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West Long Branch, NJ - Wagner (21-4; 12-2 NEC) hosts Monmouth (9-18; 7-7 NEC) tonight at 7:00 pm as the Seahawks will be gunning for their seventh-straight win and the 16th in the last 17. Tonight's game will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable and can be accessed on channel 76 in Staten Island and on channel 199 in Manhattan. The Green & White need just two more wins to match the school-record of 23 wins set during the 2007-2008 season and are currently 23rd in the College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 poll and have appeared in the rankings in each of the last eight weeks.

QUICK HITS

* Wagner (21-4; 12-2 NEC) hosts Monmouth (9-18; 7-7 NEC) tonight at 7:00 pm as the Seahawks will be gunning for their seventh-straight win and the 16th in the last 17.

* The Green & White clinched a home Quarterfinal game in the upcoming NEC Tournament (3/1-3/7) with a victory over Mount St. Mary's (2/11), coupled with a Quinnipiac win over CCSU.

* The Seahawks have 11 true road victories, tying them with Iona and Harvard for the NCAA lead. The 11 road wins are also a school-record and have helped contribute to a 12-2 mark away from the Spiro Sports Center.

* The Green & White are also in the midst of a school-record nine-game winning streak away from Staten Island, last losing at LIU Brooklyn on December 1.

* Wagner also set a NEC record as the fastest member institution to 20 victories with a 59-44 win at the Mount on February 8, besting last year's Blackbird squad that won its 20th on February 12, 2011.

* The Seahawks have now won 20 games or more six times in school history, including four times in the D-I era, in this the 91st year of intercollegiate basketball on Grymes Hill.

* Last week, the Green & White were victorious in both meetings with the Mount, winning by an average of 16.0 points per game.

* Wagner was one of six NEC teams to sweep its Rivalry Week match-up, joining LIU Brooklyn (over SFNY), Robert Morris (over SFPA), Quinnipiac (over CCSU), Monmouth (over FDU) and Sacred Heart (over Bryant).

* Junior Jonathon Williams averaged 16.5 points per game while shooting 72.2 percent (13-18) from the floor last week against the Mount, highlighted by a game-high 19 points at home on Saturday. In the Spiro Sports Center this year, Williams is averaging a team-best 15.5 points per game while shooting a blistering 57.7 percent (60-104) in the building.

* As a team, the Seahawks limited the Mountaneers to just 50.5 points per game, on 37.1 percent (36-97) shooting, including a miniscule 21.2 percent (7-33) from the long range. 

* Head coach Dan Hurley holds a 34-21 career record in this second year with Wagner and is the second-fastest coach in school history to 30 wins.

* His Seahawks' 21 overall and 12 road/neutral wins supersede the school's overall (18) and road/neutral (8) victories for the last two years combined.

* The Green & White's 12-2 NEC start matches the 2002-2003 and 2007-2008 teams for the best-ever conference start after 14 games. After halftime in those match-ups, Wagner is limiting the opposition to just 21.2 percent (22-104) from long range.

* Did you know? Wagner has a NEC-leading 14 double-digit wins this year, including 10 during NEC play, which are also the second most in the school's Division I era (1976-1977). The school-record for double-figure victories is 17, which was notched by the 1978-1979 squad that went 21-7.

* Did you know part 2? The Seahawks are the only conference team this season that has not lost back-to-back games.

* Did you know part 3? The Green & White 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 Wagner would be on ... Wednesday, March 7 if the Seahawks were to advance to the NEC Championship Game.

* The Green & White have guaranteed that they will finish among the top half of the NEC Playoff Field for just the ninth time in the Wagner's 31-year affiliation with the NEC. The Seahawks havebeen the No. 1 seed just once, the No. 2 seed three times and the No. 4 seed four times.

* In Wagner's current six-game winning streak the Seahawks are winning by average of 13.5 points per game while holding the opposition to just 54.7 points each time out and limiting them to just 37.3 percent (116-311) shooting, including 21.1 percent (19-90) from long range.  Using a total-team effort, 10 players are averaging more than 11 minutes per game while eight are averaging between four 4.3 and 13.7 points per game.

* Additionally, the Green & White have used big first-half runs in all six games:
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) / 19-2 (MSM) (2/11)

* Wagner is riding a three-game home winning streak and are an impressive 9-2 this season at the Spiro Sports Center while posting a + 13.3 scoring margin. Additionally, over the last three home games the Seahawks have trailed twice for just 55 seconds while winning by an average of 15.3 points per game.

