Wagner: Roster / Game Notes / Listen Live (free)
Long Island: Roster / Game Notes / Listen Live (free)
Live Stats / Twitter Updates 

Brooklyn, NY - Wagner (5-1) heads to reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Champion Long Island (2-4) in search of its sixth-straight win in the league-opener for both teams with tip time at the Wellness Center slated 7:00 pm. There will be no video stream of tonight's game so all fans looking to follow the action may do so through the Seahawk Broadcasting Network by clicking HERE. The twitter hash tag for the game will be (WagLIU).

QUICK HITS
* A victory would give the Seahawks a 6-1 record and match the 2005-2006 team for the second-best start in program history.

* Wagner will be aiming for its second-straight NEC-opening victory after besting Sacred Heart 73-68 in overtime on the road a year ago.

* Last season, the Blackbirds won both meetings with the Seahawks en route to a 27-6 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

* LIU holds a 52-37 advantage over Wagner in the all-time series and has won five of the last six meetings dating back to the 2008-2009 season. A year ago, the Blackbirds throttled the Seahawks 84-54 in Brooklyn before escaping with an 83-79 overtime victory in the Spiro Sports Center.

* Wagner made its final 10 free throws at Penn and its first 18 against the Hornets before misfiring with 1:53 to play. All told, the Seahawks connected on 28-straight over 55:18 and are now converting on 74.3 percent for the year. Additionally, the Green & White has knocked down 47-of-52 (.904) since the final 1:29 of the Lafayette game.

* The Green & White's last win in Brooklyn came via a 65-59 count on January 21, 2010.

* A year ago, senior Tyler Murray averaged 15.5 points, 5.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds over two games against LIU while shooting 55.0 percent (11-20) from the floor and 37.5 percent (3-8) from beyond the arc.

* The sophomore trio of Orlando Parker (11.0 ppg), Latif Rivers (11.0 ppg) and Naofall Folahan (10.5 ppg) all averaged double-figures against the Blackbirds a year ago. Parker also pulled down a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game.

* Wagner struggled from beyond the arc last year against LIU, converting just 30.3 percent (10-33) from long range and 65.2 percent (15-23) from the line. However, the biggest disparity in the match-ups was the 72-23 free throw advantage for the Blackbirds and the 56-30 foul advantage for the Seahawks.

* Murray ranks second in the first NCAA rankings with a NEC-best 64.0 percent (16-25) conversion rate from beyond the arc. He is also shooting a solid 52.8 percent (28-53) from the floor and 81.3 percent (13-16) from the line. For his career, he ranks first in school history in three-point percentage (42.8 percent) (131-306).

* Murray, who has hit for double-digits in all six games, is second on the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game while adding 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists each time out.

* Joining Murray as a double-digit scorer in all six games is Rivers, who is averaging a team-best 15.0 points per game (10th NEC) while shooting 87.1 percent (27-31) from the line and 41.5 percent (27-65) from the floor. Rivers has also paced the squad in scoring a team-best three times.

* Rounding out the double-digit scorers for the Green & White is junior Jonathon Williams, who checks in with 12.2 points per game (20th NEC) and a team-best 5.2 rebounds per game (16th NEC).

* Wagner's win over Delaware State (11/26) gave the Seahawks a solid 5-1 record in the month of November while wrapping up a brutal six-game, 15-day season-opening stretch that featured four road games in three states. The Green & White's five non-conference wins are one better then last year's total of four as Wagner didn't win its fifth game until December 30 against Albany.

* The Seahawks are 3-1 on the road after going 5-12 last year away from Staten Island, including just 3-6 in NEC games.

* The three road wins during non-conference play match the 2005-2006 squad for the most in school history away from Grymes Hill since the beginning of NEC play in 1981-1982.

* The Green & White went 7-for-18 (.389) from beyond the arc vs. Delaware State (11/26) and have now converted 31-of-70 (44.3 percent) from long range over the last four games after making good on just 11-of-32 (.344) in the first two. 

* Wagner is 5-0 on the year when leading at the break and 4-0 when scoring at least 70 points.

