COMPLETE NOTES / LIVE STATS 
LIVE AUDIO (FREE) / LIVE FEED

Smithfield, RI - The Wagner Seahawks (9-10; 5-3 NEC) return to action tonight against conference newcomer Bryant (6-14; 4-4 NEC) on Thursday, January 27 at 7:00 pm in the Chace Athletic Center.

WITH A WIN ...
Wagner would avenge last year's devastating 53-51 loss to Bryant. The victory would end up being the lone win for the Bulldogs on the season, against 29 losses in the school's second season in Division I.

SETTING THE SCENE
Both teams are coming off losses as the Seahawks dropped a tough 79-76 decision to the Pioneers after besting league-favorite Quinnipiac to start the week. The Bulldogs fell to Monmouth 81-76 in overtime for their second loss to the Hawks on the season. Previously, Bryant had won four-straight games, including two by just three points, en route to its first and only winning streak on the season.

EARLY-SEASON SUCCESS
Both Wagner and Bryant gave the Northeast Conference marquee wins early in the season.  The Seahawks bested Patriot League leader Bucknell by a 77-73 count while the Bulldogs topped Iona, the second place team in the MAAC, by a 64-62 count on a last-second three pointer by Raphael Jordan, who also had the game-winning free throws against the Green & White last year. The Bison have won eight-straight games and 12-of-13 since their setback to the Green & White en route to a 13-7 overall record (5-0 Patriot). The Gaels are 13-7 (7-2 NEC).

LAST YEAR VS. BRYANT
The teams' only meeting of the year, featured four ties and six lead changes. Bryant took its biggest lead of the game at 36-27 with 17:38 to play only to see Wagner respond with a 12-0 run, making it a 39-36 game. The teams would trade jabs the rest of the way until with the game knotted at 51-51, sophomore Josh Thompson came up with a steal with seven seconds to play and tried a desperation 70-foot shot that caromed off the ceiling with 4.8 seconds to go, giving the ball back to Bryant. With 0.8 seconds remaining, sophomore Raphael Jordan drew a foul and made both free throws, icing the 53-51 victory for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Vlad Kondratyev led all scorers with 14 points while going 6-of-6 from fthe floor while Jordan added eight points. For Wagner, junior Chris Martin (12 points) and sophomore Thompson (12 points) led the way.

ALL-TIME VS. BRYANT
This will be the third meeting between the teams with Wagner going 1-1 vs. Bryant. The Seahawks won the only match-up by a 72-60 count. In that game, junior Chris Martin notched 18 points in 15 minutes off the bench, going 6-of-11 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from long range. For his career, Martin is averaging 15.0 ppg in two games against the Bulldogs while shooting 53.3 percent (8-15) from beyond the arc. Sophomore Danny Mundweiler's brother Joey led all scorers with 20 points.

ALL-TIME IN RHODE ISLAND
Wagner is 7-8, all-time, against the smallest state in the union. Last year, the Seahawks dropped games to Brown and Bryant by a combined three points after winning five of its previous six meetings against teams from Rhode Island dating back to 2005-2006.

SCOUTING BRYANT
Bryant likes to shoot the three ball, having attempted a league-best 461 three pointers while ranking second in the league with a 37.3 percent conversion rate en route to draining a league-best 8.6 three pointers per game. However, the Bulldogs don't defend well, allowing the opposition to hit on 38.1 percent from beyond the arc (12th NEC) en route to allowing a league-worst 73.9 ppg. That should help a Wagner team that is shooting a league-best 39.8 percent on three pointers while averaging 67.1 ppg (4th NEC).

YOUNG BLOOD
Bryant is one of the nation's youngest teams, boasting six sophomores and five freshmen among its 15-member roster. Among the four upperclassmen, just two see steady time. Leading the youth movement for the Bulldogs, who are not eligible for post-season play until 2012-2013, is freshman Alex Francis, who paces the team in scoring (13.9 ppg) (12th NEC) and rebounding (8.0 rpg) (2nd NEC). Ohio transfer Sophomore Frankie Dobbs is second on the team in scoring at 13.6 ppg, highlighted by 42.0 percent (50-119) from long range, while handing out a NEC-best 5.5 apg. Rounding out the double-digit scorers is senior Cecil Gresham, who is notching 12.8 ppg with 4.7 rpg while shooting 41.4 percent (41-99) on three pointers.

COACHING MATCH-UP
Head coach Dan Hurley is 9-10 (5-3 NEC) in his first season and will be squaring off with Tim O'Shea, who is 15-64 (11-29 vs. NEC teams) in this his third year at Bryant after spending seven years as the head coach at Ohio University. O'Shea helped the Bobcats to a 120-95 record, a Mid-American Conference (MAC) Conference Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tourney.

