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Teaneck, NJ - After concluding the non-conference portion of its schedule with a thrilling 64-62 victory over Santa Clara and the Cable Car Championship, Wagner (10-3; 1-1 NEC) returns to action tonight with a 7:00 pm Northeast Conference (NEC) tilt at Fairleigh Dickinson (1-11; 0-2 NEC). The Seahawks will be looking for their fourth-straight win on the road while the Knights will be aiming to stop a nine-game losing streak. The twitter hash tag for the game will be (WagFDU).

QUICK HITS
* After one of the most impressive three-game stretches in school history, Wagner (10-3; 1-1 NEC) returns to conference action with a road game at Fairleigh Dickinson (1-11; 0-2 NEC) tonight, January 5, at 7:00 pm.

* The Seahawks are coming off an impressive showing in California where the Green & White captured the 45th annual Cable Car Championship with victories over Air Force (12/29) and host Santa Clara (12/30).

* Wagner's tournament title was the first in-season championship for the Seahawks since capturing the 1997 Pepsi Marist Classic.

* The Green & White concluded non-conference play with a 9-2 record, which is the second-best mark in school history. The nine non-league wins are also the most-ever by Wagner and match the NEC-record.

* Additionally, the 10 wins on the year are the most by a Seahawk team before the month of January.

* The Green & White received one vote in the Associated Press (AP) Poll for the second-straight week and are again ranked 25th in the Mid-Major Poll.

* Wagner concluded non-conference play with victories over teams from seven different conferences (BIG East, CAA, Ivy, MEAC, MWC, Patriot, WCC).

* The last three Seahawk wins have come on the road against teams the Green & White had previously never beaten.

* The Green & White are 45th in the most recent RPI rankings as released by the NCAA.

* Wagner's 64-62 victory over Santa Clara (12/30) handed the Broncos (6-1) their first home loss of the year. The Seahawks' now have five road wins, which match last year's total.

* Sophomore Kenneth Ortiz propelled the Green & White to a victory over Santa Clara (12/30) and the Cable Car Championship with this improbable buzzer-beater from the left corner. The shot has been watched by more than 1.3 million people on YouTube while also appearing on ESPN's Sportscenter. The second-chance shot capped a remarkable 12-rebound, 8-point, 4-assist performance for the 6-0 point guard. Additionally, Ortiz averaged 9.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game en route to being named the tournament's Most Inspirational Player.

* Classmate Latif Rivers earned up with Cable Car Classic MVP honors after averaging 19.0 points per game, on 54.2 percent (13-24) shooting - including 50.0 percent (8-16) from long range. In the title game win over Santa Clara (12/30), he scored 12 of his team-high 17 points after halftime after notching a season-best 21 points in the victory vs. Air Force (12/29).

* Also garnering inclusion on the All-Tournament Team was junior Jonathon Williams (11.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and sophomore Naofall Folahan (5.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.5 bpg).

* At least one team from 31 of the 44 Cable Car Classics has advanced to the NCAA Tournament, including five times in the last eight years

* In the second half of the tournament, Rivers scored 26 of his 38 points while shooting 8-of-12 (.667) from the floor and 6-of-9 (.667) from long range. On the year, he is averaging a team-best 8.5 points while converting on 91.9 percent (34-37) from the line after halftime, including 94.4 percent (17-18) in the final minute.

* The tournament was a homecoming of sorts for Williams, who played his JUCO ball at nearby Community College of San Francisco. Over 30 members of his friends and family were on hand for the tournament.

* Senior Tyler Murray became the 38th member of the Seahawk 1,000-point club with his three pointer at the 8:42 mark of the first half against Santa Clara (12/30).

* After trailing by as many as seven points in the first half, the Green & White took their first lead of the night against the Broncos on an old-fashioned three-point play from Williams to open the second half (19:28) and would not trail the rest of the way. Additionally, in eight of its 10 wins, Wagner has not trailed after halftime. The only Seahawk victory that has featured multiple lead changes after halftime was the Penn (11/26) game (71-65).

