Wagner: Roster / Game Notes / Listen Live
Lafayette: Roster / Game Notes / Watch Live

Staten Island, NY - Wagner (2-1) looks to make it two-straight wins when the Seahawks head to Lafayette for a 7:00 pm tilt tonight at the Kirby Sports Center. The Green & White will be playing its third road game in a week and will be looking for a win over the Leopards for the second-straight year. Live Stats can be accessed by clicking HERE. Those wanting to following along via Twitter can do so by clicking HERE. The hash tag for the game will be (WagLaf).

QUICK HITS
* Wagner returns to action today at Lafayette looking for its second-straight win and a 3-1 start. The Seahawks will be playing their third road game in the season's first week with tip time slated for 7:00 pm at the Kirby Sports Center.

* The game will be the third of seven for the Leopards against NEC Competition ... Lafayette won at Saint Francis (PA) 84-81 before besting St. Francis (NY) 79-73 at home.

* This is the sixth-straight year the teams have met, marking the Green & White's longest current series with a non-conference opponent. During that time Wagner is just 2-3.

* It is also the first time since the 2005-2006 season that the teams will not be facing each other in the season-opener.

* All-time, Wagner is 2-5 (1-2 road) against Lafayette. However, against the Patriot League the Seahawks are a solid 29-24.

* In the teams' last meeting (11/12/10), Wagner bested Lafayette 63-58 in the first game of Dan Hurley's tenure on Grymes Hill. 

* Last season, the Seahawks defeated eventual Patriot League Champion Bucknell by a 77-73 count at Sojka Pavilion and were the only team to defeat the Bison at home all season.

* Wagner has had three different leading scorers and three different leading rebounders over the first three games.

* Junior Jonathon Williams (28 points) and senior Tyler Murray (20 points) each notched 20 points in the 87-83 win over North Carolina Central. That is the third time in the Dan Hurley era that the Seahawks have had two players each go for 20-plus points. The Green & White are undefeated in those three games: NCCU (11/16), Robert Morris (1/6/11) and Sacred Heart (12/3/10).

* Both Williams and Murray had their mothers in attendance against the Eagles. Williams' mom lives in San Francisco while Murray's resides in Toronto.

* Wagner had five student-athletes in double-figures for the first time this year and the fifth time in Dan Hurley's first 33 games against NCCU (11/16).

* Junior Kenneth Ortiz notched his first career double-double with 11 points and a game-high 11 points to go along with game-bests in assists (6) and steals (3). His 10 defensive rebounds mark the third time in the last two years that a student-athlete has grabbed 10 caroms on the defensive end. Sophomore Orlando Parker had 10 against Robert Morris (1/6) and senior Tyler Murray recorded 10 at Buckenell (11/29).

* Murray went for 20 points and has now notched at least 20 on 10 occasions over the last two years. During that time, the Seahawks are 7-3. Additionally, he has paced the Green & White in scoring in 18 of coach Hurley's 33 games while notching double-digures in 32 of those contests.

* Murray was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc against NCCU (11/16) and is shooting a blistering 80.0 percent (8-10) from downtown on the year. For his career, he is converting 42.3 percent (123-291) from long range, ranking first in the all-time Seahawk annals. He leads the team in scoring (15.0 ppg) and is also shooting 62.5 percent (15-24) from the floor while turning the ball over just three times in 94 minutes.

* Junior Jonathon Williams entered the NCCU (11/16) game with just 11 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes over the first two Wagner games of the year.  Against the Eagles he exploded for 28 points, five rebounds in 32 minutes while converting on 11-of-15 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

* After allowing NCCU (11/16) to erase a late 10-point Seahawk lead and tie the game up at 83-83 with just over a minute to play, the Green & White scored the final four points in the game's final minute on free throws from Ortiz and senior Chris Martin. In the last five minutes, Wagner hit on 6-of-7 (85.7 percent) - including its final six free throws.

* The schools have also been in the national news over the last few years ... for baseball. Lafayette gradaute Joe Maddon, was just named the American League Manager of the Year for 2011 while 2006 Wagner graduate Andrew Bailey was the 2009 American League Rookie of the Year.

* Martin is averaging 13.0 points per game, highlighted by 8-of-16 shooting from long range, over three career games against Lafayette.  Murray, meanwhile, is averaging 10.3 ppg over the same three game. In his first game against the Leopards, sophomore Latif Rivers had 18 points and six rebounds while hitting the go-ahead three pointer en route to NEC Rookie of the Week accolades.

