GAME NOTES / MONMOUTH NOTES
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Staten Island, NY - Wagner (11-11; 7-4 NEC) hosts Monmouth (6-17; 2-9 NEC) tonight at 7:00 pm and will be looking to get one step closer to a conference playoff berth. The Seahawks rallied from a four-point deficit with just under four minutes remaining the last time out against Fairleigh Dickinson, closing the game out on an 11-3 run en route to a 61-57 win. Freshman Latif Rivers led the way, scoring eight of his 11 points during the game-winning spurt - highlighted by a pair of three-point plays off passes from junior Tyler Murray. The Canadian native also had a big game, finishing with a game-high 20 points, notching at least 20 for the ninth time this year.

SETTING THE SCENE
The Green & White enter tonight's game following a thrilling 61-57 victory over FDU on Thursday night and are currently in third place in the NEC with a 7-4 league record. The Hawks have lost three-straight and eight-of-nine - including four by one possession - and are tied for last place with a 2-9 league mark.

ABOUT MONMOUTH
Despite losing four players early in January due to academic issues and having a roster of just eight active student-athletes, Monmouth has managed to stay extremely competitive despite losing eight-of-nine. The Hawks' offensive unit doesn't have a player averaging in double-figures, but rather six players that are notching between five and nine points. Monmouth is led by sophomore Ed Waite, who paces the team in scoring (9.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg). Junior Mike Myers Keitt is second in scoring (8.8 ppg), while shooting 38.5 percent from beyond the arc. Sophomore Jesse Steele has been a solid addition to the team, after transferring from Army, and is third on the team in scoring (8.6 ppg) while shooting a team-best 44.7 percent (21-47) from long range.

HOMECOMING
Staten Island native and former Farrell standout senior James Hett will most likely be playing his final game at Wagner College today and is averaging 4.5 ppg and 3.7 apg (10th NEC) while owning the league's fourth-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2). A former teammate of 2010 Wagner grad Doug Elwell and current Siena standout Ryan Rossiter, Hett notched eight points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals in his only previous game at the Spiro Sports Center back on February 16, 2008.

KEYS TO THE GAME
Monmouth likes to slow the game down with its funky match-up zone defense and average just 60.3 ppg (11th NEC) while holding teams to just 67.0 ppg (5th NEC). Wagner, meanwhile, has the fourth-best offense (67.5 ppg) while ranking seventh in scoring defense (69.6 ppg). The Hawks have the third-best field goal percentage defense (.419) and will pose a threat for Wagner's third-best field goal percentage offense (.431). The difference may come from beyond the arc where the Seahawks hold the best three-point shooting offense (.398) while Monmouth is ninth in three point defense (.358).

LAST YEAR
Monmouth jumped out to a big lead in the early part of the game before holding off a late-charging Wagner squad 76-67.  Sophomore Danny Mundweiler led the way, scoring a team-high 14 points, on 4-of-7 shooting from long range, while junior Tyler Murray added 13 points.

CLOSE GAMES = THE HURLEY WAY
Wagner improved to 8-4 in games decided by five points or less, including 5-2 during NEC play, following its 61-57 victory over FDU. The Seahawks ended the game on an 11-3 run while scoring the final six points to put to rest any hope for a Knight upset. Monmouth, meanwhile, is 5-10 in similar situations, including an anemic 1-6 during NEC play. The Hawks have lost each of their last three games but at least five points - including the last time out against Mount St. Mary's when they lost on a last-second three pointer from Julian Norfleet with just 0.6 seconds to play in Emmitsburg, MD.

EXTRA TIME = SEAHAWK SUCCESS
Wagner improved to a perfect 3-0 in overtime games this season with its 80-75 victory over Bryant ... All three wins have come against NEC opposition (@ Bryant, RMU, @ SHU) and by five points. In those games, the Seahawks have outscored the opposition 46-31 while shooting 62.5 percent (10-16) from the floor and 82.1 percent (23-28) from the line. Freshman Latif Rivers has led the way, notching 18 points (6.0 ppg) during extra time while going 3-of-3 from the floor and 11-of-12 from the line. Wagner has now won four-straight overtime games and is 9-2 since the 2007-2008 season.

ALSO
Wagner has trailed for a total of just 1:16 over its three overtime games this year, going 3-0 when needing to play extra time. Addtionally, the Seahawks assumed control and did not trail in games at Sacred Heart and Bryant.

