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Staten Island, NY - Playing before a boisterous crowd on Senior Day, Wagner rolled to an easy 90-50 victory over FDU while recording its school-record matching 23rd win of the season. The Seahawks also equaled the 2002-2003 Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship squad with a 14-2 league start.

The victory secured at least a second-place finish in the NEC and the opportunity to host at least two games in the upcoming league tournament.

The Green & White (23-4) have also now won eight-straight games for the second time this season, after previously not doing so once since claiming 16-straight in the 1978-1979 campaign. Additionally, Wagner has won 16-of-17 since a one-point loss to Lehigh on December 10th.

Senior Chris Martin (Sicklerville, NJ / Apex Academies) scored all 13 of his points in the second half and needed every one of them, as the standout shooting guard became the 39th member of the Wagner 1,000-point club, finishing with an even 1,000.

Leading the way on offense was junior Jonathon Williams (Richmond, CA / Kennedy / CC of San Francisco), who paced five double-figure scorers with 20 points, on 8-of-12 shooting, to go along with a team-best six rebounds. Williams' effort led an offensive unit that shot a blistering 52.2 percent (35-67) from the floor, including a scorching 56.8 percent (21-37) in the second half.

The beginning of the game was a nip-and-tuck affair before Williams broke an 8-8 tie with a layup at the 15:55 mark of the first half, spurring a 12-2 run that gave the Seahawks a 20-10 lead with 13:35 until halftime.

After the Knights cut the deficit to six following a Kinu Rochford layup at the 11:05 mark of the first, the Green & White for all intents and purposes put the game away with arguably its finest defensive stretch of the season.

Over the final 11-plus minutes of the first, Wagner limited FDU to just 1-for-15 shooting, including forcing the Knights into 12-straight missed shots. The defensive pressure fueled an 11-0 run, leading to a half-ending 14-4 spurt that put the Seahawks up 36-20 at intermission.

The Knights would not get any closer the rest of the way as the Green & White's lead would grow to a game-high 29 points in the second half.

Wagner matched its season-high with 54 second-half points while shooting a blistering 56.8 percent (21-37) from the floor after halftime.

Joining Williams and Martin in double-figures were sophomore Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) (13), freshman Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC / David W. Butler) (13) and sophomore Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Science Park / Southern Mississippi) (10) as the Seahawks placed five in double-figures for the second-straight game and the fourth time this season.

Burton's 13 points set a career-high as the North Carolina product has now scored double-digits in back-to-back games for the first time in his short collegiate career. Ortiz also handed out a game-high six assists while collecting three steals over just 16 minutes as the Seahawks recorded 18 assists, which are the most by the Green & White in a NEC game this season.

Melquan Bolding scored 21 of his game-high 23 points in the second half while Rochford added 20 points and seven rebounds to lead the way for FDU, which shot 45.8 percent (27-59) for the game, including 60.0 percent (18-30) in the second half.

Wagner will look to set the program standard for wins at Bryant on Thursday, February 23 at 7:00 pm.

Notes:
* Martin, Murray and senior Ryan Schrotenboer (Fort Myers, FL / Bishop Verot) along with team manager Tyrik Miller were honored as part of the basketball program's annual senior night.

* Wagner wore pink Under Armour shoes to help raise awareness about the fight against breast cancer

* Dan Hurley and the coaching staff wore ribbons honoring the memory of Ronald (RJ) Tillman, a graduate student in the PA Program, who was tragically killed in a vicious hit-and-run accident. More than $450 dollars was also raised for the RJ Tillman Scholarship Fund. Contributions to the fund may be sent to: RJ Tillman Memorial Scholarship; c/o Myra Garcia, VP of Institutional Advancement; 1 Campus Road; Staten Island NY 10301. Click HERE for more information

* The Seahawks continue to lead all Metropolitan teams with 23 wins and have 15 double-digit victories, including 11 during conference play.

* The Green & White are a perfect 6-0 during February and 9-0 when playing before a Time Warner audience.

* Wagner is also a remarkable 23-1 when leading with five minutes to play and 17-1 when notching at least 70 points.

* The Seahawks averaged 89.0 points per game against FDU this year, led by Williams who averaged 21.5 points per game over the two games against the Knights.

* The Green & White also matched its season-high with 90 points.

* Junior Josh Thompson (Richland, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) blocked three shots in impressive fashion in a span of 37 seconds in the second half.

* For Wagner to earn the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NEC Tournament, the Seahawks would need to win the last two games while having the Blackbirds lose the last two.

* Murray notched seven points and now has 1,179 for his career while moving past Tom Miller and into 23rd place on the all-time scoring list.