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Fairfield, CT - Wagner will look to get back in the victory column when the Seahawks begin Northeast Conference (NEC) play against Sacred Heart on Saturday, December 4 at 2:00 pm. The Green & White are an even 3-3 while the Pioneers are 1-5 and 0-1 in the NEC. Tomorrow's game features a free audio and video feed and can be accessed by clicking on the links at the top of the page.

COACHING MATCH-UP
Head coach Dan Hurley is 3-3 in this his first year at Wagner and will square off against Dave Bike, who is currently in his 33rd year while sporting a 496-448 record.

NATIONAL LEADER
A staple of head coach Dan Hurley's practices have been free throw shooting and the results show it. Wagner leads all of Division 1 in free throw shooting, converting a blistering 82.1 percent (92-112) from the charity stripe. What makes the figure that more impressive is the fact that five of the team's first six games have come on the road. Four players are shooting 77 percent or better, highlighted by freshman Latif Rivers, who has converted the first 26 free throws of his career.

A YEAR AGO
The Seahawks hit on just 61.1 percent from the free throw line.

RIVERS = AUTOMATIC
Freshman Latif Rivers paces the nation with perfect 100.0 percent (26-26) shooting from the charity stripe. He is one of five student-athletes nationally that has converted every free throw attempt (2.5 attempts/game) and one of three that is averaging at least 15.0 points per game. Rivers drilled all 10 of his attempts at Hofstra before converting six-straight in games at Bucknell and St. John's.

WAGNER ALSO ...
Ranks eighth in three point defense, allowing the opposition to shoot a NEC-low 25.3 percent, 11th in three point percentage (NEC-best .443), 31st in three pointers per game (7.8) and 31st in field goal percentage defense (.378). However, on the flip side Wagner is committing the second-most fouls in the nation at 26.3 per game and has allowed the opposition to be in the double bonus in all 12 halves of play this season. The Seahawks also ranked in the 300's in rebounding margin and scoring offense but those two figures should rise after a pair of stellar games against Bucknell and St. John's.

DID YOU KNOW?
Today's game features two former professional athletes in assistant coach Bobby Hurley and Sacred Heart head coach Dave Bike. Hurley played five seasons in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings and the Vancouver Grizzlies while Bike was a catcher in the Detroit Tigers system for eight years from 1965-1972.

SCOUTING SACRED HEART
Sacred Heart is a team in transition right now after losing the quartet of Corey Hassan (Second Team All-NEC), Ryan Litke, Chauncey Hardy and Liam Potter to graduation. The group accounted for 72.5 percent of the Pioneers' scoring and 58.9 percent of their rebounding. As a result of the loss of the aforementioned group, the Pioneers are averaging a NEC-low 55.0 ppg after ranking second in the league a year ago in scoring at 72.0 ppg. However, the Pioneer defense, which allowed a league-worst 73.2 ppg a year ago, has improved to fifth this year at 65.5 ppg.

Helping ease the transition has been senior guard and reigning Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week Jerrell Thompson, who is averaging a team-leading 13.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Sophomore guard Shane Gibson is second at 12.2 ppg as the guard duo is responsible for 45.8 percent of the Pioneers offense but shooting just 35.6 percent (52-146) from the floor, including 28.8 percent (17-59) from outside the arc.

KEYS TO THE GAME
Sacred Heart has a solid guard duo in Thompson and Gibson but with the recent loss of Chris Evans to injury the Pioneers would be hard-pressed to keep up with the vaunted three-guard Wagner attack of juniors Chris Martin, Tyler Murray and freshman Latif Rivers should the game turn into a full-court affair. Therefore, Sacred Heart will probably try to slow the game up and take smart shots so as to not allow the Seahawks a chance to run. The Pioneers are allowing the opposition to shoot just 29.3 percent from beyond the arc and will need to execute that number on Saturday against a Seahawk team that is shooting a NEC-best 44.3 percent from beyond the arc. If the Green & White can't execute the running game they will need to continue to be efficient at the charity stripe and beyond the arc as Sacred Heart has the frontcourt advantage on paper.