* Sophomore Kenneth Ortiz turned in a solid performance against the Mount last week, averaging 7.0 points, 6.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game while posting a 4.0 assist to turnover ratio. However, the most impressive stat may be the fact that Ortiz was the team's leading rebounder in each game, and has done so a team-best 10 times with the Green & White going 10-0 during that time.

* Wagner leads the NEC with 21 victories with LIU Brooklyn and Robert Morris next up with 19. If each team were to win once more, the league would have three teams with 20 victories for just the second time in the 31 year history of the Northeast Conference.

* The Seahawks are tied with Iona for the most wins by Metropolitan New York school with 21 and were the first to 20.

* The Green & White along with LIU Brooklyn and St. Francis (NY) are a combined 29-1 against the other nine NEC teams.

* Wagner has forced Sacred Heart (54), Quinnipiac (50), St. Francis (NY) (50) and Mount St. Mary's (44) to their lowest single-game point totals during league play.

* Since losing to Lehigh on December 10th, the Seahawks are an outstanding 14-1, winning 10 of those games by double-figures while posting a +10.9 point differential. During that time, sophomore Latif Rivers is averaging a team-best 15.9 points per game while shooting a blistering 41.1 percent (37-92) from long range and 89.7 percent (52-58) from the line. Junior Jonathon Williams (12.5 ppg) and senior Tyler Murray (11.5 ppg) are each also averaging double-figures while Ortiz checks in with averages of 7.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists each time out.

* With its 51-50 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 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 (2/11) as the Seahawks improved to 18-0 when holding the opposition under 70 and are 16-1 when hitting for 70. Additionally, the Green & White moved to an incredible 21-1 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 51.3 percent (60-117) and also ranks seventh in free throw percentage (.820) and 15th in field goal percentage (.467).

* Additionally, he has gone over 20 points 11 times in his career while recording double-figures in 56 of his last 62 games. Over his last nine games, Murray has drained 27-of-48 (.563) from long range. He has also converted a school-record 44.0 percent (175-398) from long range over his four years en route to 1,152 career points (25th all-time at Wagner). If Murray's 51.3 percent conversion rate this year holds up it would also set a single-season school record.

* Over the last five games, the starting backcourt of Ortiz, Murray and Rivers have pressured the opposing starting backcourts into just 26.0 percent (33-127) 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).

* Tonight's game will be the eighth of 10 regular season home games to appear on Time Warner Cable. Wagner is 7-0 when playing on TWC and has defeated its opponents by an average of 19.1 points per game. The Seahawks are shooting 45.3 percent from the floor, including 37.8 percent from long range, while limiting opponents to just 37.8 percent from the field, including 28.1 percent from deep. Since claiming the first victory by just four points over NCCU (11/16), the Green & White have won the last six by at least 15 points each time out.

* Wagner will now look to sweep the season series from Monmouth after winning the first game by an 89-79 count back on January 7. The Seahawks shot a blistering 54.0 percent from the floor and was led by Rivers, who recorded a season-best 28 points while converting 8-of-14 from the floor, 4-of-9 from deep and 8-of-9 from the line.

* Over two career games against the Hawks, Rivers is averaging 27.5 points per game while shooting 50.0 percent (18-36) from the floor.

* Wagner leads the NEC and ranks 10th in the nation in winning percentage (.840), while also pacing the league in in turnover margin (+3.9) (13th NCAA), scoring margin (+10.2) (34th NCAA), three point percentage (.374) (52nd NEC), blocked shots (4.3) (74th NCAA), scoring defense (62.3) (64th NCAA), fewest turnovers (13.0) (112th NCAA), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0) (149th NCAA). The Seahawks are also second in the league in free throw percentage (.755) (20th NCAA), three point percentage defense (.399) (43rd NCAA) and scoring offense (72.5 ppg) (79th NCAA). Additionally, the Green & White are among the top-100 in the NCAA in steals (7.6) (79th NCAA).

* Senior Chris Martin notched 11 points, on 3-of-6 shooting, in a 17-point win over the Mount (2/11) while recording double-digits for the first time in scoring for the first time in over two months and is now just 23 points away from becoming the 39th player in school history with 1,000 career points. Martin's second triple also moved him past Wagner Hall of Famer Bobby Hopson on the all-time three-point list into third place (192).

