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West Long Branch, NJ - Wagner (11-3; 2-1 NEC) returns to action at Monmouth (3-12; 1-2 NEC) with a 12:00 pm match-up that will be televised regionally on MSG+, with the game also available on DirecTV Channel 635. The Seahawks will be looking for their fifth-straight win on the road while the Hawks will be looking for their second-straight victory. Former Wagner coach Tim Capstraw and Paul Dottino will provide the call with Matt Harmon handling the sideline reporting. The twitter hash tag for the game will be (WAGMU). As always, Joey Wahler will call the game through Red Zone Media. That broadcast will be free of charge and can be accessed by clicking HERE

QUICK HITS
* The Seahawks returned to conference play on Thursday with an impressive 88-64 win at FDU (1/5).

* Junior Jonathon Williams scored 23 points while pulling down six rebounds to lead four double-figure scorers for the Green & White.

* For Williams, it was his second 20-point game of the season as the JUCO transfer converted an impressive 11-of-14 from the line.

* Sophomore Latif Rivers continued his torrid play against FDU (1/5) with 19 points, on 7-of-11 shooting. The reigning Choice Hotels NEC Co-Player of the Week is averaging a team-best 18.8 points per game during Wagner's four-game winning streak. During that time he is shooting 53.2 percent (25-47) from the floor, 48.1 percent (13-27) from long range and a perfect 100.0 percent (12-12) form the line.

* During the four-game winning streak, the Seahawks have outscored their opposition by 10.6 points per game while shooting 37.2 percent from long range and 84.3 percent from the line. Additionally, they posted a +5.0 turnover margin and a +2.8 advantage on the glass. Joining Rivers in double-figures during the streak has been Williams (13.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg), senior Tyler Murray (10.5 ppg) and sophomore Kenneth Ortiz (10.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 5.8 apg).

* Wagner pressured FDU into 21 miscues leading to 20-11 advantage in points off turnovers as the Seahawks matched a season-low with nine miscues. It was the fifth time this season that the Green & White forced at least 20 and lead the NEC and rank ninth nationally with a +4.8 turnover margin.

* The turnover battle has been won by Wagner in 11-straight games and 13 times in the Seahawks' 14 games this season.

* The Green & White also rank among the top-20 in the NCAA rankings in free throw percentage, checking in with a NEC-best 75.7 percent conversion rate from the charity stripe - highlighted by a perfect 20-for-20 showing in a 72-61 win against Air Force (12/29). Additionally, Wagner is at the of the league rankings in scoring margin (+9.6 ppg, 64th NCAA), three-point shooting (.371, 74th NCAA), blocked shots (3.9, 116th NCAA) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.02, 114th NCAA).

* The Seahawks' 24-point win over FDU (1/7) was the first 20-plus point victory on the road since the Green & White bested Monmouth 91-60 on February 28, 2009 in the Hawks' final game at Boylan Gym. Additionally, the win over the Knights was the first in Stratis Arena in exactly three years (1/5/09).

* Eight different Wagner players scored with freshman Mario Moody notching career-highs in points (4), rebounds (4) and minutes (7) while recording his first career block in his most extensive action since missing the first quarter of the season due to a knee injury.

* The Seahawks led the entire second half and have now done so in nine of their 11 victories while also improving to an impressive 10-1 when leading at the half and with five minutes to go.

* Additionally, the Green & White is  9-0 when limiting the opposition to under 70 points and 8-1 when scoring at least 70.

* Wagner held the Knights without a three pointer, marking the second time this season they have done so after Hofstra (12/6) failed to convert a triple attempt against the Seahawks' stout defense.

* Today's game is just the second for Wagner in the state-of-the-art M.A.C. Center with the first coming on February 13, 2010. In that game the Seahawks lost 76-67 but was not as close as the final score indicated. Monmouth jumped out to a 19-point advantage midway through the second half as Travis Taylor, who is now at Xavier, scored a game-high 30 points while adding eight rebounds.

* The Hawks have been tough at home this year, going 2-1 in West Long Branch. The Green & White, meanwhile, are 6-2 on the road so something will have to give today.

* With a win, Wagner would win its seventh game away from the Spiro Sports Center while matching the road win total for the last two years (7-26).

* Today's game is the Seahawks' eighth appearance on TV, having gone 6-1 in the first seven.

* The Green & White are 8-1 in games decided by six points or more, including 4-0 when the differential is 16 points or greater.

* Wagner's 11-3 start is its best since also beginning 11-3 in the 1968-1969 season. The start is also the squad's best since moving to Division I in the 1976-1977 season.

* Prior to this season the Seahawks had never won 10 games before January and their nine non-conference wins broke the 2005-2006 team's previous record of seven.

* The Green & White recorded non-league wins over teams from seven different conferences (BIG East, CAA, Ivy, MEAC, MWC, Patriot, WCC).

* Wagner is 45th in the most RPI rankings as released by the NCAA on Tuesday, January 2 and received one vote in the Associated Press (AP) Poll for the second-straight week while also ranking 25th in the Mid-Major Poll.

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

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

* Ortiz propelled the Green & White to a victory over Santa Clara (12/30) and the Cable Car Championship with an 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. He averaged 9.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game en route to being named the tournament's Most Inspirational Player.

* He followed that up with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win over FDU (1/5) and is averaging 8.7 points, 5.0 rebounds (19th NEC), 4.3 assists (4th NEC) and 1.9 steals (3rd NEC) per game.

* 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 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.

