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Staten Island, NY - Wagner (5-2; 0-1 NEC) returns home to face St. Francis (NY) (2-4; 1-0 NEC) in the first of three-straight games in the Spiro Sports Center. The Green & White had their four-game winning streak snapped on Thursday by defending Northeast Conference (NEC) Champion Long Island and will be in search of its first league win today starting at 7:00 pm. Tonight's game will be broadcast via Time Warner Cable on channel 76 in Staten Island and on channel 199 in Manhattan. Wagner will also be streaming the game for a nominal fee. The twitter hash tag for the game will be (WAGSFNY).

QUICK HITS
* Wagner (5-2; 0-1 NEC) returns to action today at 7:00 pm against local rival St. Francis (NY) (2-4; 1-0 NEC) at the Spiro Sports Center. The Seahawks had their four-game winning streak snapped by defending conference champion Long Island 78-73 count on Thursday.

* The Seahawks will be gunning to snap a five-game losing streak to the Terriers dating back to the 2008-2009 season.

* All-told, the Green & White have lost six-straight and 11-of-12 to the two NEC Brooklyn-based schools (Long Island/St. Francis (NY)) dating back to the 2008-2009 season.

* The Terriers lead the all-time series 47-37.

* Last season, St. Francis (NY) won both meetings while outscoring Wagner by 10.0 points per game and outrebounding the Seahawks by 7.0 rebounds each time out.

* In the teams' last match-up on February 19 in the Spiro Sports Center, the Terriers rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit in posting a 77-73 victory to spoil Senior Day.

* Wagner is a perfect 2-0 at home this year.

* Today's game also marks the first of three-straight in the Spiro Sports Center for the Seahawks after the Green & White opened the year with 5-of-7 on the road.

* Head coach Dan Hurley holds a career 10-5 record in the Spiro Sports Center, including going 6-3 during NEC play.

* Wagner last beat St. Francis (NY) on January 5, 2009 by a 80-78 score in Staten Island.

* A year ago against Terriers, senior Tyler Murray averaged a team-best 19.0 points per game while shooting a blistering 81.0 percent (17-21) from the line and 45.5 percent (10-22) from the floor. However, the NEC's leading three-point shooter converted on just 1-of-7 from long range.

* Murray's performance was indicitive of Wagner's struggles from long range against the St. Francis (NY) as the Seahawks made good on just 15.4 percent (4-26) in the two games. All-NEC Rookie Team selection sophomore Latif Rivers also struggled, going just 1-of-8 against the Terrier defenders.

* Sophomore Orlando Parker, who has been saddled by foul trouble in the early part of the season, had an outstanding pair of games against the St. Francis (NY), averaging 13.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 70.6 percent (12-17) from the floor.

* A welcome sight to Seahawk fans will be the absence of Ricky Cadell and Akeem Bennett from the SFNY roster as the duo averaged 39.0 points per game against the Green & White a year ago, before graduating this past May.

* Despite the loss to Long Island (12/1), Murray notched 19 points and a season-best nine rebounds while narrowly missing his third career double-double. The Canadian native, who entered the game second in the NCAA in three-point shooting, converted his first two attempts of the night en route to a stellar 5-of-7 performance from long range. Murray is now shooting a blistering 65.6 percent (21-32) from deep while ranking second in the NEC with 3.0 triples per game.

* Murray also leads the team in scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (4.9 rpg). He is shooting a solid 50.0 percent (34-68) from the floor and 78.9 percent (15-19) from the line.

* For his career, Murray ranks first in school history in three-point percentage (42.8 percent) (136-313) and has notched double-figures for 26th-straight times and in 42-of-44 dating back to his sophomore year.

* For all his prowess from long range, Murray is struggling from inside the arc, shooting just 43.5 percent (13-36).

* Wagner made its final 10 free throws at Penn (11/22) and its first 18 against the Delaware State (11/26), before misfiring with 1:53 to play. All told, the Seahawks connected on 28-straight over 55:18 and are now converting on 74.0 percent for the year. Additionally, the Green & White has knocked down 54-of-62 (.871) since the final 1:29 of the Lafayette (11/19) game.