THE SERIES
Monmouth leads the all-time series by a 32-20 count after winning the most recent match-up a year ago. Wagner, which had won the three previous meetings, has struggled at home against the Hawks, losing four-of-five since the 2003-2004 season.

NCAA CHAMPS IN THE BUILDING
Former Maryland forward Tahj Holden, who was a member of the 2002 National Championship team, is currently a member of the Monmouth coaching staff while Wagner assistant coach Bobby Hurley helped Duke to back-to-back titles in 1991 and 1992.

FAMILIAR WITH THE NEC
Also on the Monmouth coaching staff are Director of Basketball Operations Chris Kenny and Director of Player Development Blake Hamilton. Kenny helped the Hawks to the 2006 NEC Championship while Hamilton, who was the 2005 NEC Player of the Year, had his hopes for a second straight NEC berth as a senior squashed by Wagner when the Seahawks defeated the Hawks 63-60 in the semifinals of the NEC Tournament.

DID YOU KNOW???
Wagner led for just 6:45 - including just the final 33 seconds of the second half - in the four-point come-from-behind win over FDU.

COMEBACK KIDS
In four of Wagner's seven NEC wins, the Seahawks trailed by at least four points with under four minutes on the clock.

OVER THE LAST FIVE GAMES
In the final five minutes of the last five games, Wagner is averaging 17.0 ppg while limiting the opposition to just 11.6 ppg. During that time, the Seahawks are shooting 54.7 percent from the floor, including 46.2 percent (6-13) from beyond the arc, while limiting the opposition to just 37.8 percent shooting, including 8.3 percent (1-12) from long range.

NAOFALL NOTCHES DOUBLE-FIGURES
Freshman Naofall Folahan notched double-figures in back-to-back games for the first time all year, after scoring 10 in games at CCSU and vs. FDU. Against the Knights, Folahan finished with 10 points while adding six rebounds, including four on the offensive glass that led to three lay-ups. Over the last three games, he is averaging 9.3 ppg while shooting 60.0 percent (12-20).

THE SEAHAWKS...
Won for the first time all year when converting five three pointers or less (4-13) (.308) against FDU. The Seahawks did notch double-digits in steals (10) for just the second time this year while pressuring the Knights into 21 miscues - leading to a 26-13 advantage in points off turnovers.

THURSDAY THUNDER
Wagner is now 5-1 in Thursday games following an 80-75 overtime victory over Bryant. The Seahawks have Thursday games vs. FDU, vs. LIU and at Saint Francis (PA) remaining.

NEC ON THE UP AND UP
The Northeast Conference is currently the 20th ranked conference according to the RPI rankings, after finishing 29th a year ago.

RIVERS RALLIES HAWKS
After failing to score in the first half against FDU, freshman Latif Rivers bounced back in the second half, scoring eight of Wagner's final 11 points, helping lift the Seahawks to a 61-57 victory.

HURLEY'S PLAYERS IN THE RANKINGS
It should come as no surprise that freshman Latif Rivers ranks third in the nation in free throw percentage (.936) (88-94) as head coach Dan Hurley also coached the fourth-ranked free throw shooter in the nation, Villanova senior Corey Stokes (.935) (72-77) at St. Benedict's High School. As a team, Wagner ranks 10th nationally and first in the league at 77.1 percent, after converting just 61.1 percentage a year ago.

ALSO IN THE RANKINGS
Wagner ranks 16th in the nation in three-point shooting (.398) while junior Tyler Murray is third in the NEC and 83rd nationally in scoring (17.4 ppg).

TYLER REBOUNDS
Junior Tyler Murray has scored 20 points in each of the last two games after averaging just 12.3 ppg over the previous three games. The Canadian native notched 20 points in Wagner's 61-57 win over FDU after scoring 19 of his 20 points in the second half against CCSU while almost helping the Seahawks erase a 24-point second half deficit.  The junior guard has now recorded at least 20 points in nine games with the Green & White going 6-3 during that time. He ranks third in the NEC in scoring (17.4 ppg) while pacing the league in three point shooting (.471).

CLOSING IT OUT
Down 54-50 against FDU with under four minutes to play, Wagner closed the game out on a 11-3 run, including scoring the final six points for the come-from-behind 61-57 victory. Freshman Latif Rivers scored eight of his 11 points over the game-changing run as the Seahawks forced seven turnovers over that time, including on the final five Knight possessions.

CLOSE GAMES
15 of the Seahawks' 22 games have been decided by 10 points or less with the Green & White going 9-6 in those match-ups. Meanwhile, the Hawks have had 16 of their 23 games decided by 10 points or less going 6-10.