* Wagner ripped off a nine-straight points to start the second half against Santa Clara (12/30), one night after beginning the second half with a 13-4 spurt in a 72-61 win over Air Force (12/29). In their 59-54 victory over Pitt (12/23), the Seahawks came out of halftime on a 15-7 run.

* Rivers garnered his first Choice Hotels NEC Co-Player of Week citation after averaging a team-best 18.7 points-per-game over the last two weeks. He totaled 56 points over that three-game stretch, shooting 50.0 percent (18-36) from the field, including converting on a blistering 47.6 percent (10-21) from beyond the arc, and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. On the year, Rivers is averaging a team-best 14.2 points per game while shooting 90.4 percent (47-52) from the line, the second-best mark in the NEC and the 17th nationally. He has paced the Green & White in scoring in each of the last three games and a team-best six times on the year while notching double-figures in 10 of the Wagner's 12 games.

* A year ago, Rivers nailed a school-record six NEC Rookie of the Week Awards en route to earning NEC All-Rookie Honors and has scored at least 20 points seven times in his Seahawk career.

* Wagner's 59-54 win over #15 Pitt avenged a 2003 NCAA Tournament loss to the Panthers while giving the Green & White its first win over a Nationally Ranked team since besting #15 Alabama 86-74 on November 24, 1978. The victory was also the first by a NEC school over a ranked team since Mount St. Mary's bested #21 Georgia Tech and Stephon Marbury 71-69 on December 18, 1995 and the first by a conference school against a BCS member since FDU defeated Seton Hall 76-71 on November 18, 2006.

* The win also snapped Pitt's remarkable 70-game winning streak (now 70-1) over Northeast Conference (NEC) competition and was just the third by a non-conference team in the 10-year history of the Peterson Events Center (3-91). Additionally, it was just the 14th-ever victory in the building (14-156) by a visitor.

* To give you an idea of how HARD it is to beat Pitt at home, prior to the victory six BIG EAST teams have never won at the Peterson Events Center: Cincinnati, DePaul, Providence, South Florida, St. John's and Villanova.

* The Seahawks' victory over Air Force (12/29) was their first-ever against the Falcons as well as the first against a Mountain West team and a school from Colorado ... The 71 points against Air Force were also the most scored against the service academy in regulation this season.

* The Green & White converted on all 20 free throws against the Falcons and converted 33-straight before Ortiz missed one with 9:08 to play against Santa Clara. That number eclipses Wagner's previous best of 28-straight achieved between the Penn (11/22) and Delaware State (11/26) games.

* During non-conference play, the Seahawks picked up their first-ever wins against Princeton (11/12), NCCU (11/16), Penn (11/22), Pitt (12/23, Air Force (12/29) and Santa Clara (12/30).

* Dan Hurley's Wagner Seahawks has been profiled twice by ESPN (Andy Katz, Myron Medcalf) as well as by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. These articles and more can be found on the Wagner Athletics website by clicking HERE

* Coach Hurley was named the NYCBuckets.Com Coach of the Non-Conference among the 23 Division I metropolitan schools spanning the Connecticut, New Jersey and New York areas. Click HERE for the article

* Seahawk radio broadcaster Joey Wahler also did a blog on the early-season success of the program on NYCBuckets.Com. You can access that by clicking HERE

* The Green & White has forced the opposition to shoot below 40 percent in seven of the last eight games after not doing so once in the first five.

* Wagner has now won the turnover battle in 12-straight games and in all but one while ranking 17th nationally in turnover margin (+4.2) according to the latest NCAA Rankings.

* The Seahawks also lead the NEC with a 75.4 percent conversion rate from the line, which also ranks 18th nationally. Additionally, that number increases to 91.4 percent (32-35) in the final minute of games. In winning the Cable Car Classic, the Green & White converted an astounding 93.5 percent (29-31) from the line.

* Despite being outshot from the floor (.378-.413) and beyond the arc (.347-.548), Wagner dominated the glass (39.5-28.0), including posting a +19 margin on the offensive end (including a team-best nine from Ortiz, who stands just 6-0) - leading to a 38-13 advantage in second-chance points.

