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Mount St. Mary's: Roster / Game Notes
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Staten Island, NY - Wagner (20-4; 11-2 NEC) returns to action against Mount St. Mary's (6-18; 4-9 NEC) on Saturday, February 12 with a 7:00 pm tilt at the Spiro Sports Center in search of its sixth-straight victory. The teams are playing for the second time in four days as part of the NEC's annual rivalry week. The Seahawks and MSM rivalry is designated as the league's “North-South Showdown.” Fans can follow today's action through for a nominal fee through the athletic deparment's video stream by clicking HERE or can watch live via Time Warner Cable (channel 76 Staten Island / channel 199 Manhattan). Wayne Fidelman will handle the play-by-play duties with Tim Gannon and Joe Nugent providing the color and Alexa Datt the sideline reporting.

QUICK HITS
* On Wednesday, the teams met with Wagner coming away with the 59-44 win thanks to a tenacious defensive effort, that saw the Seahawks force 21 turnovers while limiting the Mountaineers to just 18.2 percent (4-22) shooting from long range.

The Green & White also set a NEC record as the fastest member institution to 20 victories, besting last year's LIU Brooklyn squad that won its 20th on Saturday, February 12.

* The 20-win season marks the sixth time in school history, including just the fourth time in the Division I era, that Wagner has notched at least 20 in this the school's 91st year of sponsoring basketball.

* The Seahawks' 20 wins are also the most since recording a school-record 23 in the 2007-2008 season and comes just two years after starting 4-20.

* With two more wins, the Green & White would match the school Regular Season record for wins while three more would match the program standard.

* Wagner's 20-4 record comes just two seasons after the Seahawks began 4-20 and represents a stunning revival in just Dan Hurley's second year at the helm. The former Seton Hall standout holds a 33-21 career record with the Green & White and is the second-fastest coach in school history to 30 wins.

* Wagner's 20 victories also supersede its combined win total of 18 from the last two years combined.

* The Seahawks' 11-2 NEC start matches the 2002-2003 and 2007-2008 teams for the best-ever conference start. After halftime in those 13 games, the Green & White is limiting the opposition to just 20.2 percent (20-99) from long range.

* Wagner also recorded its 11th road win over the Mount (2/8), setting a school-record in the process while matching Cleveland State for the most in the NCAA ranks this season.

* Additionally, it was the Seahawks' ninth-straight victory away from home setting a school record in the process.

* The Green & White are ranked in the weekly College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 poll for the seventh-straight week, again checking in at 24th.

* Wagner not lost back-to-back games this year.

* The Seahawks moved up seven sports in the most recent NCAA RPI rankings and are the NEC's top-ranked team at #75.

* Sophomore Latif Rivers averaged 19.0 points per game en route to earning his second Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week accolade on Monday. Rivers began last week with a season-best matching 28 points in Wagner's 80-69 victory over Robert Morris (2/2) before depositing all 10 of his points against Saint Francis (PA) (2/4) in the first half, helping the Seahawks open up a 15-point halftime lead en route to an easy 72-54 win. Rivers drained 15 throws, which matching RMU's Velton Jones for the most by a NEC Player this year and are the most by a member of the Green & White since Terrance Bailey converted a school-record 18 at Marist on February 1, 1986.

* Rivers earned his first citation on January 2 after leading Wagner to wins over #15 Pitt, Air Force and Santa Clara.

* He has also recorded 10 career 20-point games, as the Seahawks are now 9-1 over the last two years when the sophomore hits for at least 20 and a perfect 4-0 this season. For his career, Rivers has 769 points (14.2 ppg) in just 54 games and notched 28 in both Green & White MSG telecasts this year (Monmouth (1/7); RMU (2/2)). In those games, Rivers shot 56.5 percent (13-23) from the floor, 46.7 percent (7-15) from long range and 88.5 percent (23-26) from the line. The Garden State native has now paced the squad in scoring a team-best 11 times.