* The Seahawks have won four of the last five match-ups with Monmouth, but is just 22-32, all-time, against the Hawks.

SETTING THE SCENE
Wagner (21-4; 12-2 NEC) returns to action tonight at 7:00 pm against Monmouth (9-18; 7-7 NEC) in the second of a three-game homestand.

RIVALRY WEEK TAKE THREE
For the third-straight year the Seahawks and Mount St. Mary's played back-to-back games as part of the NEC's annual Rivalry Week festivities. After MSM swept the series in 2009-2010, the teams split last year before the Green & White won both games this season. 

TURNOVER NOTES
Wagner is 21-4 this season thanks in large part to winning the turnover battle in 20 of its 25 games, including 10 of its 14 NEC tilts.

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 win the Mount (2/11), the Green & White improved to 11-2 in television games, including a perfect 7-0 on Time Warner. Today's game will appear on Time Warner as will the remaining Saturday's home games.

TUNE IN
Today's game against Monmouth will appear on Time Warner channel 76 on Staten Island and 199 in Manhattan. Wayne Fidelman, Tim Gannon and Joe Nugent will bring the game to you with Alexa Datt providing the sideline reporting.

THE COACHES
Wagner head coach Dan Hurley is 34-21 in this his second year on Grymes Hill while Monmouth coach King Rice is 9-18 in this his first year in West Long Branch.

BIG THREE
Wagner's big three of Rivers (14.7 ppg), Williams (13.0 ppg) and Murray (12.3 ppg) has accounted for 54.5percent (988/1813) of the team's scoring. In the 74-57 win over the Mount (2/11), the trio combined for 45 points, while converting 16-of-29 (.552) from the floor.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Monmouth enters with a 9-18 record, but has posted an impressive 7-7 mark during league play while winning six-of-eight and appears to be in good position to return to the NEC Playoffs following a one-year absence. The Hawks are led by junior guard Jesse Steele, who is averaging 12.7 points and 4.0 assists per game. After Steele, seven Monmouth players are averaging between 8.4 and 5.9 points per game.

LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET ...
The Hawks jumped out to a 41-35 halftime lead only to see Wagner open the second with nine-straight points en route to a 19-5 half-opening spurt that put the Seahawks in front for good. Monmouth would rally to cut the deficit to two on three occasions but could get no closer as the Green & White claimed the 89-79 win.

MR. CLUTCH
In his first year on Grymes Hill, Ortiz has established himself as one of the NEC's top point guards and one of the most clutch players in the NCAA ranks, having delivered three game-winning shots. Most recently, his free throw at Quinnipiac (1/28), provided the difference in a one-point win over the Bobcats. Ortiz made the play possible with an offensive carom off a Murray 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).

SCHEDULE QUIRK
Due to the addition of Bryant and the league's unbalanced schedule this is the first time since 2007-2008 that Monmouth and Wagner will play each other twice in a season. Therefore this year's senior class of Martin, Murray and Ryan Schrotenboer has faced the Hawks just four times in their careers. The trio helped close down Boylan Gym as freshmen when the Seahawks delivered a 91-60 win in the regular season finale while ending Monmouth's season and propelling the Green & White to the playoffs. The next year, the Hawks posted an impressive 76-67 victory as Schrotenboer recorded a career-high seven points with five rebounds. Wagner has since won the last two meetings, with Rivers leading the charge (27.5 ppg).

THOMPSON TAKES OFF
Junior Josh Thompson notched 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
Turnovers. Monmouth ranks near the bottom of the league in almost all scoring, shooting and rebounding categories but has managed to compile a 7-7 league record thanks to taking care of the ball. The Hawks are second in the NEC with a +2.70 turnover margin and a 0.96 assist/turnover ratio, trailing only the Seahawks in both categories. In the teams' first match-up, Monmouth forced 12 turnovers while committing 11 miscues. as it was just one of five games this year that the Green & White did not win the turnover battle. However, Wagner was able to rally from a halftime six-point deficit by converting a blistering 54.0 percent of its shots.

LAST MATCH-UP IN STATEN ISLAND
In a game marred by a combined 47 fouls and 60 free throws, the Green & White jumped out to an 11-point second half lead en route to holding off a late-charging Hawk squad by a 63-60 score back on February 5, 2011. Rivers (27), Murray (12) and Thompson (11) as the trio combined for 50 of the team's 63 points.