* In the loss to LIU (12/1), the Seahawks were dominated at the line by a 21-7 count in free throws made.

* Wagner will have its chance for revenge on January 21, 2012 when Long Island visits the Spiro Sports Center in a game that will be televised nationally by ESPNU.

* Overshadowed in the loss was the resiliency of the Seahawks who fought back from a 15-point deficit with just 3:29 to play, cutting the Blackbird lead to eight in just over two minutes before hitting a three at the buzzer to make the final margin of defeat just five points.

* The Green & White converted 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 3-of-4 to end the game but was just 3-of-18 in between.

* Wagner pulled down a season-best 49 rebounds against Long Island (12/1), which are the most by the Seahawks since the Green & White grabbed 51 caroms in a 78-67 win over Fairleigh Dickinson (2/28/08).

* Wagner also notched a season-high eight blocks while recording at least 10 steals for the third time this year.

* Sophomore Naofall Folahan blocked a season-best six shots and now has 13 over the last three games and is averaging a league-best 2.6 blocks per game.

* Junior Jonathon Williams notched double-figures in scoring for the second-straight game with 17 at Long Island (12/1) ... He is averaging 12.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. 

* Despite the loss to the Blackbirds, the Seahawks are 3-2 on the road after going 5-12 last year away from Staten Island.

* Over the last two games the Green & White bench has outscored its counterparts by a whopping 75-33 margin and have gone 26-for-61 from the floor and 17-for-19 from the line druing that time. On the year, the reserves are averaging 21.6 points per game, up from just 16.2 a year ago.

* Wagner leads the NEC with a +5.3 turnover margin and ranks third with a 1.0 assist to turnover ratio.

* The duo of Murray and Rivers is combining for an average of 29.5 points each time out while shooting 43.1 percent (66-153) from the field, 47.7 percent (31-65) from beyond the arc and 84.3 percent (43-51) from the line.

* Murray currently 948 for his career, leaving the Canadian native just 52 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 while notching 10 career 20-point games.

* The only other time the Seahawks lost this year they rebounded with a win over NCCU (11/16).

* Despite not recording a steal at Long Island (12/1), sophomore Kenneth Ortiz still leads the NEC in the category with 2.0 per game.

* At home this year, the the Green & White are averaging 86.0 points per game while shooting 47.9 percent (57-119) from the floor, 43.6 percent (17-39) from long range and 80.4 percent (41-51) from the line.

* Freshman Hugo Naurais is out indefinitely due to a foot injury.

* The three preseason All-NEC selections to play in the Long Island game (Murray, Boyd and Olasewere) combined for 48 points and 36 rebounds.

SETTING THE SCENE
Wagner will host St. Francis (NY) tonight at 7:00 pm in the Spiro Sports Center while hoping to get back in the victory column after having its four-game winning streak snapped at Long Island on Thursday.

TODAY'S GAME ...
Marks the start of a three-game homestand against teams that the Green & White will be looking for revenge against. Last year, St. Francis (NY) (12/3) won both meetings while Wagner lost on the road to Hofstra (12/6) and Lehigh (12/10).

WATCH AT HOME
The first two games of the homestand will be televised live by Time Warner Cable. Fans can access the broadcast on channel 76 in Staten Island and on channel 199 in Manhattan. Wayne Fidelman will provide the play-by-play with Tim Gannon and Joe Nugent doing the color and Alexa Datt serving as the sideline reporter.

HOME COOKING
Following just their second loss of the season, the Seahawks return to the friendly confines of the Spiro Sports Center where they are 2-0 on the year. At home, the Green & White are averaging 86.0 points per game while outscoring the opposition by a whopping 13.5 points per game.

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

COACH DAN HURLEY
Head coach Dan Hurley is 18-19 in this his second year. Last year, Hurley initiated an eight-win improvement 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.