* Did you know? Wagner has 13 double-digit wins this year, which are the second most in the school's Division I era (1976-1977) and the most since recording 17 en route to a 21-7 finish in the 1978-1979 season.

* Did you know part 2? The Seahawks improved to 2-0 on Wednesdays this year with its 59-44 victory over Mount St. Mary's (2/8). The next possible Wednesday affair for the Green & White would be on ... Wednesday, March 7 if Wagner were to advance to the NEC Championship Game.

* The Seahawks are also aiming to finish among the top half of the NEC Playoff Field for just the ninth time in the Green & White's 31-year affiliation with the NEC. Wagner has been the No. 1 seed just once, the No. 2 seed three times and the No. 4 seed four times.

* Sophomore Kenneth Ortiz turned in a solid performance against the Mount (2/8), recording seven points, five rebounds and five assists while turning the ball over just once in 27 minutes of action. The playmaking point guard has led the squad in rebounding on nine occasions with the Seahawks going a perfect 9-0 during that time.

* Senior Tyler Murray (14) and junior Jonathon Williams (14) led the way for the Green & White on offense against MSM (2/8). The duo along with Rivers, have at least shared for the team lead in scoring in 23 of Wagner's 24 games. The lone outing in which none of the three led the way was when senior Chris Martin scored a season-high 15 in a win over Hofstra (12/6).

* The Green & White has forced Sacred Heart (54), Quinnipiac (50), St. Francis (NY) (50) and Mount St. Mary's (44) to to their lowest single-game point totals during league play en route to posting league-best marks in scoring defense (62.5 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.398), turnover margin (+3.8) and blocks per game (4.4).

* In the win Saint Francis (PA) (2/4), Wagner pulled down a season-best 50 rebounds, which were the most by the Seahawks since collecting 50 caroms in a 78-67 win at FDU on February 28, 2008.

* Junior Josh Thompson led the onslaught against the Red Flash (2/4), grabbing a team-best 10 caroms while notching 11 points for his first career double-double. Additionally, Thompson pulled down seven offensive boards that directly led to 10 second-chance points among his 11. His 10 caroms are the most for the redshirt-junior since grabbing 11 against Bucknell (11/28/09) in his fourth collegiate game.

* Over its current five-game winning, Wagner has held the opposition to just 54.2 points per game while forcing the opposition into just 36.4 percent shooting, including a miniscule 20.3 percent (16-79) from long range, compared to the Seahawks converting on 39.5 percent (32-81) from beyond the arc.

* Additionally the Green & White have begun all five contests with impressive runs:
18-5 (SHU) (1/26) / 12-4 (QU) (1/28) / 14-2 (RMU) (2/2) / 12-2 (SFPA) (2/4) / 12-2 (MSM) (2/8)

* Against Robert Morris (2/2), Wagner also scored 44 first-half points, which arethe most allowed by the Colonials this year. Coming into the game, RMU had the league's top scoring defense. Additionally, Velton Jones and Coron Williams were held to just 17 points, on 4-of-21 shooting. Last year in the NEC Tournament, the duo combined for 45 points, on 12-of-17 shooting while helping eliminate the Seahawks.

* Since losing at LIU Brooklyn on December 1st, the Seahawks are an outstanding 13-1, winning nine of those games by double-figures while posting a +10.5 point differential. During that time, Rivers is averaging a team-best 16.0 points per game while shooting a blistering 40.0 percent (34-85) from long range and 89.7 percent (52-58) from the line. Williams (12.0ppg) and Murray (11.6 ppg) are each also averaging double-figures while sophomore Kenneth Ortiz checks in with averages of 7.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists each time out.

* With its one-point victory over Quinnipiac (1/28), Wagner is 8-3 in games decided by 10 points or less, including going 4-2 in games decided by five points or fewer. Over the last two years, Dan Hurley's teams are 14-9 in five-point games. Additionally, the 51 points were the fewest scored in a Seahawk in a win since besting Robert Morris 51-48 on February 6, 1993.

