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Smithfield, RI - Wagner (23-4; 14-2 NEC) will look for its ninth-straight win and the 17th in the team's last 18 games against Bryant (2-26; 1-15 NEC) tonight at the Chace Athletic Center. With a win over the Bulldogs, the Seahawks would set a school record with their 24th victory of the season. Fans can follow today's action through for a nominal fee through the Bryant Athletic website or listen for free via
Red Zone Media by clicking
HERE as New York Emmy nominated Joey Wahler will provide the call. The Green & White were also recently profiled by renowned college basketball columnist Dick Weiss in today's
New York Daily News. Click
HERE for the entire article. Additionally, Seahawk beat reporter Cormac Gordon of the Staten Island Advance has an extensive preview for this weekend while touching on the upcoming NEC Tournament. Click
HERE for the entire article.
QUICK HITS
* Wagner (23-4; 14-2 NEC) begins its regular-season ending two-game road trip tonight with a 7:00 pm tilt at Bryant (2-26; 1-15 NEC).
* The Seahawks locked up the #2 spot in the upcoming NEC Tournament by virtue of its 90-70 win over FDU (2/18) on Senior Day.
* Prior to the game,
Chris Martin,
Tyler Murray,
Ryan Schrotenboer and team manager
Tyrik Miller were recognized for their contributions to the program.
* Martin scored all 13 of his points after halftime en route to becoming the 39th player in school history to reach 1,000 for his career. Over the last two games, he has notched all 23 of his points in the second half
* Schrotenboer earned his second career start and the first since getting the call against Robert Morris on February 25, 2010.
* The Green & White's victory over FDU (2/18) matched the school-record for wins while setting the program standard for regular season victories.
* On the week, the California native averaged a team-best 15.5 points per game while shooting 63.2 percent (12-19) from the floor.
* Wagner matched its season-high totals for points (90) and second-half points (54) in its win over FDU (2/18).
* The Seahawks have forced at least 20 turnovers on nine different occasions, going 9-0 during that time.
* In victory, Wagner also locked up the #2 spot in the upcoming NEC Tourney while its 14-2 start matches the school's top league start. Click
HERE for playoff ticket information.
* The Seahawks placed five in double-figures for the second-straight game and for the fourth time this year.
* The Green & White's 14-2 league start matches the 2002-2003 squad for best league beginning. A win over the Bulldogs would also equal the school-record of 15 NEC wins set by the 2007-2008 team.
* With victories in each of its final two games, Wagner would match the NEC Regular Season record of 25 wins set by the 2007-2008 RMU Colonials.
* The Seahawks have won eight-straight for the second time this year and and 16-of-17 since losing a one-point decision to Lehigh on December 10th. This season, the Green & White have recorded two eight-game winning streaks after not winning that many once since the 1978-1979 campaign.
* Junior Jonathon Williams led Wagner with 20 points in just 17 minutes in the 20-point win over FDU (2/18). He has recorded two of his 20-point games against the Knights and notched 43 points (21.5 ppg) in 46 minutes over two games against FDU.
* Sophomore
Kenneth Ortiz set the tone offensively against Fairleigh Dickinson (2/18), handing out six assists, against just one turnover, while scoring 10 points in 16 minutes. He is now averaging 5.8 assists per game over the last five while posting a 2.8 assist/turnover ratio.
* Classmate
Latif Rivers added 13 points and now has 810 for his career, averaging 14.2 points per game over 57 career outings.
* Freshman
Marcus Burton set a career-high with 13 points against the Knights (2/18) with three assists and three steals and has recorded double-digits in back-to-back games for the first time in his short career.
* Against FDU (2/18), junior
Josh Thompson registered three blocks in just 40 seconds while exciting the crowd and had a hand in two of Wagner's season-best five second-half dunks.
* \Murray also 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.
* Led by Burton and Ortiz the Seahawks' second unit scored a season-best 37 points against FDU (2/18), on 15-of-26 shooting, but was just 2-of-8 from the line.
* The win was also the Green & White's NEC-leading 15 double-digit victory and is just two shy of the school-record of 17 set in 1978-1979.
* Over the final 11-plus minutes of the first, Wagner limited FDU (2/18) 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 12 Wagner players that dressed wore pink Under Armour shoes to raise awareness in the fight against Breast Cancer. Additionally over $450 was raised for the RJ Tillman scholarship fund. Tillman was tragically killed in a hit-and-run accident on Sunday, February 12.
* The Seahawks continues to lead all Metropolitan teams with 23 wins and a perfect 6-0 during February and 9-0 when playing before a
Time Warner audience.
* Wagner's home NEC Quarterfinal game will start at 7:00 pm and will be the first home playoff game for the Seahawks since the 2007-2008 season and just the third since 2002-2003.
* The Green & White is a remarkable 23-1 when leading with five minutes to play and 17-1 when notching at least 70 points.
* Wagner has been ranked in the
College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 in each of the last nine polls and are currently 21st. Click
HERE for entire poll
* The NEC is one of seven conferences with three teams that have at least 20 wins, joining the Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, CAA, MWC and WCC.