NEC'S TOP FRESHMEN TO SQUARE OFF
Due to the NEC's unbalanced schedule and the fact that Bryant is ineligible for post-season competition this will be the only time that Seahawks' freshman guard Latif Rivers and Bulldogs' freshman forward Alex Francis will meet on the court. The pair of rookies have established themselves as the premier first-year players in the NEC, combining for nine Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week citations (Rivers 5, Francis 4) - including sharing the first one of the year.

RIVERS EARNS SCHOOL-RECORD FIFTH NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK ACCOLADE
Freshman Latif Rivers collected his school-record and league-leading fifth Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week after averaging 24.5 points over a pair of games last week. The first-year playmaker shot 52.0 percent (13-25) from the floor and hit at a 50.0 percent clip (6-12) from three-point range. Rivers also made 17-of-18 shots from the line, a sizzling 94.4 percent conversion rate. Rivers poured in 17 of his career-high 30 points in the second half to propel the Seahawks to a 90-80 win over Quinnipiac on Thursday. He dished out four assists, shot 7-of-12 from the field - including 4-of-6 from outside the arc - and was a perfect 12-of-12 from the line to become the first Wagner freshman to score 30 since Courtney Pritchard did so on February 15, 2001 at SFNY. He followed that up with another strong second half, scoring 13 of his 19 points after intermission in a 79-76 setback to Sacred Heart on Saturday. His jumper with 1:16 to play pulled the Seahawks to within one point.

IN ELITE COMPANY
Latif Rivers' fifth NEC award breaks the school record of four accrued by Art Redmond (1981-1982), Terrance Bailey (1983-1984), Miladin Mutavdzic (1991-1992) and Ryan Reed (1995-1996). The five honors are also the fourth-most in NEC history. 

WAGNER IS ...
4-0 when freshman Latif Rivers leads the team in scoring and 4-1 when the first-year guard scores at least 20 points.  Rivers' five 20-point games are also the most by a Wagner rookie since Jermaine Hall notched eight and Dedrick Dye six during the 1999-2000 season.

SOLID FOLLOW-UP
Freshman Latif Rivers followed up his outstanding performance against the Bobcats with 19 against Sacred Heart.

THREE-POINT BARRAGE PLANNED
The Wagner-Bryant game could end up being decided far away from the rim as each team has a propensity for the three pointer with accuracy to boot. Today's game features five of the top-12 three-point shooters in the league. Juniors Tyler Murray (.482) and Chris Martin (.452) rank 1-2 in the league in three-point percentage with Dobbs (.420) and Gresham (.414) checking in at fifth and seventh. Freshman Latif Rivers (.371) (12th NEC).

MARTIN BREAKS OUT
After not scoring double-digits in back-to-back games all year, junior Chris Martin did so for the first time last week, averaging 18.5 ppg while shooting 66.7 percent (10-15) from beyond the arc. The junior guard notched his eighth career 20-point game, dropping 15 of his team-best 21 points in the second half while converting 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. In the previous game, a 90-80 win over Quinnipiac, Martin had 16 points, on 4-of-6 shooting from long range. On the strength of that performance he is now second in the NEC in three-point shooting (.452) while ranking ninth in assists (3.6 apg), 12th in assist to turnover ratio (1.2) and 14th in threes per game (1.7) while averaging 9.7 ppg.

MARTIN & SHU
Junior Chris Martin is now averaging 24.5 ppg over the last two home games against Sacred Heart while converting 54.8 percent (17-31) from the floor, including 63.2 percent (12-19) from beyond the arc - highlighted by the game-winning runner a year ago.

RAISE UP
On the strength of his career-best 17-of-18 performance from the line last week, freshman Latif Rivers, who converted his first 31 collegiate free throws, is third in the national free throw percentage rankings at 93.9 percent (77-82).

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Also standing out in the National rankings for Wagner is junior Tyler Murray, who is 77th in scoring (17.4 ppg) and 87th in free throw percentage (.836) while freshman Naofall Folahan is 88th with a NEC-best 1.8 blocks per game.  As a team,  the Seahawks are ranked ninth in the nation in free throw shooting (.772) and 20th in three-point field-goal percentage (.398).

DID YOU KNOW?
Wagner and Bryant have went 3-0 against preseason favorite Quinnipiac this year. Last year the Bobcats lost just three times.

LOOKING FOR CONSISTENCY
Wagner was 10-of-15 (66.7 %) from beyond the arc in the win over Quinnipiac after going just 3-of-21 (14.3 %) over the previous two games, both losses. Against Sacred Heart, the Seahawks made good on just 36.0 percent (9-25), and are 2-6 this year when shooting 36 percent or less.