* Wagner's lucky number 70 was again on display against Mount St. Mary's as the Seahawks improved to 17-0 when holding the opposition under 70 and are 14-1 when hitting for 70. Additionally, the Green & White moved to an incredible 20-1 when leading with five minutes to play.

* In the win at Sacred Heart (1/26), Murray drained a career-best seven threes en route to a season-best 21 points. The Canadian native is converting a NEC-best 52.2 percent (59-113) and also ranks 15th in field goal percentage (.479) while converting 81.5 percent from the line.

* Additionally, he has gone over 20 points on 11 occasions in his career while recording double-figures in 55 of his last 61 games. Over his last nine games, Murray has drained 26-of-44 (.591) from long range. He has also converted a school-record 44.2 percent (174-394) from long range over his four years en route to 1,141 career points (27th all-time at Wagner). If his 52.2 percent (59-113) conversion rate this year holds up it would also set a single-season school record.

* Over the last four games, the starting backcourt of Ortiz, Murray and Rivers have pressured their respective starting backcourts into just 25.2 percent (27-107) shooting.

* The Green & White's 73-61 victory over St. Francis (NY) (1/19) was its eighth-straight, while giving Wagner its longest winning streak since ripping off 16-straight under P.J. Carlesimo in the 1978-1979 season. Additionally, the Seahawks' current 20-4 start is their best since 1955-1956 (20-2 start).

* Wagner leads the NEC and ranks 14th in the nation in winning percentage (.833), while also pacing the league in in turnover margin (+3.8) (15th NCAA), scoring margin (+10.0) (37th NCAA), field goal percentage defense (.398) (40th NCAA), blocked shots (4.4) (65th NCAA), scoring defense (62.5) (63rd NCAA), fewest turnovers (13.0) (117th NCAA), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0) (150th NCAA). The Seahawks are also second in the league in free throw percentage (.750) (23rd NCAA), three point percentage (.369) (63rd NCAA) and scoring offense (72.5 ppg) (79th NCAA). Additionally, the Green & White are among the top-100 in the NCAA in three-point field goal defense (.310) (51st NCAA) and steals per game (7.5) (88th NCAA).

* Hurley's assistant and brother Bobby Hurley was recently named as one of the 35 greatest McDonald's All-Americans in the 35-year history of the game. Joining the former Duke All-American on the list were his former teammates Christian Laettner and Grant Hill. Hurley helped the Blue Devils to a pair of National Titles and three Final Fours.

SETTING THE SCENE
Wagner (20-4; 11-2 NEC) returns to action tonight at 7:00 pm with the second of two-straight games against Mount St. Mary's (6-18; 4-9 NEC).

RIVALRY WEEK TAKE THREE
For the third-straight year the Seahawks and the Mountaineers will square off in back-to-back games. Last year, each team won at home after MSM swept the season series in 2009-2010.

TURNOVER NOTES
Wagner is 20-4 this season thanks in large part to winning the turnover battle in 19 of its 24 games, including nine of its 13 NEC games.

20/20
The Seahawks are also an impressive 8-0 when forcing at least 20 turnovers in a game.

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG PERFORMANCES
With their wins over RMU (2/2) and SFPA (2/4), the Seahawks improved to 10-2 in television games, including a perfect 6-0 on Time Warner. Today's game will appear on Time Warner as will the remaining two home games.

TUNE IN
Today's game against Mount St. Mary's will appear on Time Warner channel 76 on Staten Island and 199 in Manhattan.

THE COACHES
Wagner head coach Dan Hurley is 33-21 in this his second year on Grymes Hill while his counterpart Robert Burke is 17-39 in this his second year in Emmitsburg.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Seahawks have built an impressive 12-2 record away from home thanks to a stingy defense that has limited the opposition to just 62.6 points per game, on 41.0 percent shooting, including a miniscule 31.4 percent from long range. Away from home, Rivers is averaging a team-best 15.1 points per game while Murray is converting on 54.3 percent (38-70) from downtown en route to 13.0 points per game.