* 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). He is now 37th on the all-time scoring list with 1,020 points.

* 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. Click HERE for the release.

* A year ago, Rivers nailed down 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 with the Green & White going 6-1 during that time.

* 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.

* 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 in the last two weeks.Click HERE for those articles as well as other write-ups on the program.

* Wagner will return home on Thursday, January 12 against Bryant, having last played in the Spiro Sports Center on Saturday, December 10.

SETTING THE SCENE
Wagner (11-3; 2-1 NEC) returns to action today with a 12:00 pm game at Monmouth (3-12; 1-2 NEC) in a game that will be televised regionally on MSG+.

TODAY
Is the fifth of a five-game road trip. The Seahawks have won three true road games and one neutral-site contest and will go for the sweep today. Today's match-up will be broadcast on MSG+ (DirecTV channel 635).

70
The Green & White is an impressive 9-0 when holding the opposition to under 70 points and are 8-1 when scoring at least 70 points.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Wagner has an impressive 6-2 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 five-game road winning streak for the first time since midway through the school's 2002-2003 NEC Championship Season.

11-3
The last time Wagner started 11-3 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.

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 926 career points.

CLOSING IT OUT
The Green & White is 11-1 when leading with five minutes to play thanks to shooting an impressive 94.1 percent (32-35) in the final minute of games.

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 (14.6) (11th NEC), Williams (13.6) (15th NEC) and Murray (12.6) (18th NEC) averaging double-figures in scoring.

TODAY'S OPPONENT: MONMOUTH
Monmouth (3-12; 1-2 NEC) enters today's game fresh off a 73-59 victory over Mount St. Mary's this past Thursday in the Hawks' home conference-opener. Walk-on Jesse Steele leads the Hawks in scoring at 11.4 points per game while shooting 81.1 percent (30-37) from the line. Classmate Ed Waite paces the team in rebounding at 5.9 per game.

STAT COMPARISON
Wagner: Scoring Offense (73.6 ppg) / Scoring Defense (64.1 ppg) / FG% (.435) / FG%D (.404)
Monmouth: Scoring Offense (61.1 ppg) / Scoring Defense (78.9 ppg) / FG% (.395) / FG%D (.504)

LAST MEETING
Rivers scored a game-high 27 points and Murray to lead Wagner to a thrilling 63-60 victory over Monmouth a year ago. Hawk sophomore Marcus Ware scored a team-best 20 points while almost rallying Monmouth from an 11-point second-half deficit.

HIGH-POWERED COACHES
Today's game features five coaches that played in BCS conferences. Wagner head coach Dan Hurley played at Seton Hall from 1991-1996 while his brother, Seahawk assistant Bobby Hurley played at Duke from 1989-1993. Monmouth head coach King Rice suited up at North Carolina from 1987-1991 while assistant coach Derrick Phelps and Brian Reese were Tar Heels from 1990-1994.

DON'T FORGET TO STRETCH
The Seahawks will stream tonight's game thru Stretch Internet for free. Check the live events tab on the Wagner Athletics website beginning at 11:50 AM (EST).

TWITTER
Fans wishing to follow and comment on this weekend's action they can use the hash tag #WAGMU.

KEY MATCH-UP: THREE-POINT SHOOTING
Wagner is leading the NEC in three-point shooting at 37.1 percent and converted 9-of-20 from long range against FDU (1/5). Monmouth, meanwhile, ranks 11th in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense at 40.1 percent.

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.

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 three points off of James Ulrich (1,023 points) for 36th on the all-time Seahawk list. Martin is tied with Lamont Street (187) for fifth place and seven behind Bobby Hopson (192) for fourth. 

BIG THREE
Rivers (14.6 ppg), Williams (13.6 ppg) and Murray (12.6 ppg) have accounted for 54.2 percent (559-1031) of Wagner's offense while giving the Seahawks an array of offensive options.

DOUBLE-DOWN
Murray has recorded double-figures 13 times this year and in 48-of-51 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 1,952points while converting on 40.5 percent (334-824) from long range and 76.4 percent (346-453) from the line. Murray ranks first in three point shooting on the Green & White's all-time rankings (.429) while Martin is ninth (.389).

ORTIZ MAKING WAVES ON THE ISLAND
Ortiz has filled up the stat sheets, averaging 8.7 points, 5.0 rebounds (19th NEC), 4.3 assists (4th NEC) and 1.9 steals (3rd NEC) per game while pacing a defense that has posted a NEC-leading +4.8 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 event with his game-winning shot at 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).

CLUTCH
On the year, the trio of Rivers, Martin and Murray has converted 81.2 percent (95-117) from the line.

BLOCK PARTY
Sophomore Naofall Folahan leads the NEC and ranks 48th nationally with 2.1 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 4.6 rebounds per game. The Republic of Benin native has helped to challenge opposing players in the lane, blocking at least two shots on eight occasions.

20/20
Wagner has forced five opponents into at least 20 turnovers this season. The Seahawks pressured Princeton (11/12) into 28, which are the most caused by the the Green & White since December 4, 2001 when Iona turned it over 28 times. In the win over Lafayette (11/19), the Leopards turned it over 20 times before SFNY (12/3) committed 21 miscues in a 40-point setback. Most recently, Wagner forced 21 FDU (1/5) miscues that led to a 20-11 advantage in points off turnovers.

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.

NEXT UP
Wagner hosts Bryant on Thursday, January 12 at 7:00 pm in the Spiro Sports Center.