SIZING UP THE OPPONENT
St. Francis (NY) enters today's game with an less than stellar 2-4 record but has won two-straight over NJIT and Mount St. Mary's. The Terriers have also lost an overtime game at Seton Hall, a narrow four-point decision at Hofstra and a back-and-forth affair at Lafayette. A testament to the team's strong play, St. Francis (NY) is averaging 65.7 points per game while allowing 65.7 each time out. Iona transfer Ben Mockford leads the way with 13.2 points per game and is shooting 37.0 percent from long range. Junior Travis Nichols is the team's leading rebounder with 6.3 caroms per game to go along an 12.5 ppg. Rounding out the double-digit scorers is senior Stefan Perunicic, who checks in with averages of 10.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

SWEET REVENGE
A win would be second for the senior class against St. Francis (NY) against five losses.

THE ONLY TIME...
Wagner lost a game this year was to #4 UConn (11/14). All the Seahawks did the next time out was put up a season-best 87 points while holding off an extremely talented North Carolina Central squad (11/16) by four points.

AFTER TONIGHT ...
The Seahawks will finish up their non-conference schedule with five non-league games.

“ON SATURDAY, ON SATURDAY”
The Seahawks are a perfect 3-0 on games played on Saturdays. This bodes well as the Green & White will play 13 of its 29 games on the day after Friday.

SOMETHING ABOUT THE SPIRO
Williams is averaging 23.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 64.3 percent (18-28) from the floor in the Spiro Sports Center, including 57.1 percent (4-7) from long range.

LAYUP LINE FOR WILLIAMS
Williams scored all 16 of his points at Long Island (12/1) on eight layups. A remarkable feat for any player, let alone one as talented and quick as the JUCO transfer from the C.C. of San Francisco.

GIMME A BREAK
After starting the season with six games in 15 days, Wagner is now in the midst of a four-game, 10-day stretch. However, after next week's game vs. Lehigh (12/10), the Seahawks will be off for 13 days before heading to Pitt (12/23).

ALL-TIME VS. DUKE/PENN
After besting Penn (11/22), Wagner now holds an all-time combined record of 2-0 against Penn and Duke - two programs that have combined for over 3,500 victories.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
The Seahawks are recording a league-best + 5.3 turnover margin in the NEC while ranking third with a 1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.  Those rates rank 19th and 88th on the national level, respectively (11/28 NCAA Rankings).

BLOCK PARTY BENIN
After recording just five blocks in his first four games of the year, sophomore Naofall Folahan has 13 over his last three games - including 10 in his last two - and ranks first in the NEC with 2.6 rejections per game. The not-so gentle giant is also shooting 60.0 percent (15-25) from the floor.

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 has made good on 39-of-95 (.411) and is second in the NEC at 39.4 percent.

THREE-POINT DEFENSE STEPS UP
After allowing the opposition to hit on 43.8 percent from long range over the first four games, Wagner 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.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Murray (14.9 ppg) and Rivers (14.6 ppg) are again the top-two scorers for the Seahawks and have each hit for double-figures in the first seven games.

FROM DOWNTOWN
Murray is second in the NCAA rankings in three-point shooting at 65.6 percent (21-32) and has converted at least two in every game this season while averaging 3.0/game after his career-best matching five at Long Island (12/1). Additionally, he is the all-time leader in three-point percentage in Wagner annals at 43.5 percent.

THOMPSON TAKES FLIGHT
Junior Josh Thompson ranks second in the NEC in field goal percentage at 65.6 percent (21-32) while averaging 7.9 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 four games Rivers has converted 17-of-18 (.944) from the line.

ORTIZ LEADS THE LEAGUE
Despite not recording a steal at Long Island (12/1), Ortiz continues to lead the NEC with 2.0 steals per game. However, he did record six points and six rebounds.

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.

SEAHAWKS BIG THREE
There is no question that Wagner is led by Murray (14.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Rivers (14.6 ppg, 2.6 apg) and Williams (12.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg) as the trio is averaging 42.2 of the Seahawks' 75.9 ppg.

BENCH LIGHTS IT UP
The Seahawk bench is averaging 21.6 points per game, compared to just 14.6 for the opposition, while shooting 41.4 percent from the floor and 78.0 percent from the line. Last year the reserves recorded just 16.2 points per game.

CLOSE GAMES = THE HURLEY WAY
This year, the Seahawks are 3-1 in games decided by six points or less. 

UP NEXT
Wagner hosts Hofstra on Tuesday, December 6 at 7:00 pm.