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Philadelphia, PA - Wagner (2-3) returns to the road with a non-conference match-up at Temple (4-0) today at 2:00 pm. The Seahawks return to action following a 48-42 overtime win over Princeton (11/28). The Green & White was able to erase an 11-point second half deficit thanks to a game-ending 17-4 run.
* During its game-changing 17-4 spurt, Wagner limited the visitors to just one field goal (1-for-14) over the final 13:00.
* The Seahawks have now won two games when scoring less than 50 points for the first time since the 1949-1950 season.
* Wagner is also averaging 43.0 points per game in its two wins and 63.0 points per game in its three losses.
* Senior
Jonathon Williams was outstanding again, leading all players with 20 points and nine rebounds, while going 7-of-11 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the line.
* The California native has now paced led the team in scoring and rebounding over the first five games, and is fourth in the NEC with 18.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He is also second in field goal percentage (.600) and nine in free throw percentage (.846).
* On the year, he has scored in double-digits five times with the rest of the 11 Seahawks combining to so just five times.
* In the last five minutes of games and overtime, Williams is shooting 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from the floor with the rest of the team converting on just 24.2 percent (8-for-33). Defensively, the Green & White is limiting opposing teams to just 32.5 percent (13-for-40) shooting in the same sample.
* Wagner improved to 2-3, all-time, against Princeton with its second-straight win and is now 21-24, all-time, against the Ivy League.
* The victory was the Seahawks' third-straight against the Ivy League as the Seahawks will look to make it four in a row when Penn visits Staten Island on Saturday, December 29.
* With its third-straight home opening win, the Green & White improved to 26-11 in home openers during the Division I era (1976-1977).
* Wagner won the battle of the boards (39-38) for the fourth-straight game and is leading the NEC with 38.0 rebounds per game.
* On defense, the Seahawks limited the Tigers to just 29.8 percent (17-for-57) from the floor and has held the opposition under 30 percent on two separate occasions.
* The Green & White leads the NEC in scoring defense (61.0 ppg), rebounding offense (38.0 rpg), field goal percentage defense (.385), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.247) and blocked shots (5.6).
* Offensively, 14 of Wagner's 16 field goals were layups, with the only jumpers coming on a 20-foot jumper from sophomore
Marcus Burton and a three pointer from freshman
Eric Fanning. All of Williams' game-high seven field goals were layups. The California native has used his size and impressive quickness to notch 21 layups (out of 33 field goals) on the yaer.
* Over his last two games, Williams is averaging 23.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, while shooting a blistering 77.3 percent (17-for-22) from the floor and 92.3 percent (12-for-13) from the line while recording his fifth and sixth career 20-point games.
* The Seahawks collected the victory despite trailing by five with five minutes to play. A year ago, the Green & White went 0-5 when trailing with five minutes to play.
* Wagner's overtime victory was also its first since besting Robert Morris 83-78 on January 6, 2011.
* The Seahawks knocked down 15 free throws, compared to six for the Tigers, in Wednesday's win. On the season, the Green & White is 2-0 when converting more free throws than the opposition and 13-0 over the last two years.
* Lost amid the thrilling come-from-behind overtime victory was the stellar play of senior
Josh Thompson and Fanning. Despite not scoring, Thompson made his presence felt with three assists, three steals and three rebounds over a season-best 33 minutes of action. Fanning, meanwhile, scored all five of his points in the Green & White's second-half ending 9-2 run that sent the game to overtime. Additionally, Fanning grabbed a pair of crucial rebounds over the final 1:36 of the half.
* Burton has started the last three games and is averaging 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds during that time, while shooting a team-best 35.3 percent (6-for-17) from long range on the year. He started his collegiate career 1-for-22 (4.5 %) from long range, but has since converted on 15-of-38 (39.5 %) from deep.
* Today's game against Temple, marks a homecoming of sorts for head coach
Bashir Mason, who led the Philadelphia-based Drexel Dragons to 73 wins from 2003-2007.
* Mason, who at 28 years of age is the youngest head coach in America, will be squaring off with seventh-year Owl coach Fran Dunphy, who at 64 years of age is the 20th oldest coach in the D-1 ranks. The first-year Wagner mentor will match up with six coaches 60 or older in his first year on the sidelines.