* Besides leading the league in turnover margin and free throw percentage, the Seahawks also pace the conference in scoring margin (+8.5) (76th nationally), field goal percentage defense (.404) (90th nationally) and assist to turnover ratio (0.99) (140th nationally).

* Wagner has enjoyed a balanced offensive attack thus far with Rivers leading the way on offense with 14.2 points per game (10th NEC) with Williams (12.8 ppg) (16th NEC) and Murray (12.7 ppg) (17th NEC) also averaging double-figures. Averaging just under double-figures is Ortiz, who has filled up the stat sheets to the tune of 8.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists (4th NEC) and 1.9 steals (3rd NEC) per game. Williams paces the team in shooting (.504) (14th NEC) while Murray leads all NEC three-point shooters with a remarkable 51.7 percent (30-58) conversion rate. Rivers has been lethal from the line, connecting on a team 90.4 percent (47-52) (2nd NEC). Joining the four in the starting line-up is Folahan, who is averaging 5.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and a NEC-best 2.0 blocks (53rd nationally) per game.

SETTING THE SCENE
Wagner (10-3; 1-1 NEC) will look for its fourth-straight road victory when the Seahawks resume conference play at Fairleigh Dickinson (1-11; 0-2 NEC) today at the Rothman Center with tip time slated for 7:00 pm.

TODAY
Is the fourth of a five-game road trip that will commence on Saturday, January 7 at Monmouth. That game will be broadcast on MSG+ (DirecTV channel 635) and will tip at 12:00 pm.

70
The Green & White is an impressive 8-0 when holding the opposition to under 70 points and are 7-1 when scoring at least 70 points.

“IT'S FRIDAY, I'M IN LOVE.”
Wagner posted wins over #15 Pitt (12/23) and Santa Clara (12/30) on each of the last two Fridays, respectively. That will be the last time the Seahawks play a regular season game on a Friday as they finish the season with a perfect 2-0 mark on the unofficial start to the weekend.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Wagner has an impressive 5-2 record on the road, one season after going just 5-12 away from the friendly confines of the Spiro Sports Center. A victory today would give the Seahawks a four-game road winning streak for the first time since capturing four-straight at the end of the 2004-2005 season. Unfortunately, number five was not meant to be as the Green & White lost to FDU in the NEC Championship Game.

10-3
The last time Wagner started 10-3 in a season was during the 1968-1969 season. Lyndon Baines Johnson was in the Oval Office and the New York Jets would go on to win the Super Bowl and the New York Mets the World Series.

LONG TIME COMING
The Seahawks posted five victories in the month of December, which is the most in the month since the 1986-1987 season when the Green & White won six.

NEXT
With Murray notching his 1,000th point against Santa Clara (12/30), the next member of Wagner to hit for 1,000 will most likely be senior Chris Martin, who has 920 career points.

REBOUNDING THE BALL
The Seahawks dominated the glass in the Cable Car Classic, winning the battle of the boards in wins over Air Force (12/29) and Santa Clara (12/30) and are a perfect 6-0 when outrebounding the opposition.

CLOSING IT OUT
The Green & White is 10-1 when leading with five minutes to play thanks to shooting an impressive 94.1 percent (32-35) in the final minute of games.

CLOSING IT OUT PART 2
Wagner is 5-2 in games decided by 10 points or less while shooting 80.0 percent (40-50) from the line.

FIRST TIME
Despite holding the Northeast Conference's best overall record, Wagner hadn't won a Player of the Week citation until Rivers averaged 18.7 points per game while pacing the team in scoring in victories over #15 Pitt (12/23), Air Force (12/29) and Santa Clara (12/30). The reason? Balance. The Seahawks routinely go 10-deep and have three players - Rivers (14.2) (10th NEC), Williams (12.8) (16th NEC) and Murray (12.7) (17th NEC) averaging double-figures in scoring.