INTERESTING
Despite its stellar record on the road, the Green & White is being outrebounded by an average of 4.1 rebounds per game away from the Spiro Sports Center and has won the battle of the boards just twice.

BIG THREE
Wagner's big three of Rivers (15.0 ppg), Williams (12.7 ppg) and Murray (12.3 ppg) has accounted for 54.2 percent (943/1739) of the team's scoring.

KNOTT HAPPENING
The Seahawks snapped a four-game losing streak at the Mount's Knott Arena with their 59-44 win (2/8).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Mount St. Mary's is averaging just 58.9 points per game while boasting just one double-digit scorer in Julian Norfleet, who is averaging 13.3 points per game to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Freshman walk-on Kelvin Parker is second on the team in scoring at 8.8 points per game while pulling down 4.0 rebounds per game. Last week, Parker earned Choice Hotels Rookie of the Week accolades, notching 18.5 points per game while shooting 51.9 percent from the floor, including 50.0 percent (7-14) from long range.

LAST TIME OUT ...
Against the Green & White, Norfleet recorded game-highs with 18 points and seven rebounds while Parker added 11 points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks.

ORTIZ HEATING UP
Over his last four games, Ortiz is averaging 7.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while posting an impressive 1.8 assist/turnover ratio. Against Quinnipiac (1/28), the sophomore point guard provided the difference in Wagner's one-point win with a free throw with just 4.6 seconds remaining. Ortiz made the play possible with an offensive carom off Murray's missed shot from the left corner that was eerily similar to the Santa Clara (12/30) game, in which the Newark native hit an improbable shot from the left corner following a Murray miss. Ortiz also converted a pair of go-ahead free throws with 28 seconds remaining in a four-point victory over NCCU (11/16). On the year, Ortiz leads team and ranks 19th in the NEC in rebounding (4.8 rpg) while also pacing the team with 1.9 steals (2nd NEC) and 3.9 assists (8th NEC) per game.

PARKER, CASTELLANOS MATCH UP
Former high school teammate sophomore Orlando Parker and Josh Castellanos will square off today. The duo helped Orlando Christian Prep to three straight Class 1A State Championships as prep teammates. Parker is averaging 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game and has notched 8.0 ppg and 4.5 rpg over just 13.5 minutes per game the least two times out. Castellanos is averaging 8.4 points and 4.2 assists per game.

THOMPSON TAKES OFF
Thompson recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds against SFPA (2/4). Interestingly, his performance was the fifth double-double of the season for Wagner with all five coming at home.

KEY MATCH-UP
Wagner's Offense vs. Mount's Defense. Wagner is second in the NEC at 72.5 points per game while the Mount is last at 58.9 points per game. To compensate, the Mountaineers are limiting opposing teams to 66.7 points per game (4th NEC). MSM will have to try and contain a Seahawk attack that is extremely balanced and great at creating offense off of defense. Playing into the Green & White's hands is that the Mountaineers are last in the league in turnover margin (-3.21) and assist/turnover ratio (0.65). In the first meeting, Wagner parlayed 21 MSM miscues into a 22-12 advantage in points off turnovers as the Seahawks converted on just 31.6 percent (6-19) form long range.

THE SERIES
Wagner leads the all-time series against Mount St. Mary's by a 28-17 margin and has won three-of-four at home.

SINCE LAST YEAR ...
Murray has averaged 14.3 points per game against the Mountaineers and has converted 42.1 percent (8-19) from long range.  As a unit, the Seahawks have made good on just 15-of-52 (.288) against MSM during that time.

LAST MATCH-UP IN STATEN ISLAND
The Seahawks jumped out to a 13-point second-half lead only to see the Mountaineers trim the deficit to one before the Green & White closed the game out with four-straight free throws en route to a 70-65 victory. Murray led four double-figure scorers with 16 points while adding six assists, against just one turnover, over 38 minutes of action.

