NEC FRONT ROW VIDEO (FREE) / LISTEN LIVE (WAGNER) / LIVE STATS / Tweet #WagMBB

Wagner	Roster	Schedule	Notes
CCSU	Roster	Schedule	Notes

New Britain, CT - Wagner (9-6; 3-1 NEC) begins a four-game road trip Thursday at 7:00 pm against Central Connecticut (6-9; 2-2 NEC). To listen to Joey Wahler's call of the game at Detrick Gym while still watching the game on NEC Front Row, click on the listen live link to access the Wagner audio broadcast. Then to access the video, click on the NEC Front Row link.

QUICK HITS

* The Seahawks saw their four-game winning streak snapped the last time out, but are 4-1 this season after losses and 8-1 over the last two years. Last year, the Green & White was the lone conference team to not drop back-to-back games.

* Wagner will be looking to snap a six-game road losing streak to CCSU, having last won in New Britain by a 73-67 count on January 22, 2004.

* The Blue Devils hold a 17-16 advantage in the all-time series, including 16-14 since the Seahawks moved to D-I in 1976-1977.

* All-time, Wagner is just 3-11 against CCSU on the road.

* The Seahawks have been outscored by the Blue Devils by an average of 16.5 points per game during that time.

* Kyle Vinales leads a CCSU attack that is averaging a blistering 72.3 points per game. The reigning conference Rookie of the Year checks in with a NEC-best 21.5 points per game while shooting 41.0 percent from the floor and 36.1 percent from long range.

* Junior College transfer Matt Hunter rounds out the league's top-ranked scoring duo (Vinales) with 17.6 points per game while also  pulling down 8.1 rebounds per game.

* Sophomore Adonis Burbage rounds out the double-figure scorers for the Blue Devils with 10.9 points per game. Burbage and junior Orlando Parker played prep ball together at Orlando Christian Prep. Also playing with the duo was Josh Castellanos from Mount St. Mary's and preseason Conference USA (C-USA) Player of the Year Keith Clanton from UCF.

* Thursday's game matches up 17th-year head coach Howie Dickenman of CCSU and Wagner rookie coach Bashir Mason. Dickenman is the 10th oldest coach in America at 66 years and 68 days old while Mason is the youngest 28 years and 342 days old.

* At the completion of Thursday's game, Mason will have coached against three of the nation's 10 oldest coaches. He defeated SMU and Larry Brown (72 years old), after losing to Syracuse and Jim Boeheim (68 years old).

* Dickenman is the oldest coach in the NEC and the second longest tenured coach in the league en route to compiling a 255-233 career record, including posting a 167-110 mark in league play, highlighted by three conference championships.

* Additionally, Dickenman has a 140-77 home record, including posting a 99-47 mark during NEC contests at Detrick Gym.

* With a pair of non-conference tilts on Monday, the NEC finished up the non-league portion of the schedule with a combined 55-85 record. Wagner (6-5), Bryant (7-4) and Robert Morris (8-5) were the only conference schools to post winning records outside of conference play.

* Senior Jonathon Williams is expected to play on Thursday after missing four of the last five games. With his return, Williams will team with junior Latif Rivers for the first time since the Seahawks played at No. 8 Syracuse on November 18 - a span of 13 games. Rivers (14.6 ppg) and Williams (13.4 ppg) led the Green & White in scoring a year ago. This season the Green & White has employed eight different starting line-ups in its 15 games.

* The teams previously met in the First Round of last year's NEC Tournament with Wagner posting an 87-77 victory in Staten Island behind 16 points from junior Kenneth Ortiz. Rivers (15), Williams (10) and sophomore Mario Moody (10) rounded out the double-figure scorers for a Seahawk squad that shot a blistering 50.0 percent (30-for-60).

* Last year, Rivers and Williams each averaged 13.3 points per game over three match-ups with the Blue Devils while Ortiz notched 11.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.

* Moody paced the Seahawks for the first time in his career with 15 points in just 23 minutes against St. Francis Brooklyn. Since being added to the starting line-up five games ago, the Garden State native is averaging 13.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while shooting 51.1 percent from the floor and 70.8 percent from the line.

* On the year, Moody ranks among the league leaders with 6.5 rebounds (9th NEC), 1.7 blocks (2nd NEC), 2.4 offensive rebounds (7th NEC) and 4.1 defensive rebounds (t-11th NEC) while shooting 51.1 percent (8th NEC) from the floor. He is also averaging 8.3 points per game while recording a team-best 19 dunks (out of 46 field goals).

* During conference play, Moody is averaging a team-best 14.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 56.4 percent from the floor and 75.0 percent from the line.

* Ortiz had another big game against the Terriers, handing out seven assists, against just two turnovers, and has posted 18-to-5 assist-to-turnover margin over the last two games. Like Moody, Ortiz has been outstanding over his last five games, averaging a team-best 16.0 points per game with 5.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game.

* On the year, Ortiz ranks among the league leaders with 11.5 points (20th NEC), 4.8 assists (4th NEC) and 1.8 steals (5th NEC) per game while playing a team-leading 32.9 minutes (14th NEC) each time out.

* Junior Naofall Folahan continues to lead the league with 2.1 blocks per game while also ranking 52nd nationally. Folahan (31) along with Moody (26) each have more rejections than Mount St. Mary's (24) and Bryant (18) as Wagner ranks 16th nationally with a NEC-best 5.7 blocks per game.

* After two blocks against the Terriers, Folahan now has 128 for his career and is just seven behind Miladin Mutavdzic for second place in school history.