NEC-OPENERS
Wagner 16-13, all-time in NEC-opener, but has gone just 2-5 over the last seven years. Head coach Dan Hurley will also be aiming to be the first Wagner coach to win his inaugural NEC game as P.J. Carlesimo, Neil Kennett, Tim Capstraw, Dereck Whittenberg and Mike Deane all lost their NEC-debuts.

THE SERIES
Wagner leads the all-time series by a 13-11 margin, but has lost three-of-four to Sacred Heart. The teams have developed a nice little rivaly over the past few years. In 2005-2006, the Green & White were fresh off a near-upset of UCLA only to have Pioneers best the Seahawks twice in a week while sending the Seahawks into a freefall. In 2006-2007, the Wagner bested Sacred Heart early in the season before getting throttled in the first round of the Tournament. Then in 2007-2008, Wagner won a school-record 23 games highlighted by a 100-92 double-overtime victory over Sacred Heart on NEC television before dropping a heartbreaking 55-49 decision to the Pioneers in the NEC semifinals. The following year, Sacred Heart rallied from a nine-point second half deficit for a 68-64 victory. Last year the Pioneers blasted the Seahawks 75-59 in the first match-up of the season before falling in the rematch in the final seconds by a 74-73 score

LAST MEETING
In front of a regionally televised audience junior Chris Martin capped a 28-point game with a running floater with just six seconds remaining to give Wagner a thrilling 74-73 victory over Sacred Heart on January 30, 2010. Martin and eventual NEC Second Team selection Corey Hassan went back-and-forth in a game that featured 11 ties and nine lead changes. Hassan scored 36 points while converting 10-of-12 from long range as the Pioneers hit on 15-of-23 (65.2 percent) from deep.

QUICK STAT
Sacred Heart hit on 15 three pointers against Wagner in the teams' second match-up last year ... This season the Seahawks have yielded just 19 triples over the first six games.

TODAY'S GAME ...
Is the sixth game of a seven game road trip and the conference opener for the Green & White.

MARTIN/MUNDWEILER VS. SACRED HEART
Junior Chris Martin averaged 18.0 ppg against Sacred Heart a year ago while sophomore Danny Mundweiler recorded 10.0 ppg over two games against the Pioneers, hitting on 60.0 percent (6-10) from beyond the arc.

SHUBIK RETURNS TO SACRED HEART
Drew Shubik, a familiar name to Wagner fans has returned to serve as an assistant coach at Sacred Heart. A former Second Team All-NEC selection, Shubik was a part of two of the most exciting games in the Spiro Sports Center over the past few years. In the Seahawks' thrilling double overtime 100-92 overtime victory Shubik, a 76.1 percent shooter as a senior, missed what would have been the game-winning free throw at the end of regulation before misfiring on a three-point attempt at the end of the first overtime while allowing the Green & White to capture the victory. Shubik then had a measure of revenge in the NEC Tournament, notching 13 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in a 55-49 victory while catapulting Sacred Heart to the NEC Final.

3-POINT CONSISTENCY
“Live By The Three, Die By The Three.” That phrase is often uttered when perimeter oriented teams are discussed. This year's Wagner team is no exception to the rule as the Seahawks' top four scorers are all guards. However, Wagner has shown uncanny consistency from beyond the arc, hitting on at least 40.0 percent of its attempts in every outing, except the St. John's game when the Green & White managed to make good on a respectable 37.5 percent.

SHOOTING IMPROVES
After shooting below 40.0 percent in each of their first four games, the Seahawks have connected on 55.3 percent and 42.0 percent in each of their last two games, respectively. Additionally, Wagner has converted at least 50.0 percent of its shots in three of the four halves of play.

10-POINT GAMES
In games decided by 10 points or less, the Green & White is converting a remarkable 87.0 percent (80-92) from the free throw line.

