LIVE STATS / LISTEN LIVE (Free) / LIVE VIDEO ($9.95) /
Albany, NY – Fresh off its first victory of the year, Wagner (1-2) will look to make it two in a row against Albany (4-2) tonight at 7:00 pm. The match-up will be broadcast in the Albany area on
Time Warner Cable SportsChannel. For fans that can't access the channel a Live Video stream is available for $9.95 and can be accessed at the top of the page. A free audio feed via
Red Zone Media can also be found by clicking on the above link.
* For the Seahawks, tonight's game will wrap up a season-opening four-game road trip that has seen the Green & White play in three states (DE, NC, NY) and two different capitals (Dover, Albany).
* Wagner posted the first win of the
Bashir Mason era with a 38-36 wire-to-wire victory over North Carolina Central (NCCU) on Saturday, November 24.
* Mason's first collegiate head coaching victory came on the ninth anniversary of his first game as a student-athlete at Drexel.
* The 38 points marked the fewest scored by the Seahawks in a win since Wagner bested Brooklyn College 33-31 in February of 1946.
* The Green & White is now 4-2, all-time, against teams from North Carolina, including 2-1 when playing in the state.
* Wagner's previous win the in state came at Duke, as the Seahawks defeated Coach K and the Blue Devils by an 84-77 score on January 5, 1983.
* Since the Green & White moved to Division I in the 1976-1977 season, the 36 points allowed are the fewest in school history, while the 38 points scored are tied for the second-lowest. On December 10, 1988, Wagner scored just 36 points in a 43-point loss to Clemson.
* Senior
Jonathon Williams led the team in scoring and rebounding for the third-straight game to start the season, finishing with a game-high 11 points and six caroms. On the year, the California native is averaging a team-best 14.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 48.5 percent (18-for-33) from the floor.
* Williams is also now averaging 19.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game over four match-ups against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) foes, while shooting 59.2 percent (29-for-49) during that time. Addtionally, he has been Wagner's high scorer in all four of the games.
* The Seahawks are now a perfect 2-0 all-time the Eagles, after posting an 87-83 win at the Spiro Sports Center a year ago.
* In that game, both teams scored more points in each half then they were scored in Saturday's game.
* The Green & White did not trail in either game, reclaiming the lead both times NCCU tied it up.
* Also notching double-figures for the fourth time in his career was sophomore
Marcus Burton, who scored 10 points with a career-best six rebounds. The North Carolina native was playing his first career collegiate game in his home state.
* Burton, who made his first career start in his hometown, also opened the scoring with his first three pointer of the game, before breaking a 28-28 second-half tie with what would prove to be the go-ahead three pointer at 10:48 mark. Burton converted both Wagner triples on the day and is shooting a team-best 41.7 percent (5-for-12) from long range on the year.
* Unfortunately, the rest of the team has converted just 19.4 percent (6-for-31) this season.
* Burton started his collegiate career 1-for-22 (4.5 %) from long range, but has since converted on 14-of-33 (42.4 %) from deep.
* Also playing before a large group of family and friends was junior
Orlando Parker, who hails from Orlando, FL. Parker notched five points and five rebounds, highlighted by a putback dunk in the first half.
* Junior
Naofall Folahan recorded five rejections, giving him 106 for his career while moving the Republic of Benin native past
Nick Frederick into fifth place on the all-time Wagner blocked shots list.
* It also marked the third time in his career that Folahan has recorded at least five blocks in a game.
* Junior
Kenneth Ortiz scored six of his eight points after halftime, including recording two of the Seahawks' three second-half field goals.
* Wagner put forth a tenacious defensive effort against NCCU, forcing the Eagles into just 22.6 percent (12-for-53) shooting for the game. That is the top defensive effort for the Seahawks since Mount St. Mary's made good on just 21.8 percent (12-for-55) on February 10, 2005.
* In the first half, the Eagles converted just 3-of-27 to start the game, before making their final two shots of the half to finish up at 17.2 percent (5-for-29). However, NCCU's field goal of the night that wasn't either a layup or a dunk came when Alfonzo Houston canned a buzzer-beating three pointer right before halftime.
* Additionally, the Eagles were forced into field goal droughts of over eight and six minutes, which helped fuel a 17-4 Green & White run.
* For the year, the Wagner ranks first in the NEC in scoring defense (65.7 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.378), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.269), rebounding offense (41.0), blocked shots (5.7) and defensive rebounds (28.0).
* The Seahawks are now 3-1 against the MEAC over the last two years and will host Coppin State on Saturday, December 15 at the Spiro Sports Center.
* At No. 8 Syracuse (11/18), Mason (28) opposed the nation's longest tenured Division I head coach in Jim Boeheim (68) on the sidelines. Later this year, Mason will also square off with the second longest tenured coach when Sacred Heart and 35th year head coach Dave Bike invade Staten Island on Thursday, January 31.
* Mason is the one of just two Division I head coach coaches under the age of 30 (Wes Miller (29) - UNC Greensboro), and will face six coaches that are at least 60 years old. Only
P.J. Carlesimo at 27 years and 183 days was younger for his first game on the sidelines with the Seahawks.