TODAY'S OPPONENT: FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON
FDU enters today's game with a record of just 1-11 and have lost nine-straight. The Knights' record is deceiving as they have had to incorporate seven new players to the team's active roster.  FDU boasts four double-figure scorers led by Duquesne transfer junior Melquan Bolding (13.8 ppg). Rounding out the double-digit performers are junior Lonnie Hayes (13.0 ppg, 4.1 apg), junior Kinu Rochford (10.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and George Goode (10.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg).

LAST MEETING
Wagner used a game-ending 8-3 run to overcome a nine-point second-half deficit in posting a thrilling 61-57 win over FDU. Murray scored 20 points while Rivers notched all 11 of his points in the second half to help rally the Seahawks to victory.  The Knights lead the all-time series by a 49-41 margin.

WHOLE NEW TEAM
FDU returns just six points and one starter from last year's game against Wagner.

HALL PASS
On the sidelines will be two former Seton Hall student-athletes in Seahawk head coach Dan Hurley and Knight assistant Marcus Toney-El.

WHAT'S IN A NUMBER?
Did you know the last time that Wagner defeated a Top 25 team, that school was also ranked 15th? That game was against #15 Alabama on November 24, 1978. Coincidentally, that Seahawk team was coached by P.J. Carlesimo, who was head coach Dan Hurley's mentor at Seton Hall in his first two collegiate seasons.

MORE PITT NOTES
The victory also snapped a 13-game losing streak to the BIG EAST dating back to December 16, 1995 when Wagner bested Rutgers. All-time, the Seahawks are now 3-24, all-time, against the league and 9-66 against current BIG EAST institutions while also improving to 3-0, all-time, in the Peterson Events Center after previously defeating Chicago State and Georgetown (KY) in the 2003 Pittsburgh Holiday Hoops Classic. The Wagner defense clamped down on Pitt, limiting the Panthers to a season-low 54 points. It is also their lowest scoring output since recording just 51 in a five-point loss to Notre Dame on January 23, 2011. The Seahawks also pressured Pitt into 18 turnovers with just 10 assists. It was Panthers lowest assist:turnover ratio (minus-8) in a game since it committed 22 turnovers on 10 assists (minus-12) in a 65-64 overtime win against Duke on Dec. 20, 2007.

DON'T FORGET TO STRETCH
The Seahawks will stream tonight's game thru Stretch Internet for free with Joey Wahler providing the play-by-play. Check HERE or on the live events tab on the Wagner Athletics website beginning at 6:50 pm (EST).

SECOND-HALF SUCCESS
The Seahawks have opened the second half of its last six games with some impressive scoring runs:
St. Francis (NY) (12/3) - 22-4 ~ Hofstra (12/6) - 6-0 ~ Lehigh (12/10) - 8-2 ~
#15 Pitt (12/23) - 15 -8 ~ Air Force (12/29) - 13-4 ~ Santa Clara (12/30) - 9-0.

RIVERS ...
Is averaging a team-best 15.3 points per game on the road while knocking down 93.3 percent (28-30) from the line.

RIVERS REBOUNDS
After averaging just 9.0 points per game on a chilly 33.3 percent (8-24) from the floor in the previous three games before facing #15 Pitt (12/23), Rivers missed his three first-half shots at #15 Pitt (12/23). He then scored all of his game-high 18 points after in the second half while going 5-for-9 from the floor. Since that scoreless half, Rivers has scored 56 points in the second half against the Panthers and in wins over Air Force (12/29) and Santa Clara (12/30) while shooting 54.5 percent (18-for-33) from the floor and  50.0 percent (10-20) from long range during that time.

ICEWATER IN HIS VEINS
Rivers also atoned for a missed free throw in the final minute of Wagner's loss to Lehigh (12/10) by going 6-for-6 down the stretch in the Seahawks' 59-54 win over #15 Pitt (12/23).

IN THE FINAL MINUTE OF ...
10-point games, Rivers is converting 93.8 percent (15-16) from the line as the Green & White have converted 96.3 percent (26-27) as a team. In those games, Wagner has posted a 5-2 record.