REBOUNDING IMPROVES
Since ranking 326th in the nation in rebounding margin (-11.3) in the NCAA at the beginning of the week, Wagner has improved that number by 5.1 rebounds thanks to winning the battle of the boards for the first two times this year at Bucknell (+2) and at St. John's (+6), highlighted by a season-best 44 caroms against a much more athletic Red Storm squad.

RAISING THE BAR
In the last five minutes of games, the Seahawks are shooting a solid 46.2 percent (6-13) from beyond the arc while holding the opposition to just 18.8 percent (3-16) in similar situations and have converted 26-of-30 from the charity stripe.

SEAHAWKS ALMOST STUN ST. JOHN'S
While the Green & White lost a tough 69-61 decision to St. John's the game was not decided until the final minute as Wagner was within four points at the final media timeout. Junior Tyler Murray looked like the best player on the floor for most of the game, finishing with a career-best matching 21 points. The Green & White defense limited the Red Storm to just 36.1 percent shooting, highlighted by a 3-of-19 stretch to start the game, and just 17.6 percent (3-17) from outside the arc. That marks the fourth time the Seahawks have held a team under the 20-percent mark from outside.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
“Wagner trailed by as many as 16 in the second half (at St. John's), but showed that there is another team on the rise in the outer boroughs.”
Howard Kussoy - New York Post

“If there is a team personality trait emerging in the early part of new coach Dan Hurley's first season at Wagner College, spunky might be the way to best describe it.”
Cormac Gordon - Staten Island Advance

“Dan Hurley coached as hard as he could on Wednesday night -- so hard, in fact, that he picked up the first technical foul of his college coaching career in the first half, for chewing on the refs' ears. His Wagner squad played hard for him, bouncing back from a 46-30 deficit early in the second half against St. John's to cut the lead to four, 62-58, with 4:33 to play.”
Kieran Darcy - ESPN

“I first just wanted to compliment Wagner. I thought they came in with a good game plan. They played more zone than they have at any point this season. They did an excellent job with tempo and played with poise. When we made runs, they came back and answered. Clearly, Dan Hurley and his brother, assistant coach Bobby Hurley, have done a nice job of building a team that doesn't have a lot of depth, but stays within striking distance with some timely shots, using the clock well and playing at different tempos. So I want to give them some credit.”
Steve Lavin - St. John's Head Basketball Coach

DAN HURLEY QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I think our guys played really hard (at St. John's). I'm not into moral victories. I felt like we were just hanging around, keeping things under eight points. I thought the team played their hearts out and I'm really proud of them.”

THREE THE HARD WAY
With their third win of the non-conference season at Bucknell, Wagner has already eclipsed its non-league victory total from a year ago when the Green & White went just 2-11. Also for comparison's sake, the Seahawks didn't pick up win number three last year until the 21st game on January 21, 2010.

CLOSE GAMES
The Seahawks are 3-1 in games decided by five points or less this season after going 3-8 a year ago.

REVENGE TOUR TAKE THREE
Wagner now has three wins over teams that defeated the Seahawks in 2009-2010. The Green & White dropped three games to Bucknell, Stony Brook and Lafayette a year ago while allowing an average of 79.3 points per game, fueled by 42.7 percent shooting - including 34.4 percent from beyond the arc. This season Wagner has bested all three teams, allowing just 61.7 points per game on 34.0 percent shooting, including 25.0 percent from long range.

MURRAY KEEPS ON ROLLING
Junior Tyler Murray matched his career-high of 21 points at St. John's, scoring 14 in the second half, while making a claim of being the best player on the floor. In the season's early going, he ranks second in the NEC with a team-best 18.0 points per game while pacing the team in rebounding (4.6 rpg) and assists (3.0 apg). Murray also ranks among the league-leaders in minutes played (37.5) (2nd), free throw percentage (.923) (3rd), three point percentage (.483) (6th), threes per game (2.3) (7th), defensive rebounds (4.5 (10th), assist to turnover ratio (1.2) (13th) and field goal percentage (.461) (t-14th).