* Martin helped close out the Seahawks' seven-point win at Monmouth (2/18), hitting a floater before draining eight-straight from the line, en route to accounting for 10 of the final 14 points for the Green & White. He is a perfect 16-for-16 over the last five minutes of games decided by 10 points or less while helping the Green & White post a 9-3 record during that time.
* Wagner has 11 true road victories, tying them with Cleveland State and Iona 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 Seahawks 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.
* The trio of Rivers (14.6 ppg), Williams (13.2 ppg) and Murray (12.4 ppg) have accounted for 54.2 percent (1072/1977) for the team's offense. At least one member of the triumvirate has led or tied for the lead in scoring in all but one game this season; Hofstra (Martin).
* After going for 20 points in the win over Monmouth (2/16), Murray has now hit for at least 20 points on 12 occasions over the last two years and three times this season. He has notched double-figures in 57-of-64 since the end of his sophomore year and is the NEC's top three-point shooter at 51.2 percent, a mark that would rank first in school-history if the season were to end today. Additionally his career mark of 44.1 percent ranks first in school history while his 181 triples rank eighth. In the win at Sacred Heart (1/26), Murray drained a career-best seven threes en route to 21 points.
* Wagner set a NEC record as the fastest member institution to 20 wins with a 59-44 victory at the Mount on February 8th, besting last year's Blackbird squad that won its 20th on February 12, 2011.
* The Seahawks were the first Metropolitan team to win at least 20 victories and has won more than six or more times in school history, including four times in the D-I era, in this the 91st year of intercollegiate basketball on Grymes Hill. The Green & White also lead all NYC schools with 23 wins.
* With LIU Brooklyn and Robert Morris' winning on Thursday, the NEC now has three teams with 20 victories for the second time in the history of the league.
* Head coach
Dan Hurley holds a 36-21 career record in this second year with Wagner and is the second-fastest coach in school history to 30 wins.
* After halftime in Seahawks' 15 NEC match-ups, the Green & White are limiting the opposition to just 21.6 percent (25-116) from long range.
* Did you know? Wagner has a NEC-leading 15 double-digit wins this year, including 11 during league 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 NEC team this season that has not lost back-to-back games.
* The Green & White has guaranteed that it will finish among the top two of the NEC Playoff Field for just the fifth time in Wagner's 31-year affiliation with the NEC. The Seahawks have been the No. 1 seed just once, the No. 2 seed three times.
* In Wagner's current eight-game winning streak the Seahawks are winning by average of 13.5 points per game while holding the opposition to just 58.1 points each time out and limiting them to just 40.1 percent (168-419) shooting, including 20.4 percent (22-108) from long range. Using a total-team effort, 10 players are averaging more than 10 minutes per game while nine are averaging between 4.0 and 13.5 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) / 15-4 MU (2/16) / 14-4 FDU (2/18).
* The Seahawks are riding a five-game home winning streak and are an impressive 11-2 this season at the Spiro Sports Center while posting a + 13.3 scoring margin.
* Ortiz, despite standing just 6-0, has paced the Seahawks on the glass a team-best 10 times with the Green & White going 10-0 during that time.
* Wagner finished up the season with a 9-0 record when playing before a Time Warner audience this season and will wrap play on the channel one final time in the First Round of the NEC Tournament. In those games, the Seahawks are winning by an average of 17.9 points per game while limiting the opposition to just 40.2 percent from the floor, including 26.2 percent from long range. During that time, Williams leads the team in scoring (16.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg) while shooting 61.7 percent (50-81) from the floor and 47.4 percent (9-19) from long range.
* The Seahawks have 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 Green & White is an outstanding 15-1, winning 10 of those games by double-figures while posting a +10.7 point differential. During that time, Rivers is averaging a team-best 15.8 points per game while shooting 39.4 percent (39-99) from long range and 88.7 percent (55-62) from the line. Williams (12.4 ppg) and Murray (12.1 ppg) are each also averaging double-figures while Ortiz checks in with averages of 7.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists each time out.
* With its 74-67 victory over Monmouth (2/16), Wagner is 9-3 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 15-9 in five-point games.
* The Seahawks' 51 points scored in a one-point win at Quinnipiac (1/28) were the fewest scored in a Green & White win since a 51-48 victory over Robert Morris on February 6, 1993.
* Wagner is 6-0 in the month of February and with wins in each of the last two regular season games would record their first undefeated month in 32 years when the Seahawks went 8-0 in the month of ... February.
* The Green & White lead the NEC and ranks eighth in the nation in winning percentage (.852), while also pacing the league in turnover margin (+4.0) (12th NCAA), scoring margin (+10.5) (30th NCAA), three-point field percentage defense (.302) (31st NCAA), scoring defense (62.7) (70th NEC), blocked shots (4.3) (70th NCAA), fewest turnovers (13.0) (115th NCAA) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0) (133rd NCAA). Wagner is are also second in the league in three point percentage (.373) (54th NCAA), free throw percentage (.747) (30th NCAA) and scoring offense (73.2 ppg) (64th NCAA). Additionally, the Green & White are among the top-100 in the NCAA in steals (7.7) (69th NCAA).
* The Seahawks will conclude their regular season on Saturday, February 25 at Central Connecticut State with tip time slated for 3:30 pm.