SHUTTING DOWN SHANE ... SORT OF
Despite allowing the NEC's leading scorer Shane Gibson to go for 20 points, a case can be made that the Wagner defense turned in one of if not the best defensive jobs on the Sacred Heart scoring phenom. Gibson, who leads the league in scoring at 21.7 points per game  (25.3 ppg NEC), converted just 8-of-19 from the floor, including a chilly 1-of-7 from long range, and his 20 markers were his third-lowest against an NEC opponent. Gibson notched a NEC and career-best 41 points against Mount St. Mary's en route to POTW honors.

CLOSING IT OUT
The Green & White are 20-1 when leading with five minutes to play thanks to shooting an impressive 82.5 percent (52-63) from the line in the final minute this season.

CLOSING IT OUT PART 2
Wagner is 8-3 in games decided by 10 points or less while shooting 76.6 percent (59-77) from the line over the last five minutes of those games.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Green & White has posted a sparkling 12-2 record away from the Spiro Sports Center, one season after going just 5-12 away from Grymes Hill. The 11 true road wins are tied with Cleveland State for the most in the nation.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN (X2)
The Seahawks 12 road/neutral wins are tied for fourth in the nation, two behind Iona's total of 13.

RIVERS STELLAR FROM THE LINE
Rivers is 12th in the NCAA and second in the league at the free throw line, converting on 89.0 percent (89-10).

ORTIZ MAKING WAVES ON THE ISLAND
In his first season on Staten Island, Ortiz has filled up the stat sheets, averaging 7.7 points per game while leading Wagner in rebounding (4.8) (19th NEC), assists (3.9) (8th NEC) and steals (1.9) (2nd NEC). Ortiz also paces a defense that has posted a NEC-leading +3.8 turnover margin. In the 59-54 win over Pitt (12/23), he 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. At the Cable Car Classic, Ortiz averaged 9.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game in winning the Most Inspirational Award, after capping the event with his game-winning shot at Santa Clara (12/30).

BENIN BLOCK PARTY
Sophomore Naofall Folahan, who leads the NEC and ranks 51st nationally with 1.9 blocks per game, recently cracked the Seahawks' top-10 list for blocked shots. After notching one at the Mount (2/8), the Republic of Benin native has 91, ranking seventh in school history. Folahan is also averaging 4.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

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 Martin, who has 966 career points.

MILESTONE WATCH
Murray (1,141 points) is just two points behind Durell Vinson (1,144 points) for 26th and on the all-time Seahawk scoring list. Murray is also 11 three pointers behind Jeff Klauder (185) for seventh. 

DURING NEC PLAY
The Green & White are outscoring the opposition by an average of 12.6 points per game while posting seven double-digit wins on the way to a 11-2 record. Additionally, Wagner is shooting 44.3 percent from the floor, including 36.8 from beyond the arc, while limiting opposing teams to just 38.7 percent shooting, including 26.7 percent from long range.

IN THE NCAA RANKS ...
Wagner is one of just 25 Division I teams that have at least 20 victories.

SECOND-HALF SUCCESS
Since early December, the Green & White have opened the second half 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 ~ Monmouth (1/7) - 9-0 ~ SFNY (1/19) - 20-7 - SHU (1/21) - 14-7

DOUBLE-DOWN
Murray has recorded double-figures a team-best 20 times this year and in 55-of-61 games since the end of his sophomore year.  Rivers, meanwhile, has 19 double-digit games and while reaching double-figures 40 times in 54 career games en route to 769 career points. Murray (11) and Rivers (10) have also hit for at least 20 points a combined 21 times.

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 2,107 points while converting on 40.5 percent (364-898) from long range and 76.2 percent (380-499) from the line.

10-SPOT
With its most recent win at Mount St. Mary's (2/8), the Green & White have wins over schools from 10 different states (CA, CO, CT, DE, MD, NC, NJ, NY, PA, RI).

UP NEXT
Wagner hosts Monmouth on Thursday, February 16 at 7:00 pm.