* Over the last two games the Seahawk bench has outscored its counterparts by a whopping 57-14 margin, including going 19-for-41 from the floor and 15-for-17 from the line. On the year, the reserves are averaging 22.2 points per game, up from just 16.2 a year ago.

* The Green & White have now forced 114 miscues (19/game) while turning the ball over just 78 times (13/game) in their first six games en route to posting a NEC-best +6.0 turnover ratio.

* The duo of Murray and Rivers is combining for an average of 29.2 points each time out while shooting 43.0 percent (55-128) from the field, 49.0 percent (25-51) from beyond the arc and 85.1 percent (40-47) from the line.

* Murray has also hit for double-figures in 26-straight games since last season and 41 times in 43 games dating back to his sophomore year. His 14-point effort against Delaware State (11/26) also gives him 929 for his career, leaving the Canadian native just 71 short of becoming the 38th 1,000 point scorer in school-history and the 23rd since Wagner went Division I in the 1976-1977 season. Murray notched 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 240 assists and 10th with 304 rebounds. Additionally, Murray has 10 career 20-point games. During that time, the Seahawks are 7-3.

* Williams (28 points) and Murray (20 points) each notched 20 points in the 87-83 win over North Carolina Central (11/16), marking the third time in the Hurley era that the Green & White have had two players each go for 20-plus points. The Green & White are undefeated in those three games.

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

* Williams' 19-point, 10-rebound performance comes on the heels of a 28-point outing in his first career home game. His double-double is the second for the Seahawks this year as sophomore Kenneth Ortiz notched 11 points and 11 assists in an 87-83 win over North Carolina Central (11/16).

* Over two games in the Spiro Sports Center, Williams is averaging a team-best 23.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 64.3 percent (18-28) from the floor and 57.1 percent (4-7) from beyond the arc.

* Williams' 19-point performance also marked the first time that a Wagner player has been the leading scorer in six games this season.

* Freshman Marcus Burton recorded career-highs in points (7), rebounds (4), assists (3) and minutes (15) while going 5-for-5 from the line in the win over Delaware State (11/26). Classmate Hugo Naurais also notched his first career basket while junior Ryan Schrotenboer dented the scoreboard for the first time this year. All told, 10 Seahawks scored as Ortiz was the lone member of the Green & White fail to score. However, he did manage to hand out six assists, against no turnovers, in 21 foul-plagued minutes.

* Sophomore Naofall Folahan had a season-best four blocks and now has seven over the last two games. The Republic of Benin native is second in the NEC with 2.0 rejections per game. averaging 2.0 bpg on the year.

* Wagner notched a season-high 40 rebounds, 19 assists and 29 field goals and are also averaging 76.3 points per game during non-conference play, up from 62.5 a year ago.

* The Seahawks also recorded a season-best four dunks against the Hornets after entering with just two on the year.

* Delaware State shot 50.0 percent (4-8) from long range in the opening stanza and just 14.3 percent (1-7) after halftime. In their five previous games, Wagner was allowing the opposition to shoot 50.0 percent (20-40) from downtown in the second half.

* Tonight's game features three preseason All-NEC selections in Boyd, Murray and Olasewere.

SETTING THE SCENE
Wagner heads to reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Champion Long Island in search of its sixth-straight win in the league-opener for both teams. Tip time is slated for tonight at 7:00 pm at the Wellness Center.

WHAT A START
The Seahawks began the season with a grueling 6-game, 15-day season-opening stretch that has saw the Green & White travel to three different states and play four-of-six away from the Spiro Sports Center. Wagner responded to the challenge going 5-1 while hanging with #4 UConn (11/14) before falling by just 12 points.

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 live audio 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 #WagLIU.

COACH DAN HURLEY
Head coach Dan Hurley is 18-18 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) by a rookie coach.