* Junior
Latif Rivers scored three points at No. 8 Syracuse and now has 883, leaving him just 117 shy of becoming the 40th member of the Green & White 1,000-point club. He is also the seventh-active leading scorer in the NEC.
* Today's game at Albany will be the only time that Wagner will play on a Monday all season.
* The Seahawks are a perfect 5-0, all-time, against the Great Danes.
* All-time, the Green & White is 19-14 against current members of the America East Conference, including going 16-12 during the Division I era (since 1976-1977).
* Wagner bested Albany 80-65 in the teams' last meeting on December 30, 2010 at the Spiro Sports Center. Trailing by six at the break, the Seahawks outscored the Great Danes by 21 points in the second half.
* In that game, senior
Josh Thompson scored a career-high 24 points off the bench, while adding seven rebounds and five assists over 30 minutes of action.
LAST TIME OUT
Wagner grinded out a 38-36 wire-to-wire win over NCCU as head coach
Bashir Mason earned his first career head coaching vicotry
ABOUT ALBANY
Albany enters tonight's game with an impressive 4-2 record and has posted wins over Duquesne and at Washington. The Great Danes' lone losses have come to Ohio State and Loyola (MD), both of whom squared off against each other in last year's NCAA Tournament.
LEADING THE WAY FOR ALBANY ...
Is the senior guard tandem of Mike Black (17.2 ppg) and Jacob Iati (15.2), as the duo has combined to account for 48.4 percent of the Great Danes' scoring. In the teams' previous meeting on December 30, 2010, Black scored 18 points, but was just 5-of-14 from the floor while turning the ball over five times. Iati, meanwhile, misfired on both of his attempts while picking up three fouls in seven minutes.
TOUGH TRIP
Tonight's game is second of four games that Wagner will play in the next eight days.
THE COACHES
Mason enters tonight's game with a 1-2 record, while Albany's Will Brown is 242-192 in 15 years as a head coach, including 152-182 in 12 years with the Great Danes..
YOUNGEST IN THE NATION
Mason is the youngest head coach in the America at 28 years and 290 days, with UNC Greensboro's Wes Miller second at 29 years and 304 days.
THIS DATE IN HISTORY
The Seahawks are 6-4, all-time, on November 26 in the Division I era (since 1976-1977). Last year on this date, the Green & White posted an 85-62 victory over Delaware State.
HERE'S HOPING HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
Wagner will be looking for its second win over Albany in the last 23 days in tonight's game. On Saturday, November 3, the Seahawks defeated the Great Danes on the gridiron by a 30-0 score en route to capturing the school's first-ever NEC Championship.
NON-CONFERENCE NOTES
As of November 25, the Green & White's non-conference opposition has a combined record of 28-31 against DI competition. Three of those teams are currently undefeated: Santa Clara (5-0), Syracuse (4-0) and Temple (3-0).
JUNIOR TRIO
The junior trio of Folahan, Parker and Rivers combined for 21 points, on 8-of-17 shooting, with 14 rebounds and eight assists in helping Wagner to an 80-65 win in the team's previous meeting with Albany.
BURTON EVOLVING
Burton collected his first start of his career at NCCU (11/24) and responded with 10 points and a career-high six rebounds. Burton is averaging 7.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, up from just 3.5 and 1.3, respectively, as a freshman.
IMPRESSIVE
In the season opener at Delaware State (11/14), Wagner used a 19-0 run early in the second half to erase a 10-point halftime deficit, en route to building an eight-point lead, before dropping a 73-69 overtime decision.
TURNOVER TROUBLES
After losing the turnover battle just five times a year ago, the Seahawks have turned it over more than the opposition in all three games this year, including 25 in the win over NCCU (11/18). The miscues were the most by the Green & White since turning the ball over 27 times at Princeton on December 30, 2009.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
One year after putting together an impressive 13-3 record away from home, Wagner picked up its first win on the road with a hard-fought 38-36 victory at NCCU (11/24). The Seahawks will play six-of-seven on the road to start the year, and 17 total away from the friendly confines of the Spiro Sports Center.
ORTIZ FILLS UP THE STAT SHEET
Ortiz, the reigning NEC Defensive Player of the Year, picked up right where he left off in filling up the stat sheets over the first three games. On the year, he is averaging 10.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.7 steals per game.
SENAT SIGNS
Wagner head coach
Bashir Mason has announced the signing of Marianapolis Prep forward Greg Senat to a National Letter of Intent for the 2013-2014 season. The 6-8, 225-pound Senat is Mason's first recruit for next season.
THEY SAID IT
“We weren't prepared for the length inside. The big kid intimidated us as if he were Dikembe Mutombo,” NCCU Coach LeVelle Moton said, comparing Wagner's
Naofall Folahan (6-11, 215) to the retired NBA center.
“He blocked a couple of shots and then he was in our kids' heads, and he did a good job of protecting the paint.”
UP NEXT
Wagner will host Princeton on Wednesday, November 28 at 7:00 pm in the Seahawks' first home game of the season.
FOLLOW ON TWITTER
Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department, @WagnerHoops for news and updates on the men's basketball program and @bashirmason to follow the Seahawks' first-year head coach.
Photography by Dave Saffran