MILESTONE WATCH
Murray is just five points away from Marty Ansa, Jr. (1,014 points) for 37th place on the Seahawks' all-time scoring list and 14 off of James Ulrich (1,023 points) for 36th. Martin is tied with Jeff Klauder (185) for fifth place on the all-time career three-point list. He is also two away from Lamont Street (187) and seven behind Bobby Hopson (192). 

BIG THREE
Rivers (14.2 ppg), Williams (12.8 ppg) and Murray (12.7 ppg) have accounted for 53.4 percent (504-943) of Wagner's offense while giving the Seahawks an array of offensive options.

DOUBLE-DOWN
Murray has recorded double-figures 12 times this year and in 47-of-50 games since the end of his sophomore year.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
The senior duo of Martin and Murray has been a big factor in the revival of Seahawk basketball. Over the last three-plus years, the twosome has combined for 1,935 points while converting on 40.5 percent (330-815) from long range and 76.5 percent (345-451) from the line. Murray ranks first in three point shooting on the Green & White's all-time rankings (.428) while Martin is ninth (.389).

ORTIZ MAKING WAVES ON THE ISLAND
In his first season on Staten Island, Ortiz has filled up the stat sheets, averaging 8.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists (4th NEC) and 1.9 steals (3rd NEC) per game while pacing a defense that has posted a NEC-leading +4.2 turnover margin. In the 59-54 win over Pitt (12/23), Ortiz put his talent on display with 12 points and a game and career-high seven assists over 35 minutes while converting 6-of-9 from the floor, including draining all five first-half attempts. At the Cable Car Classic he averaged 9.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game in winning the event's Most Inspirational Award, before capping the the event with his aforementioned Buzzer-Beater that bested Santa Clara (12/30).

DID YOU KNOW?
Despite standing just 6-0, Ortiz has the top two individual rebounding performances for the Green & White this season. The Wagner starting point guard grabbed a career-best 12 in the win over Santa Clara (12/30) - including seven on the offensive end, surpassing his previous best of 11 notched in the win over North Carolina Central (11/16).

NON-CONFERENCE COMPARISON
Wagner posted a five-win improvement during non-conference play from last year, thanks to averaging 70.9 ppg, up from 62.5 in 2010-2011.

CLUTCH
On the year, the trio of Rivers, Martin and Murray has converted 81.4 percent (92-113) from the line.

BLOCK PARTY
Folahan leads the NEC and ranks 53rd nationally with 2.0 blocks per game. The 6-11 center swatted a season-best six at Long Island (12/1) and is also averaging 5.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. The Republic of Benin native has helped to challenge opposing players in the lane, blocking at least two shots on seven occasions.

LATE GAME HEROICS
The Seahawks converted seven-straight free throws over the final 2:15 of its six-point win at Penn (11/22), 9-of-10 down the stretch in a six-point victory at Lafayette (11/19), six-of-seven from the line in the last five minutes of an 87-83 win over NCCU (11/16) - including draining four-straight with under 30 seconds to play and a perfect six-of-six in the final minute at #15 Pitt (12/23).

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 Wagner's televised home games to 11, meaning that just two home contests will not be on TV.  Included is the Seahawks' first-ever ESPN home regular season telecast against Long Island on Saturday, January 21 at 7:00 pm on ESPNU. All told at least 15 of the 29 Green & White contests will be on television. For the entire TV schedule click HERE

NON-CONFERENCE NOTES
For the second-straight year, Hurley put together a tough non-conference slate. Last year, after defeating Lafayette 63-58 (11/12/10) 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 wasn't as high, the competition level is on par if not better. The Seahawks faced 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). Wagner 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). The Seahawks then capped a brutal six-game, two week stretch with an 85-62 victory vs. Delaware State (11/26) before besting Hofstra (12/6). Following a loss to Lehigh (12/10) and a 13-day layoff, the Green & White turned the tables on #15 Pitt (12/23) by a 59-54 count. Wagner then wrapped up non-league play with a 9-2 record after claiming the Cable Car Championship, following a 72-61 win over Air Force (12/29) and a 64-62 victory at Santa Clara (12/30).