* As a student-athlete, Mason made his collegiate playing debut against Dunphy on November 24, 2003. In that game Dunphy, who at that time was the Penn coach, led the Quakers to a 79-73 win over Mason's Dragons. Mason had two assists before fouling out after 12 minutes.
* Mason lost his first three meetings as a player to Dunphy-led teams, before guiding Drexel to a 69-54 victory over Temple on December 22, 2006. The rookie coach scored 10 points with seven rebounds, four steals and three assists.
* That victory came after Mason lost his only previous meeting with the Owls by a 57-48 count on December 6, 2003.
* Graduate manager
Dwayne Lee went an impressive 8-1 as a player for Saint Joseph's against Temple from 2002-2006. As a player at Rutgers from 2003-2007, assistant coach
Marquis Webb was 3-1 against the Owls. Fellow assistant
Mike Babul helped UMass to a 3-6 record as a player against Temple as a player.
* This will be the first-ever meeting between the teams and Wagner's first against an Atlantic 10 school since December 17, 2005, when the Seahawks bested Rhode Island 63-61 at the Ryan Center. In that game,
Mark Porter scored 22 points while
Durell Vinson added 10 and
Jamal Smith nine.
* All-time, the Green & White is 6-4 against current Atlantic 10 (A-10) schools, including a pair of wins over VCU from the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons when the Rams were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Nine of the games have been decided by 10 points or less, including seven by five or less.
* Wagner will be facing a daunting task against a Temple squad that is 154-43, all-time, at the Liacouras Center, which opened in November of 1997. Since the 2008-2009 season, the Owls are 50-4 in the building, including 39-2 the last four years.
* Today's game will be the third this season against a team that will be changing conferences next season. Temple will be leaving the A-10 for the Big East after this season, while Syracuse will be going from the Big East to the ACC and SMU will be leaving Conference USA for the Big East.
THE GAME
Wagner (2-3) will look to hand Temple (4-0) its first loss of the year today at 2:00 pm at the Liacouras Center.
RED ZONE MEDIA
An audio feed of today's game will be streamed live through Red Zone Media. WFAN Update Anchor Joey Wahler will again bring all the action into your home starting at 1:50 pm.
LAST TIME OUT
After falling behind by 11 points on two occasions, the Seahawks used a 9-2 run over the final 8:00 of regulation to force overtime. In the extra period, Princeton grabbed a quick 42-40 lead only to see Wagner respond with the final eight points of the game en route to picking up the 48-42 win. Over the last two years, the Seahawks are 13-3 at the Spiro Sports Center with the only losses coming to Lehigh, LIU Brooklyn and Robert Morris - all of whom won over 20 games en route to reaching the postseason.
ABOUT TEMPLE
Temple enters today's game with a perfect 4-0 record, and is averaging 72.8 points per game, while limiting the opposition to just 60.8 points per game each time out. The Owls are led by senior Scottie Randall (17.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg), classmate Khalif Wyatt (13.0 ppg) and sophomore Anthony Lee (12.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg).
NO NEED FOR THREE
Both teams struggle to shoot the three ball, while defending it quite well. Temple enters today's game shooting just 28.6 percent (26-for-91) from long range, while allowing the opposition to convert on just 27.0 percent (20-for-74). Wagner, meanwhile, is shooting 26.2 percent (16-for-61) from outside the arc, while limiting opposing shooters to a NEC-best 24.7 percent (20-for-81) on defense.
D
ID YOU KNOW??
The Owls have qualified for each of the last five NCAA Tournaments and have won three A-10 Championships during that time.
KEY MATCH-UP - THE GLASS
Wagner, which has won the battle of the glass four times this year, is averaging a league-best 38.0 rebounds per game. Temple, meanwhile, is limiting the opposition to just 32.8 rebounds per game.
TOUGH TRIP
Tonight's game is the fourth of five games that the Seahawks will play in 11 days.
THE COACHES
Mason enters tonight's game with a 2-3 record, while Dunphy is 448-228 with 14 NCAA appearances in this his 24th year on the sidelines.