* Tonight's game will be the first one this season in which the Seahawks do not appear on television. The Green & White will next be televised by Time Warner on Saturday, November 26 when Delaware State comes to town.

* Murray and Rivers have hit for double-figures in each of the first three games while the Seahawks have won the tip and scored first in all three contests.

* Lafayette will play against six other NEC teams this season; at Saint Francis (PA) (11/14), vs. St. Francis (NY) (11/16), vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (11/22), vs. Long Island (12/5), at Sacred Heart (12/11) and against Monmouth (12/28).

* Wagner has faced at least one Patriot League insitution every year since 1997-1998, going 13-9 during that time.

* With the win over NCCU (11/16), the Seahawks have now won three-straight games against the MEAC and will look to make it four-straight when they host Delaware State on November 26.

* The teams combined for 170 points while shooting 49.1 percent (54-110) from the floor, including 48.5 percent (16-33) from beyond the arc and 78.0 percent (46-59) from the line as the game was an offensive shootout from the beginning.

* Tonight's game is the third-of-four against teams that played in their respective conference finals a year ago. Lafayette fell to Bucknell 72-57 in the Patriot League final a year ago.

* Ortiz leads the team in rebounding (5.3 rpg) despite standing just 6-0 and is averaging a team-best 4.0 assists per game to go along with a 9.3 points per game average. He also paces the NEC with 2.7 steals per game.

* Freshman Mario Moody missed his third-straight game due to a knee injury. He will most likely dress tonight.

* Wagner has an impressive +6.0 turnover margin this season and has pressured the opposition into a combined 60 turnovers, leading to 59-44 advantage in points off turnovers in the first three game. The Seahawks have also posted a positive margin in points in the paint (+4), second-change points (+1) and bench points (+8).

* Murray has 889 points and needs just 111 to reach 1,000 for his career. He scored just 64 as a freshman and is the fourth leading scorer among active NEC players.

* The Canadian native also ranks second among all active NEC players with 232 assists and 10th with 292 rebounds. Addtionally, Murray has 10 career 20-point games.

* Head coach Dan Hurley has announced the signing of Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI / Suttons Bay) to an athletic grant-in-aid and Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ / Raritan), Eric Fanning (Trenton, NJ / Perkiomen (PA)) and Kameron Mitchell (Jacksonville, FL / Mandarin) to National Letters of Intent for the 2012-2013 school year.

SETTING THE SCENE
Wagner will look to improve to 3-1 for the first time 2008-2009 season against Lafayette tonight at 7:00 pm. Both teams enter with 2-1 records.

LISTEN LIVE
The Seahawks have partnered with Red Zone Media to bring every road game to your computer as Joey Wahler will broadcast all 16 games away from the Spiro free of charge over the internet. Check the Wagner Basketball Schedule/Results page under the live audio column starting at 6:50 pm for tonight's game.

TWITTER
For fans wishing to follow and comment on today's action they can use the hash tag #WagLaf

COACH DAN HURLEY
Head coach Dan Hurley is 15-18 in this his second year. Hurley initiated an eight-win improvement last year, marking the best regular season turnaround in America for a first-year coach while also matching Steve Lavin of St. John's for the best conference-win improvement (+6).

LATE GAME HEROICS
Wagner converted six-of-seven from the line in the last five minutes of its 87-83 win over NCCU (11/16) - including four with under 30 seconds to play. Last year, the Seahawks converted on 78.2 (154-197) in the game's last five minutes with sophomore Latif Rivers leading the way at 88.2 percent (45-51) and senior Tyler Murray converting 86.3 percent (44-51).

SCOUTING LAFAYETTE
Lafayette, which has won three-straight games against the NEC, is led by the senior trio of Ryan Willen (17.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg), Jim Mower (15.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and Rob Delaney (9.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg).

THREE-POINT SHOOTING COMES ALIVE
After converting on just 11-of-32 (.344) from beyond the arc over the first two games, the Green & White made good on 10-of-21 (.476) in its win over NCCU (11/16). Last year, the Seahawks went 0-6 when failing to hit at least three three pointers in a game.