LAST MATCH-UP WITH LIU
After dropping the first meeting by 30 points, Wagner gave a much better and more inspired performance in the rematch between the teams on February 17, 2011 in the Spiro Sports Center. Down seven with 5:30 to play the Seahawks rallied to tie the game on senior Chris Martin's three pointer with just 3.3 seconds remaining. In overtime, the Green & White took a three-point lead only to see LIU rally with a game-ending 9-4 run en route to a hard-fought 83-79 victory. In defeat, sophomore Latif Rivers led five double-figure scorers for Wagner with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. Eventual First Team All-NEC selection Julian Boyd recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

A WIN ...
Would give the Seahawks a five-game winning streak, marking the school's longest since the 2007-2008 season and just the second since the Green & White's NEC Championship season of 2002-2003. Additionally, a victory would snap LIU's 13-game winning streak against NEC competition as the Blackbirds have won 19-of-20 against conference foes, following a one-point loss to Robert Morris in their conference opener a year ago. It was also the last time a NEC team won in the Wellness Center

A VICTORY WOULD ALSO ...
Give Wagner its first three-game road winning streak since the 2007-2008 season.

SCOUTING LONG ISLAND
LIU's 2-4 record is deceptive as the Blackbirds four losses have come to Hofstra, Penn State, Old Dominion and Iona while their wins have been against Radford and Vermont. The defending NEC Champs like to push the ball and are led by the junior trio of Jamal Olasewere (14.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Julian Boyd (12.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and CJ Garner (11.5 ppg,).

ACHILLES HEEL
With all good teams there are weaknesses. Wagner must exploit an LIU defense that is allowing the opposition to average 79.5 points per game.

NEC OPENERS
The Seahawks will be in search of its second-straight NEC-opening victory and is 17-13, all-time, in conference openers.

LATE GAME HEROICS
The Green & White converted seven-straight free throws over the final 2:15 of its six-point win at Penn (11/22), 9-of-10 in a six-point victory at Lafayette (11/19) and was six-of-seven from the line in the last five minutes of an 87-83 win over NCCU (11/16) - including converting four-straight with under 30 seconds to play. For the year, Wagner is converting 85.7 percent (24-28) over the final five minutes of games decided by 10 points or less.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
The Seahawks are recording a league-best 6.0 turnover margin in the NEC while ranking second with a 1.05 assist-to-turnover ratio.  Those rates rank 19th and 88th on the national level, respectively.

STREAKING
In Wagner's recent four-game winning streak, the Seahawks are shooting a blistering 44.3 percent from long range and 78.0 percent from the line while posting a +4.3 turnover margin. Leading the way has been Rivers, who is averaging 16.8 points per game while knocking down 48.8 percent (21-43) from the floor and 86.4 percent (19-22) from the line during that time. Williams has also played big, notching 15.5 points and a team-best 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 54.5 percent (24-44) from the floor and 54.5 percent (6-11) from long range. Rounding out the big three is Murray, who checks in with averages of 15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while knocking down 51.3 percent (20-39) from the floor and 60.0 percent (12-20) from deep. Despite averaging just 6.0 points per game during that time, Ortiz has an posted almost a 2-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, averaging 4.8 assists and just 2.5 turnovers per game each time out.

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 have made good on 31-of-70 (.433) in its four-game winning streak. Last year, Wagner went 0-6 when failing to hit at least three triples pointers in a game.

THREE-POINT DEFENSE STEPS UP
After allowing the opposition to hit on 43.8 percent from long range over the first four games, the Seahawks locked in and limited Penn (11/22) to just 2-of-13 (.154) from beyond the arc before holding Delaware State (11/26) to just 33.3 percent (5-15) shooting.

LAST FIVE MINUTES
In the last five minutes of games this season, the Green & White are converting 36-of-47 (.766) from the line.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Rivers (15.0 ppg) and Murray (14.2 ppg) are again the top-two scorers for the Seahawks and have each hit for double-figures in the first six games.

FROM DOWNTOWN
Murray ranks second in the NCAA rankings in three-point shooting at 64.0 percent (16-25) and has converted at least two in every game this season. Additionally, he is the all-time leader in three-point percentage in Wagner annals at 42.8 percent.