* The Seahawks also lead the NEC and rank 32nd in field goal percentage defense (.382) and 78th in scoring defense (61.7 ppg). Additionally, the Green & White is second in the league and 70th nationally with a +4.6 rebounding margin. 

* Freshman Eric Fanning paced Wagner against St. Francis Brooklyn with a team-best and career-high seven rebounds while adding six points. Over his last five games, the Garden State native has scored 28 of his 33 points after halftime ... Sophomore Hugo Naurais also played a career-high 12 minutes, recording three points and three rebounds.

* Freshman Dwaun Anderson provided the highlight of the day at the St. Francis Brooklyn game with his putback dunk in the second half that was ranked as the No. 6 play on SportsCenter for Saturday night. To see the play click HERE

* Senior Josh Thompson has converted on 5-of-7 (3-for-3/3-pt) from the floor over the last two games after starting the season just 7-for-36 (1-for-8/3-pt).

* With his four points Rivers now has 930 for his career, leaving him just 70 short of becoming the 40th member of the Wagner 1,000-point club. Since returning from injury four games ago he is averaging 11.8 points per game while shooting 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from long range.

* Over the last two seasons, the Seahawks are 8-2 on the road during NEC play and 10-2 in January.

* Wagner will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak on January 19th, having last won by a 75-71 count against LIU Brooklyn in 1991.

* The Seahawks checked in at No. 115 in the most recent RPI rankings according to the NCAA.

* Former Wagner coach P.J. Carlesimo is currently 9-1 since being named as the interim coach of the Brooklyn Nets and is the midst of a seven-game winning streak. Carlesimo ushered the Seahawk program to the Division I level in 1976-1977 and was the head coach for six seasons.

* With a win over CCSU, Mason would the quickest coach in the school's Division I history (since 1976-1977) to reach double-figures in victories. He is also on pace to be the school's first rookie coach during that time to post a winning record.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
10 of the Seahawks' 15 games have been decided by less than 10 points or in overtime with the Green & White going 7-3 during that time.

STREAK SNAPPED
With its win over LIU Brooklyn, Wagner snapped a four-game losing streak to the 2x defending NEC Champions while also ending the Blackbirds' 31-game WRAC winning streak, including 23 against NEC foes, with its 86-75 win. The Seahawks became the first team to win in the WRAC since Iona posted an 88-82 victory on December 8, 2010.

RECORD BREAKING
Wagner also shot a NEC-record 90.0 percent (9-for-10) from long range against LIU Brooklyn. The Seahawks' performance betters the previous mark of 88.9 percent (8-of-9) set by Marist against St. Francis Brooklyn on February 21, 1991. The Green & White also converted a season-best 59.2 percent (29-for-49) from the floor, which was its highest since making good on 60.4 percent (29-for-48) against Yale on December 6, 2008.

PERFECT 10
Rivers led the offensive explosion against the Blackbirds with 20 points, highlighted by a perfect 4-for-4 performance from long range as Wagner won for the 10th-straight games when the Garden State native hit for at least 20 points. He also paced the Seahawks in scoring for the first time this season and the 22nd time in his career and has notched double-figures in scoring 49 times.

DOUBLE DOWN
Ortiz has recorded his second and third career double-doubles this season. Most recently, he notched a career-high 11 assists with 19 points in the win at LIU Brooklyn. Ortiz's 11 helpers are the most by a Wagner player since Mark Porter recorded 13 in a win over UMES on December 15, 2007. Before that, the Garden State native scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the Green & White's 68-63 overtime victory over Penn.

DID YOU KNOW?
Ortiz has now converted 5-of-7 from long range after misfiring on the first 12 three-point attempts of his career.

70-POINT CLUB
By virtue of their season-high 86 points, Wagner improved perfect 2-0 this season when scoring at least 70 points and is 21-1 over the last two seasons.

NOT BAD
The Seahawks also improved to 8-0 on the season and 33-1 since last year when leading with five minutes to play. Additionally, Wagner is 7-0 this season when outshooting the opposition and 26-3 over the last two years.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING
The Seahawks' recent four-game winning streak was its first of the year and the fourth of at least four games over the last two years.

IN THE LAST FIVE MINUTES OF GAMES ...
Ortiz (56) and Williams (39) have combined for 52.2 percent (95/182) of Wagner's scoring. Additionally, the duo is shooting 51.1 percent (23-for-45) from the floor and 73.8 percent (48-for-65) from the line. During that time, the rest of the team is converting on just 36.9 percent (24-for-65) from the floor and 61.8 percent (34-for-55) from the line.

SECOND UNIT STEPS UP
Over the last 10 games, the Seahawk reserves are averaging 24.7 points per game while outscoring their counterparts by 7.0 points per game, highlighted by a 30-3 advantage in the win vs. SMU.

FIRST-HALF BLUES
In the second half of games, Wagner is averaging 32.4 points per game while outrebounding the opposition by 4.1 rebounds per game and are shooting 43.8 percent from the floor. In the first half, the Seahawks are averaging just 25.5 points per game while posting a -0.2 margin on the glass and shooting just 37.3 percent from the floor.

THOMPSON CRACKS THE STARTING LINE-UP
Thompson, who started for the first since December 11, 2010 against Coppin State, has opened the game on the court in each of the last eight times out. During that time Thompson has posted an impressive 2.3-to-1, assist-to-turnover ratio while typically guarding the opposition's top perimeter threat.

YOUNGEST IN THE NATION
Mason is the youngest head coach in America at 28 years and 341 days, with UNC Greensboro's Wes Miller second at 29 years and 355 days. The two are the only coaches in the D-1 ranks under the age of 30.

UP NEXT
Wagner will next be in action on Saturday, January 19 at 4:00 pm against first-place Bryant.

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