RIVERS NETS SECOND NEC CITATION
Freshman Latif Rivers was named the Choice Hotels Northeast Conference (NEC) Co-Rookie of the Week for the second time this season after scoring a career-high 28 points in a 67-63 loss at Hofstra. He hit 6-of-10 from three-point range and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe over 37 minutes of work. Rivers drained all three of his three-point attempts in the first half, helping Wagner build a seven-point edge at the break before scoring 15 more in the second stanza while helping to cut a six-point Hofstra lead with four minutes to play down to one with a trifecta and two free throws.

RIVERS STEALS THE SHOW
Going into the Hofstra game much of the talk was about reigning CAA Player of the Year and two-time Haggerty Award winner Charles Jenkins. After 40 hard-fought minutes the talk was about freshman Latif Rivers. The Garden State native went off for a career-high 28 points while notching the most points by a Wagner freshman since Courtney Pritchard scored 30 in a 91-75 loss at St. Francis (NY) on February 15, 2001.

NO FLUKE
Freshman Latif Rivers followed up his outstanding performance at Hofstra with 20 points at Bucknell, highlighted by a remarkable 16-point first half in which all the Bison guards could do was watch as Rivers helped stake Wagner to what would be an insurmountable halftime lead. He helped finish off the victory by hitting four free throws, all of which came with under five minutes to play. Rivers' 20 points make him the first Wagner rookie to notch back-to-back games of at least 20 points since Dedrick Dye accrued 21 points at Mount St. Mary's (2/19/00) and 23 against Sacred Heart (2/22/00) over 10 years ago.

RIVERS BREAKING OUT
Five games into his collegiate career and there is no question freshman Latif Rivers is a viable NEC Rookie of the Year candidate. He has led the team in scoring twice while ranking second on the team and seventh in the NEC in scoring with 15.7 points per game. He leads the league in free throw shooting (100.0 %), ranks second in three pointers per game (2.7) and eighth in three point shooting (44.4 %) (16-36).

MURRAY ABOUT FACE
If you were to tell the casual basketball fan that junior Tyler Murray would evolve into one of the most complete players in the league the end result would probably be laughter as the Canadian native averaged just 2.6 points per game as freshman. Well that scenario has in fact played out as Murray is arguably the most complete player in the Northeast Conference, ranking among the league-leaders in nine categories. He notched the first Wagner double-double of the year with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the 77-73 win at Bucknell while narrowly missing a triple-double after handing out a team-best seven assists over 36 minutes.

MURRAY LEADS THE WAY
Through the first six games, junior Tyler Murray has shown the consistency that head coach Dan Hurley and his staff were expecting out the Canadian native. Murray has paced the team in scoring three times while accruing at least 14 points in every game, highlighted by a career-high 21 points in wins over Stony Brook before matching that total at St. John's (12/1). In the season-opening victory over Lafayette, he scored a team-best matching 18 points while twice quelling big Leopard runs, hitting all six free throws - including two with under a minute remaining - and adding a game-high six assists with five rebounds. Murray followed that up with an impressive 18 point effort at Lehigh. Then in the win over Stony Brook, he notched a career-high 21 points, highlighted by the go-ahead three pointer late in the second half.

HE'S GOING THE DISTANCE
Junior Tyler Murray ranks second in the NEC in minutes played, checking in with 37.5 mpg and has been outstanding with the ball, posting a 1.2 assist to turnover ratio, ranking 13th in the league.