TROUBLING TRENDS
Wagner has been outrebounded seven-straight games while turning the ball over more than their opponents in four-straight.

GIBSON GOES FOR 34
Sacred Heart's Shane Gibson put up 34 points against Wagner, marking just the second time an opposing player has gone for at least 30 points against the Seahawks this year with Karon Abraham (32 points) being the first. The 34 points are also the most since Gibson's former teammate Corey Hassan went for 36 a year ago.

TYLER STEPS UP
Despite missing his first five three-point attempts, junior Tyler Murray rebounded to give Wagner its last lead of the night with under a minute to play against Sacred Heart with his only three point conversion of the night. Murray finished with 13 points while notching double-figures for the 18th time in 19 games and is second in the league in scoring (17.4 ppg).

OP KEEP ITS UP
Freshman Orlando Parker notched double-digits for the fourth-straight game vs. Sacred Heart while leading the team in rebounding for a team-best seventh time on the year, finishing with 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds. The rookie forward is averaging 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting an 46.9 percent (15-32) from the floor during that time.

METHODICAL MURRAY
Junior Tyler Murray has legitimized himself as a NEC Player of the Year candidate with his stellar play over the last eight games. The Canadian native is averaging 19.5 points per game while shooting 52.9 percent (46-87) from the floor, 52.6 percent (20-38) from beyond the arc and 81.5 percent (44-54) from the line while notching at least 20 points in four-straight games.

ON A ROLL
Despite the loss to Sacred Heart, the Green & White showed a lot of resilency while battling back from an 11-point deficit with 6:21 to play, ripping off a 23-10 run in just over five minutes while assuming a 76-74 lead with 46 seconds to play. Included in the run was an amazing stretch in which the Seahawks converted six-straight shots while scoring on 10-straight possessions.

TYLER TEARING UP THE NEC
Junior Tyler Murray is second in scoring (17.4 ppg) and ranks first in three-point shooting (.482) (41-85). He is also among the league leaders in three pointers made (2.2 3's/game) (7th NEC), free throw shooting (.836) (8th NEC), field goal percentage (.456) (14th NEC), assists (3.2 apg) (15th NEC), assist to turnover ratio (1.0), (15th NEC) defensive rebounds (4.0 drpg) (12th NEC) and minutes played (37.3 mpg) (2nd NEC).

LATIF NO SLOUCH
Freshman Latif Rivers might not be the main headliner on the Wagner Seahawks but he is drawing the attention of the league, leading a strong freshman class in scoring (14.2 ppg) (10th NEC) while leading the league  and ranking third nationally in free throw percentage (.939). He is also among the league leaders in three's per game (2.1 3's/game) (8th NEC), three point percentage (.371) (12th NEC) and minutes played (32.6 mpg) (11th NEC).

DURING NEC PLAY MURRAY IS ...
Leading the NEC in scoring (20.3 ppg) while shooting 52.8 percent (10th NEC) from the floor, including 50.0 percent (t-1st NEC) from beyond the arc and 81.0 percent (12th NEC) from the charity stripe. He is also averaging 3.0 assists per game (t-13th NEC), 1.8 steals per game (t-6th NEC) and 2.6 threes per game (t-4th NEC).

PARKER EVOLVING
Over the last 12 games freshman Orlando Parker is shooting 55.2 percent (37-67) from the floor while averaging 8.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He has paced the squad in rebounding four-straight times and in six of the last eight games.

EVEN BETTER
Wagner's NEC-leading free throw percentage jumps to 77.5 percent in the last five minutes of games as the Seahawks are connecting on 100-of-129. Freshman Latif Rivers is 26-for-28 (92.9 %) while junior Tyler Murray is 28-for-34 (82.4 %).

10-POINT GAMES
In games decided by 10 points or less, the Green & White is converting a remarkable 79.9 percent (226-283) from the free throw line.

RAISING THE BAR
In the last five minutes of games and OT, Wagner is shooting a solid 42.5 percent (17-40) from beyond the arc while holding the opposition to just 26.7 percent (12-45) in similar situations.

DAN HURLEY QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We'd have to be crazy not to be happy with the improvement we've already made ... It's been hard ... But this is just the beginning ... We have a long way to go.”
Head coach Dan Hurley on the team's improvement

FREE THROW NOTE
Wagner is connecting on 76.4 percent (188-246) from the line in the second half of games this year, highlighted by an 89.3 percent (25-28) showing in the 10-point win over Quinnipiac.

IT'S BEEN THAT LONG?
To the suffering New York football fans ... today marks the 20th anniversary of the New York Giants' thrilling 20-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.

UP NEXT
Wagner heads to Central Connecticut State on Saturday, January 29 for an afternoon tilt. Tip time is slated for 3:30 pm.