FOUR-STRAIGHT
Junior Tyler Murray and freshman Latif Rivers have all notched double-figures in scoring in each of the last five games.

IN EVERY GAME WAGNER HAS WON ...
The Seahawks have converted more three pointers then the opposition. The Green & White are 0-4 when allowing their opponents to drain more triples.

TAKING IT DOWN A NOTCH
Wagner committed a season-low 16 transgressions in the 61-57 win over FDU, marking just the second time this season the Seahawks didn't commit at least 20. In the win at Bryant, the Green & White committed fewer fouls than the opposition for the first time on the year by a 17-23 count.

FOUL TROUBLE
The Seahawks did not allow the opposition into the double-bonus (10 fouls) for the second half time all year in the win at Bryant. In 42 halves of play, Wagner has commited at least 10 fouls 36 times. Thus far, the Green & White is committing an average of 5.0 more fouls than the opposition while ranking 334th with a NCAA-high 25.0 fouls per game.

COACHING MATCH-UP
Head coach Dan Hurley is 11-11 (7-4 NEC) in his first season and will be squaring off with 14th year Monmouth coach Dave Calloway, who is 175-223 as the head coach in West Long Branch.

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.

RAISE UP
On the strength of a 26-of-28 performance from the line over the last four games, freshman Latif Rivers, who converted his first 31 collegiate free throws, is third in the national free throw percentage rankings at 93.6 percent (88-94).

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) before converting on 47.6 percent (10-21) in the five-point win at Bryant. The Green & White then made good on just 25.0 percent (2-8) in the first half at CCSU before converting 50.0 percent (5-10) after halftime. Wagner then converted just 30.8 percent (4-13) from beyond the arc in the 61-57 win over FDU, marking the first time all year the Seahawks won when hitting less than five triples.

TURNING IT AROUND
Wagner committed a season-low eight turnovers vs. FDU while posting a +13 margin, its best of the year. The Seahawks have now won the turnover battle in back-to-back games after turning it over in each of the previous five games.After losing the turnover battle in each of the previous five games, averaging 4.6 more miscues then the opposition, Wagner forced 21turnovers against Knights, leading to a 26-13 advantage in points off turnovers.

20-POINT MAN
Junior Tyler Murray has legitimized himself as a Player of the Year candidate, notching at least 20 points in six of his last 10 games while averaging 19.0 ppg during that time.

DAN HURLEY QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Nobody thought we would be playing for a winning record this late in the season.”
Head coach Dan Hurley on his team's 11-11 record after Wagner's win over FDU

EVEN BETTER
Wagner's NEC-leading free throw percentage jumps to 77.8 percent in the last five minutes of games as the Seahawks are connecting on 112-of-144. Freshman Latif Rivers is 31-for-34 (91.2 %) while junior Tyler Murray is 33-for-39 (84.6 %).

RECRUITING PAYING DIVIDENDS
Head coach Dan Hurley's first recruiting class has been paying dividends since day one and the Northeast Conference is paying attention. Freshman Latif Rivers collected Wagner's sixth Rookie of the Week citation in the season's for the week ending January 23. The Garden State native has five NEC Rookie accolades with Naofall Folahan garnering one.

MURRAY ALL-TIME LEADER
Junior Tyler Murray leads NEC in three-point percentage at 47.1 percent (48-102). For his career, he is the all-time Wagner leader in the same category (min. 100 three point attempts), converting on a blistering 43.2 percent (104-241).

10-POINT GAMES
In games decided by 10 points or less, the Green & White is converting a remarkable 79.3 percent (265-334) from the free throw line.

RAISING THE BAR
In the last five minutes of games and OT, Wagner is shooting a solid 42.0 percent (21-50) from beyond the arc while holding the opposition to just 24.5 percent (13-53) in similar situations.

CONGRATS MR. HURLEY
Wagner head coach Dan Hurley's father Bob Hurley Sr. became the fifth prep coach with 1,000 career wins on February 2 by a 76-46 count over St. Mary's in this his 40th year at Saint Anthony's High School.

FREE THROW NOTES
Wagner is connecting on 76.4 percent (207-271) 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 ... The Seahawks are converting on 80.6 percent (204-253) from the line in their 11 victories, including 79.9 percent (123-154) after halftime in those games.

UP NEXT
Wagner heads to Mount St. Mary's on Wednesday, February 9 in the first of two-straight games against the Mountaineers. Tip time is slated for 7:00 pm.