team (9-5, 2-2 NEC) will look to return to its winning ways vs. NEC foe Long Island University(7-7, 3-1) after seeing its two-game winning streak snapped on Thursday night in a 77-67 defeat to Central Connecticut St. Both Wagner and LIU are in the midst of grueling stretches as Saturday's game marks LIU's fourth game in eight days and Wagner's fourth in seven days. The Seahawks continue to display tremendous offensive balance and are one of just two teams in the NEC (Quinnipiac) who boast four players averaging in double figures. 

The Men's Game Matchup
Fifth-year senior guard Joey Mundweiler leads the way at 14.0 points per game while fifth-year senior forward Jamal Smith and senior forward Llew Radford check in at 13.4 and 12.9 points, respectively. For good measure, fifth-year senior point guard Justin Drummond supplies 10.0 points. LIU is riding its first three-game win streak of the year following a 76-61 win over Bryant on Wednesday. The Blackbirds used a 13-0 run spanning both halves to hold off the pesky Bulldogs. LIU is led by the dynamic guard tandem of junior Jaytornah Wisseh and sophomore Kyle Johnson who averaged 16.3 and 13.4 points per game, respectively. This marks 85th meeting between the city rivalsand Blackbirds hold 47-37 edge in the all-time series. The schools met three times last season, with Wagner winning twice, including a 71-62 win in the NEC Tournament Quarterfinals. LIU won at home last season, 85-65, but the Seahawks have won three straight on Grymes Hill.

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 425-298, 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. Jim Ferry is in his seventh season at LIU and has a record of 75-110. The 2004-05 NEC Coach of the Year may have done his best best coaching job last season as the Blackbirds finished with a 15-15 mark after being picked 11th by the NEC coaches. LIU had its best season in a decade and posted the fi fth-best nonconferencerecord in league history with an 8-3 mark.

Balance
A major reason for Wagner's 9-5 start this season is due to its scoring balance as the Seahawks feature four players who are averaging in double figures. Fifth-year senior guard Joey Mundweiler leads the team at 14.0 points per game while fifth-year senior forward Jamal Smith and senior forward Llew Radford check in at 13.4 and 12.9 points, respectively. For good measure, fifth-year senior point guard Justin Drummond supplies 10.0 points.

Wagner One of Two NEC Teams With Four Players Averaging in Double Figures
Following Justin Drummond's 13-pont outing at CCSU, Wagner is now one of two teams in the NEC, along with Quinnipiac, who have four players with double-digit scoring averages. Monmouth, meanwhile, is the only team in the league that has just one player hitting for double figures.

Number of Players Averaging Double Figures
Wagner - 4
Quinnipiac - 4
Sacred Heart - 3
St. Francis (NY) - 3
CCSU - 2
FDU - 2
LIU - 2
The Mount - 2
Robert Morris - 2
St. Francis (PA) - 2
Monmouth - 1

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 LIU game 34th on the Wagner all-time list with 1,049 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. With two three-pointers vs. CCSU, Mundweiler has now drained 257 three-pointers which place him 10th, three behind current Monmouth head coach Dave Calloway who nailed 260 from beyond the arc during his Monmouth career which spanned 1987-1991. His 257 made three pointers leave him 13 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 257 2004-08

Smith Cracks Top 30 in Scoring, Joins 1,000-Point, 500-Rebound Club
Fifth-year senior forward Jamal Smith has moved up to 29th on the all-time scoring list with 1,092 career points entering the LIU game, having passed Arnold Obey (1,081 points, 1965-68) and John DiMaggio (1,088 points, 1962-65). In Wagner's victory over FDU on Jan. 5, Jamal Smith became 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.
25. Oliver Featherston (1966-69)... 1129
26. Harry Orlando (1957-60)......... 1117
27. Tony Rice (1992-95).............. 1101
28. Greg Clay (1980-85).............. 1099
29. Jamal Smith (2004-)........       1092
30. John DiMaggio (1962-65)........ 1088
31. Arnold Obey (1965-68)........... 1081
32. Lamont Street (1990-94)........ 1063
33. Nigel Wyatte (2000-04).......... 1060
34. Joey Mundweiler (2004-)........ 1049

Seahawks 4-0 When Hitting 50% or More
Wagner, which is the No. 1 shooting team in the NEC at 46.7 percent has hit 50 percent of its shots from the field four times and the Seahawks are 4-0 in these games. Wagner's best shooting game came in an 83-74 win over Yale on Dec. 6 when the Seahawks scorched the nets to the time of 60. 4 percent.

Seahawks 7-1 When Hitting 40% or More From Three
Wagner, which is the No. 1 three-point shooting team in the NEC at 37.8 percent has hit 40 percent of its shots from the field eight times and the Seahawks are 7-1 in these games. Wagner's best three-point shooting game came in an 83-74 win over Yale on Dec. 6 when the Seahawks bailed 63.6 percent of its shots from beyond the arc. The only game this season where the Seahawks bettered the 40 percent mark from three-point range was at Columbia on Dec. 3 when Wagner shot 46.2 percent in an 84-69 loss.

Seahawks 4-0 When Holding Teams under 40% From the Field
Wagner, which is No. 5 in the NEC in defensive field goal percentage at 43.1 percent, is a perfect 4-0 when holding opponents under 40 percent field goal from the field. The most stifling defensive performance of the season for the Seahawks came in a 59-44 win over Saint Peter's on Nov. 19 when Wagner held the Peacocks to 28.6 percent shooting.

Llew Double Trouble
Senior forward Llew Radford has recorded double-doubles in consecutive games on two occasions this season. The rugged 6-4 Radford opened the season with double-doubles vs. Lafayette and Saint Peter's, respectively. On Jan. 3, 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. on Jan. 5 at FDU. Radford had never recorded a double-double before this season.

The M&M Backcourt
Freshman guard Tyler Murray (Toronto, Ontario/ Eastern Commerce) delivered a breakout game on the biggest stage of his young career, recently hitting for 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting at Kansas St. (Dec. 30) 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) (Jan. 3), 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 52.3% as he has drained 18-of-34 three-pointers on the season.