YOUNGEST IN THE NATION
Mason is the youngest head coach in America at 28 years and 295 days, with UNC Greensboro's Wes Miller second at 29 years and 309 days. The two are the only coaches in the D-1 ranks under the age of 30.
MASON CAPTURES FIRST WIN
The Green & White posted the first win of the Mason era with a 38-36 wire-to-wire victory over North Carolina Central (NCCU) on Saturday, November 24. The victory came on the ninth anniversary of Mason's first game as a student-athlete at Drexel.
YOUNG VS. OLD
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.
THIS DATE IN HISTORY
Wagner is 7-9, all-time, on December 1 since moving to Division I in the 1976-1977 season.
FOLAHAN / ORTIZ CRACK NCAA RANKINGS
Folahan and Ortiz are listed among the first NCAA Rankings, among the nation's best in blocks and steals, respectively. Folahan is 14th in the nation with 2.4 blocks per game, while Ortiz is averaging 2.2 steals per game.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Folahan's five-block performance at NCCU (11/24) moved him past
Nick Frederick into fifth place on the all-time Seahawk rankings. After notching one more rejections against Princeton (11/28), Folahan, who led the NEC in rejections a year ago, has 109 for his career and is nine away from
Durell Vinson's fourth-place total of 118.
HIGH FIVE
Folahan now has three career games of at least five blocks.
HOW LOW CAN YOU GO
Wagner's offensive production in a 38-36 win at NCCU (11/24) marked the fewest points scored in a Seahawk victory since a 33-31 win over Brooklyn College in February of 1946.
ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS
Since the Green & White moved to Division I in 1976-1977, 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 notched just 36 points in a 43-point loss to Clemson
CAROLINA ON MY MIND
The Seahawks are now 4-2, all-time, against teams from North Carolina, including 2-1 when playing in the state.
LAST WIN IN NORTH CAROLINA
Previously to the win over the Eagles, the last time that Green & White was victorious in the state of North Carolina was in an 84-77 win over Mike Krzyzewski and Duke on January 5, 1983.
DEFENSIVE STATE OF MIND
Wagner forced NCCU into just 17.2 percent (5-for-29) shooting in the first half of its eventual win. However, the Eagles' lone field goal of the half that wasn't either a layup or dunk came when Alfonzo Houston canned a buzzer-beating three pointer right before halftime.
FOR THE GAME ...
Wagner limited NCCU to just 22.6 percent (12-for-53) shooting. That is the top defensive effort for the Seahawks since limiting Mount St. Mary's to just 21.8 percent (12-for-55) on February 10, 2005.
STRANGE BUT TRUE
Wagner and NCCU each shot above 50 percent from the floor in their first games after playing on Saturday, November 24. In that game each team converted less than 30 percent from the floor while failing to hit for 40 points.
HAPPY HOMECOMING
Playing in his home state of North Carolina for the first time in his collegiate career, Burton notched 10 points and a career-high six rebounds over 33 minutes. He opened the scoring with a three pointer, before giving the Seahawks the lead for good with a tiebreaking triple midway through the second half.
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 a total of 17 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 four games. On the year, he is averaging 7.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 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.
LATE START
The Seahawks' November 14th start date was tied for the second-latest season debut by a Division I team this season.
WAHLER TO AGAIN SERVE AS OFFICIAL VOICE OF WAGNER BASKETBALL
Mason announced that
WFAN Update Anchor and
News 12 New Jersey Sports Anchor/Reporter Joey Wahler will return for his second season as the official voice of all Seahawk broadcasts for the 2012-2013 season. During the home portion of the schedule, Wahler will broadcast all 10 games that are slated to be streamed via the Northeast Conference's (NEC) Front Row Platform. For all 17 road games a straight audio broadcast can be accessed by listeners for free thanks to an agreement with Red Zone Media.
ORTIZ EARNS HIGH PRAISE
In the preseason, Ortiz was cited as the NEC's best defender by
Lindy's Magazine and
Yahoo! Sports, while also being named as one of the top 30 defenders in the Division I ranks by
CBS Sports.
UP NEXT
Wagner travels to Hofstra on December 4 for a 7:00 pm tilt.
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