THOMPSON TAKES FLIGHT
Junior Josh Thompson ranks second in the NEC in field goal percentage at 69.2 percent (18-26) while averaging a team-best 8.2 points off the bench. He started the season with a bang at Princeton (11/12), recording 14 points and nine rebounds and has been consistent ever since. In the win at Lafayette (11/19), Thompson notched seven points before recording eight in the victory at Penn (11/22).

EN FUEGO
Over the last three games Rivers has converted 16-of-17 (.941) from the line.

ORTIZ LEADS THE LEAGUE
Ortiz paces the NEC with 2.3 steals per game and has recorded at least two in four of Wagner's six games.

SOMETHING ABOUT THE SPIRO
Williams is averaging 23.5 points and 7.5 rebounds each time out in two games at the Spiro Sports Center compared to 6.5 points and 4.0 rebounds each time out in four road games.

LIVE IN YOUR LIVING ROOM
Time Warner Cable has announced the addition of four more games to its previously-announced five-game home slate, bringing the total of Seahawks' televised home games to 11, meaning that just two home contests will not be on TV.  Included in the package will be the Green & White's first-ever ESPN home 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 tonight's game. All told 15 of the 29 Wagner contests will be on television.

REUNION OF SORTS
The Penn (11/22) game was a reunion for head coach Dan Hurley and the Quakers' Zack Rosen, who played his final two seasons of prep ball for Hurley at St. Benedict's. While Rosen led all scorers with 23 points it was Wagner that came out victorious via a 71-65 margin.

SEAHAWKS BIG THREE
There is no question that the Seahawks are led by Rivers (15.0 ppg, 2.7 apg), Murray (14.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Williams (12.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg) as the trio is averaging 41.4 of the Green & White's 76.3 ppg.

ORTIZ MAKING WAVES ON STATEN ISLAND
Ortiz is making his presence felt on Grymes Hill in his first season at Wagner after sitting out last year. The 6-0 point guard is leading the team with 4.2 assists and a NEC-best 2.3 steals per game while averaging 6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds each time out.

BENCH LIGHTS IT UP
The Seahawk bench is averaging 22.2 points per game, compared to just 13.8 for the opposition, while shooting 42.6 percent from the floor and 76.9 percent from the line. Last year the reserves recorded just 16.2 points per game.

NON-CONFERENCE 11-12 / NON-CONFERENCE 10-11
Wagner is 5-1 in non-conference play this year after going 4-7 against non-NEC teams in 2010-2011. The reason? This year, the Seahawks are averaging 76.3 ppg, up from 62.5 last year during non-league play.

DR. DUNKENSTEIN
After recording just two dunks over the first five games of the year, Wagner notched four in the 85-62 win over Delaware State (11/26).

NON-CONFERENCE NOTES
For the second-straight year, head coach Dan Hurley has put together a tough non-conference slate. Last year after defeating Lafayette 63-58 in the opener, Wagner took to the road for seven-straight - six of which were of the non-league variety. This year, while the quantity of road games isn't as high, the competition level is on par if not better. The Seahawks take on six teams that played in the postseason, including five that won at least 20 games. The Green & White defeated defending Ivy Champion Princeton (11/12) 73-57 in the opener before dropping a 12-point decision to defending National Champion #4 UConn (11/14). The Green & White rebounded with an 87-83 win over NCCU (11/16), a 76-70 victory at Lafayette (11/19) and a 71-65 win at Penn (11/22). Today, Wagner capped a brutal six-game, two week stretch with an 85-62 win vs. Delaware State (11/26). After a pair of NEC games, the Seahawks host Hofstra (12/6), which reached the CAA Title Game a year ago, and Lehigh (12/10). The Green & White then travel to defending BIG EAST Regular Season Champion Pitt (12/23) before playing in the Cable Car Classic (12/29-12/30), which will be hosted by defending CIT Champion Santa Clara. One team from 31 of the 44 Cable Car Classics has advanced to the NCAA Tournament?

UP NEXT
Wagner hosts St. Francis (NY) on Saturday, December 3 at 7:00 pm.