MURRAY/RIVERS COMBO LEADS THE NEC
Junior Tyler Murray and freshman Latif Rivers are averaging 33.7 points per game, ranking the pair as the top scoring duo in the NEC while shooting a combined 43.3 percent (61-141) from the floor, including 46.2 percent (30-65) from beyond the arc and 96.2 percent (50-52) from the charity stripe

TOTAL TEAM EFFORT
While junior Tyler Murray and freshman Latif Rivers have carried the team in most offensive situations it was the supporting cast that helped lead Wagner to victory at Bucknell. One game after junior Chris Martin and sophomore Danny Mundweiler failed to connect on a field goal, the pair combined to go 5-for-6 from beyond the arc in against the Bison en route to 18 points on a night when Rivers and Murray were just 2-for-6 from long range. Freshman Orlando Parker also hit for a career-high 12 points while senior Clayfell Harris notched four big points.

FRONTCOURT BREAKTHROUGH
Freshmen Orlando Parker and Naofall Folahan both turned in breakout games in the last week. Parker scored 12 points, on 6-of-9 shooting, over 20 minutes in Wagner's 77-73 victory over Bucknell. Previously, he had just four points, on 2-of-9 shooting, in the first four games. Folahan narrowly missed a double-double at Hofstra, scoring 10 points with nine rebounds after notching zero points and six rebounds over his first three games.

FREE THROWS NOTE
Wagner is shooting 83.1 percent (54-65) from the line in the second half of games this year.

FREE THROWS NOTE PART 2
The Seahawks are connecting on 92.3 percent (48-52) from the line in its three victories, including 93.5 percent (29-31) in the second half of those games.

CLOSE GAMES
As mentioned before one of the staples of Dan Hurley's practices is the emphasis of free throw shooting, notably at the end of the practice. That mentality has carried over to the actual games as the Green & White is converting an astounding 95.1 percent (39-41) in the second half of games decided by five points or less, including 96.1 percent (25-26) in the final five minutes.

SETTING THE BELL CURVE
Wagner continues to pace the NEC in the early going from beyond the arc at 44.3 percent (47-106) success rate while holding the opposition to NEC-low 25.3 percent (19-75) shooting from long range.

DON'T FOUL
Wagner figures to be a formidable foe in close games this season due to its prowess at the line. The three guard attack of freshman Latif Rivers (26-26) (1st NEC), junior Tyler Murray (24-26) (3rd NEC) and Chris Martin (17-22) are shooting a remarkable 89.1 percent (57-64) (14th NEC). In the last minute of games, Murray is perfect 8-for-8 in the last minutes of games while Martin is 7-for-8.

DEFENSE LOCKS IT UP
Wagner has jumped out to a solid 3-3 start this season thanks to a suffocating defense that is the second-ranked unit in the NEC, allowing the opposition to hit on just 37.8 percent from the field, including a NEC-low 25.3 percent from behind the arc. In the 58-54 win over Stony Brook, the Seahawk defense limited the Seawolves to just 3-of-22 shooting over a 13:46 span in the first half stretching from 16:55 to 3:09. In the second half, the Green & White improved on their already stellar first-half play forcing Seawolves to 2-of-14 shooting over the final 11:10, including not allowing a field goal for an 8:13 stretching from 11:11 to 2:58. Wagner also had an impressive defensive stand against Bucknell, forcing the Bison into nine-straight missed field goal attempts over a 9:30 span in the first half ... en route to limiting the Patriot League school to just 2-of-15 shooting to close out the first half.

MARTIN SHOWCASES IMPROVED ALL-AROUND GAME
Coming into this year junior Chris Martin could be seen by some as a high-risk, high reward player. Last season he notched a career-best 34 points against Columbia only to come back and score zero at Saint Peter's in the next game. This season, his scoring average is down but his production in all facets of the game are up. He is averaging 8.3 ppg while shooting 45.0 percent (9-20) from beyond the arc while ranking among the league-leaders in with 3.0 assists per game (t-12th NEC) and posting the eighth-best assist to turnover ratio (1.5). A liability on defense in the past, Martin is now guarding the top guard on the opposition on regularity.