KEY MATCH-UP FOR WAGNER
Three-Point Defense. The Leopards are shooting a Patriot-League leading 46.2 percent (24-52) from beyond the arc while Wagner is allowing the opposition to convert on 48.6 percent (18-37). 

KEY MATCH-UP FOR LAFAYETTE
Wagner's Pressure. The Seahawks have pressured the opposition into 61 turnovers on the season while Lafayette has committed just 36. However the Leopards are still waiting on preseason All-Patriot League guard Tony Johnson to return and could have their hands full with a tenacious Green & White squad that goes 10 deep.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Head coach Dan Hurley spoiled Mitch Henderson's head coaching debut, on the one-year anniversary (11/12/11) of his first game at Wagner, a 63-58 win over Lafayette.

SEAHAWK UPRISING
Wagner used a 26-6 run - including notching 16-straight at one point - to break open what was a tie game against Princeton (11/12). All told, during the game-changing push the Tigers missed eight shots while turning the ball over four times and going 8:57 without a point and 9:47 without a field goal.

SEAHAWK ASSASSIN
Dominique Sutton averaged 25.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game over his last two games against Wagner. The fifth-year senior scored 21 points with 10 caroms for Kansas State back during the 2008-2009 season before going off for a game-high 29 points with 11 boards for North Carolina Central (11/16). Additionally, he made his collegiate debut the year before against the Seahawks and scored 10 points in 12 minutes.

GRAND LARCENY
Wagner notched 14 steals in the win at Princeton (11/12), which is the team's highest total since accruing 15 at NJIT back on December 28, 2009. However, in the two games since the Seahawks have just 11 steals.

LIVE IN YOUR LIVING ROOM
Wagner will be hosting seven games that will appear on television, including the school's first-ever ESPN regular season telecast against Long Island on Saturday, January 21 at 7:00 pm on ESPNU. The next game to appear on TV will be the Delaware State game (11/26).

MARTIN KNOCKING ON THE DOOR
Senior Chris Martin has 839 career points, which is the eighth-most of any current NEC Player. He also has the eighth-most assists (167) of any current NEC player.

LOW WATER MARK
The 52.2 percent (12-23) performance from the line at Princeton (11/12) was the lowest of the Hurley era. Last year, the Seahwaks set a school-record by converting a NEC-best 77.2 percent from the line.

REBOUNDING FROM THE LINE
After turning in their worst performance from the line in the coach Hurley era at Princeton (11/12), the Green & White rebounded to convert 82.4 percent (14-17) from the line at #4 UConn (11/14) and are 35-for-47 (74.5 percent) in the two games since the opener.

MURRAY LIGHTS IT UP
Murray is averaging a team-best 15.0 points with 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting 62.5 percent (15-24) from the floor, including 80.0 percent (8-10) from beyond the arc. He also is the top-ranked three-point shooter in school history with a career percentage of 42.3 percent (123-291).

GUARD PLAY
Wagner, which returns all five starters from a year ago, will again be paced by their guards. The quartet of Martin, Murray, Rivers and Ortiz combined for 39 of Wagner's 73 points at Princeton (11/12) before notching 38 of the Seahawks' 66 points at #4 UConn (11/14). But the quartet really broke out in the game against NCCU (11/16), scoring 55 of the Green & White's 87 points.

CLOSING IT OUT
Wagner took its play to another level in the second half of its 73-57 thrashing of Princeton (11/12). The Seahawks shot 50.0 percent (16-32) from the floor while forcing 13 turnovers and outscored the Tigers in the paint, by a 22-12 margin. Thompson led the way, scoring 10 points, on 5-of-6 shooting, with four rebounds, two steals and two assists in 16 minutes. Rivers added seven points while Folahan had all six of his markers after halftime.

CLOSE GAMES = THE HURLEY WAY
A year ago, the Seahawks' stout free throw shooting and clutch play helped the Seahawks to 10-7 record in games decided by five points or less, including 7-4 during NEC play.  Wagner won it's first game decided by five points or less against NCCU (11/16) 87-83 thanks to four free throws in the final 30 seconds.

NEC ON THE UP AND UP
The NEC finished last year ranked 18th in the RPI rankings. That mark was the league's highest ranking since the 1995-1996 season when the conference checked in at 18. Wagner ended up at 170 after being in the 300s the previous season.

UP NEXT
Wagner heads to Penn on Tuesday, November 22 with tip slated for 7:00 pm.