SHUTTING DOWN SHANE ... SORT OF
Despite allowing the NEC's leading scorer and reigning POTW 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 22.1 points per game  (25.9 ppg NEC-only games), 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.

NEW YEAR
With their 51-50 win over Quinnipiac (1/28), the Seahawks finished the month of January with a 7-1 mark, winning seven games in the month for just fourth time since moving to Division I (1976-1977). Additionally, in 2012 the Green & White is an impressive 11-1

WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN
The final three Wagner home games and four of the last five will begin at 7:00 pm. On the year, the Seahawks are 13-2 in 7:00 pm tips.

CLOSING IT OUT
The Green & White is 21-1 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 Seahawks have posted a sparkling 12-2 record away from the Spiro Sports Center, one season after going just 5-12 away from Grymes Hill.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN (X2)
The Green & White's 12 road/neutral wins are tied for third in the nation, two behind Iona's total of 14.

VIDEO STREAM
Wagner will provide a stream of tonight's game for a nominal fee. Check the Video On Demand tab on the Wagner Athletics website beginning at 6:50 pm (EST).

RIVERS NAMED POTW ... AGAIN
Rivers averaged 19.0 points per game en route to earning his second Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week for the week ending 2/6. He scored a season-best matching 28 points in the Seahawks' 80-69 victory over Robert Morris (2/2) before depositing all 10 of his points in the first half of an 72-54 win over Saint Francis (PA) (2/4). Rivers also drained 15 free throws against the Colonials, 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.

FIRST TIME
Rivers earned honor number one after averaging 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).

20-POINT CLUB
Rivers has recorded 10 career 20-point games, as Wagner is 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 784 points (14.3 ppg) in just 55 games and notched 28 in both Green & White MSG telecasts this year (Monmouth (1/7); RMU (2/2)). In those games, he shot a combined 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.

RIVERS STELLAR FROM THE LINE
Rivers is 13th in the NCAA and second in the league at the free throw line, converting on 89.0 percent (89-100).

RMU NOTE
Against Robert Morris (2/2), Wagner also scored 44 first-half points, which are the 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

NIFTY 50
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. Leading the charge was Thompson, who grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds, while notching 11 points for his first career double-double. Additionally, he pulled down seven offensive boards that directly led to 10 second-chance points among his 11. His 10 caroms are the most for the junior forward since grabbing 11 against Bucknell (11/28/09) in his fourth collegiate game.

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 Green & White in rebounding (4.8) (18th NEC), assists (4.0) (7th NEC) and steals (1.8) (3rd 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 55th nationally with 1.9 blocks per game and has 92 for his career, ranking seventh in school history.

MOODY NOTCHES SECOND DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Freshman Mario Moody was a force in the second half against LIU Brooklyn (1/21), recording 10 points and six rebounds en route to game totals of 12 and 10 for his second double-double, after previously notching 16 markers and 11 caroms in the win over Bryant (1/12). After missing the start of the year due to an injury, Moody is averaging 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

MILESTONE WATCH
Murray (1,152 points) is just 20 points behind Ed Peterson (1,172 points) for 24th and on the all-time Seahawk scoring list. Murray is also 10 three pointers behind Jeff Klauder (185) for seventh. 

DURING NEC PLAY
During NEC play, the Green & White are outscoring the opposition by an average of 12.9 points per game while posting 10 double-digit wins on the way to a 12-2 record. Additionally, Wagner is shooting 44.8 percent from the floor, including 37.6 from beyond the arc, while limiting opposing teams to just 38.9 percent shooting, including 26.7 percent from long range.

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 21 times this year and in 56-of-62 games since the end of his sophomore year.  Rivers, meanwhile, has 20 double-digit games and while reaching double-figures 41 times in 55 career games. 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 Wagner basketball. Over the last three-plus years, the twosome has combined for 2,129 points while converting on 40.5 percent (368-908) from long range and 76.4 percent (386-505) from the line.

LOCKDOWN
After allowing its opponents to convert at least one three pointer in every game since the 1993-1994 season, the Seahawks limited two teams (Hofstra (12/6) / FDU (1/12)) to no three pointers in 2011-2012.

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 Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, February 18 at 7:00 pm. Prior to the game, Martin, Murray and Schrotenboer will be recognized in a pregame ceremony.