THOMPSON TAKES FLIGHT
Sophomore Josh Thompson put his impressive on display at St. John's, scoring a season-high 12 points, on 6-of-12 shooting, with five rebounds and three assists. Entering the game, he had notched just five field goals and was shooting just 17.9 percent from the floor. He is now averaging 5.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

MUNDY AIMING FOR BIG SOPHOMORE YEAR
Sophomore Danny Mundweiler has started the season strong, averaging 6.8 ppg off the bench while shooting 44.4 percent (8-18) from beyond the arc and ranking eighth in the NEC.

GOOD NEWS: GUARD PLAY ON DISPLAY
While most Wagner fans know that the team will be a guard-oriented offense, following in the footsteps of head coach Dan Hurley, himself a standout guard at Seton Hall, no one could have foreseen the guard play in the team's first two games. Guards Martin, Mundweiler, Murray and Rivers have shot 42.3 percent (85-201) from the floor, including 45.6 percent (47-103) from beyond the arc while accounting for 77.3 percent (293-379) of the team's scoring.

HITTING THE ROAD
Today's game will be the sixth of seven-straight games away from home. The road swing is the longest for the school since the 1992-1993 version of the Seahawks opened the year with a seven-game road trip ... The Green & White would love to replicate that team's success as Wagner went 18-12 en route to the NEC Championship Game.

NON-CONFERENCE NOTES
Included in the Seahawks 11-game non-conference schedule are four games against teams that won 20 games (@ Lehigh, @ Stony Brook, Princeton and @ Texas A&M) in 2009-2010, two games (@ Lehigh, @ Texas A&M) against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament and four games (@ Stony Brook (NIT), @ Hofstra (CBI), @ St. John's (NIT) and Princeton (CBI)) vs. teams that participated in other post-season tournaments. Additionally eight of the 11 teams posted winning records a year ago and the first four (Lafayette, @ Lehigh, @ Stony Brook and @ Hofstra) went a combined 82-49 with each winning at least 19 games a year ago.

FOUL TROUBLE
Wagner is averaging an astounding 7.3 more fouls than the opposition this season. On the year, the Green & White have committed 158 fouls while drawing just 114.

CONGRATS COACH K
Assistant coach Bobby Hurley's former collegiate coach Mike Krzyzewski picked up his 800th career in at Duke on Tuesday, November 23 when his top-ranked Blue Devils bested No. 4 Kansas State 82-68 to win the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic in Kansas City, MO. Hurley helped his former coach to 119 wins and two National Championships over a four-year period from 1989-1993. The 800th win would have come a game earlier had it not been for an 84-77 Wagner victory over Duke back on January 5, 1983.

HURLEY SIGNS TWO FOR NEXT SEASON
Wagner head coach Dan Hurley announced the signing of Marcus Burton (Matthews, NC / David W. Butler) and forward Mario Moody (Orange, NJ / East Orange Campus) for the 2011-2012 academic year. Both student-athletes will be freshmen and have four years of eligibility.

A 6'0” point guard from North Carolina, Burton averaged 13.7 points and 4.5 assists per game at David W. Butler High School last season under the direction of Kurt Wessler while earning inclusion on the Southwestern 4A All-Conference team. A powerful point guard, Burton has outstanding ball handling skills and can shoot with consistency from beyond the arc.

Burton, who hit a game-winning 40-foot shot against Providence Day High School in a playoff game, led Butler to the school's fourth-straight Southwestern 4A Conference title a year ago. He also played AAU ball for the Charlotte Royals under the tutelage of Rod Seaford.

A 6'7” forward from New Jersey, Moody averaged 11.5 points, 12.0 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game for East Orange Campus under the guidance of Daron Hoges. Last year as a junior, he helped the Jaguars to a 15-10 record and showcased his outstanding athleticism in a playoff game against Paterson East Side, blocking 12 shots.

Moody, who is an outstanding athlete who can play either the small or power forward position, played AAU ball last summer with Success University Team Izod under the direction of Brian Coleman and Ed Bright.

UP NEXT
Wagner caps its seven-game road trip with a non-conference tilt at Columbia on Tuesday, December 7 at 7:00 pm at Levien Gym.