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Loretto, PA - Wagner (10-8; 4-3 NEC) wraps up a four-game road trip in search of its second-straight win at Saint Francis U (1-17; 1-6 NEC) on Saturday, January 26 with tip slated for 4:00 pm.
QUICK HITS
* The Seahawks have won nine of the last 11 games between the teams, but will be looking to a reverse a trend that has seen the home team win each of the last six match-ups.
* All-time, the Red Flash hold a 32-28 advantage in the series, including 30-28 in the Green & White's Division I era (since 1976-1977).
* SFU holds a commanding 20-8 advantage (D-1 era) in Loretto and has claimed each of the last two meetings between the teams at DeGol Arena.
* Head coach
Bashir Mason became the quickest coach in Wagner's Division I history (since 1976-1977) to reach 10 victories thanks to the Seahawks' 52-50 victory over the Mount, needing just 18 games.
* Mason also improved to 2-0 against first-year NEC coaches with his victory over Jamion Christian. The first-year Wagner mentor will look to make it 3-0 when he opposes Saint Francis U rookie coach Rob Krimmel.
* Mason is the nation's youngest coach at 28 years and 350 days while Krimmel is the 15th youngest at 35 years and 122 days.
* Four of the nation's youngest coaches reside in the NEC as Christian (30 years, 283 days) and Robert Morris' Andy Toole (31 years, 137 days) are the fifth and sixth youngest coaches.
* Despite his first-year status, Krimmel has been a member of the Red Flash program for the last 17 years, spending four as a player from 1996-2000, before serving as an assistant from 2000-2012.
* All-time against the Seahawks, Krimmel is 13-16, going 6-1 record as a player and a 7-16 mark as an assistant while being a part of 50.0 percent (29-of-58) of the teams' match-ups since the Green & White ascended to the Division I ranks in 1976-1977.
* Wagner is currently ranked No. 147 in the NCAA weekly RPI rankings while Saint Francis U is No. 339.
* The Seahawks return to action after posting their aforementioned 52-50 victory over the Mountaineers on Thursday night.
* Wagner led for just 2:02 in posting its fourth-straight win over the Mount and is 9-0 this year and 34-1 over the last two season when either leading or tied with five minutes to play.
* Freshman
Eric Fanning notched double-figures for the third-straight game against the Mountaineers with a team and game-high 12 points to go along with seven rebounds. During that time, he is averaging a team-best 12.7 points per game on 53.7 percent (15-for-28) shooting.
* Junior
Orlando Parker matched Fanning with 12 points, notching double-figures in scoring for the first time this season and the 18th time in his career.
* Thanks to Fanning and Parker the Wagner reserves outscored the starters (28-24) for the first time in 86 games ... Coincidentally, the last time it occurred also was at the Mount, with the Mountaineers posting a 69-44 victory over the Seahawks on February 4, 2010.
* Senior
Jonathon Williams and junior
Latif Rivers each failed to record double-figures in scoring in the same game for the first time as teammates (33 games).
* No starter for either team notched double-digits.
* The Seahawks posted a +13 margin on the glass for the third time in seven conference games and have won the battle of the boards in all but four games this season.
* Wagner snapped out of a mini shooting funk, converting 46.0 percent (23-for-50) from the field in snapping a three-game losing streak that saw the Seahawks made good on just 37.1 percent (66-for-178) from the field. Additionally, 19 of Wagner's 23 field goals with either layups or dunks as the Seahawks scored 38 of their 52 points in the paint.
* Junior
Kenneth Ortiz provided the difference in the game
with this fastbreak layup with 27.4 seconds remaining, after recording his fourth steal of the game. For Ortiz it was his third-game-winning shot at Wagner and the first since sinking a free throw with 4.7 seconds remaining to help defeat Quinnipiac by a 51-50 count on January 28, 2012.
* Ortiz finished up with four points, five rebounds and six assists at the Mount while notching four steals for the fourth time this year. For his career, the Garden State native is averaging 6.0 points, 6.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game over three career games against the Mountaineers.
* The Seahawks improved to 17-8 in games decided by 10 points or less, including 8-4 in games decided by five points or less over the last two years.
* The Green & White is also now 7-0 this year and 17-0 over the last two seasons when limiting teams to 60 points or less and 9-1 and 20-5 in the same time frames when holding teams to less than 40 percent shooting.
* When outshooting the opposition, Wagner is a perfect 8-0 this year and 27-3 since the start of last season.
* During NEC-play, senior
Josh Thompson is shooting 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from the floor and 45.5 percent (5-for-11) from long range since conference play started. During non-conference action, Thompson shot just 17.6 percent (6-for-34) from the floor and 25.0 percent (2-for-8) from long range.
* In five career games against the Saint Francis U, Thompson is averaging 11.8 points per game and posted his lone career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the teams' lone meeting a year ago.
* Also during conference play Fanning is averaging 9.1 points per game while shooting a team-best 50.0 percent (25-for-50) from the floor ... The Trenton native has also helped to anchor a second unit that is averaging 21.6 points per game.
* Junior
Naofall Folahan returned to action against the Mountaineers after missing the last two games due to injury and recorded his 129th career block, leaving him just six behind
Miladin Mutavdzic for second place on the all-time Seahawks' blocked shot list. Sophomore
Mario Moody is third with 1.6 blocks per game while giving the Green & White arguably the top front line the in NEC. Both Folahan (32) and Moody (28) have combined to post more rejections then all but four of the teams in the NEC.
* Thanks in large part to Folahan and Moody, Wagner leads the NEC and ranks 28th in blocked shots (5.2), 61st in field goal percentage defense (.399) and 96th in scoring defense (62.8). Additionally, the Seahawks rank 57th nationally with a +4.9 rebounding margin and are 86th with 7.9 steals per game.
* Williams continues to lead Wagner and ranks among the NEC leaders in scoring (14.1 ppg) (11th NEC), rebounding (7.2 rpg) (8th NEC), field goal percentage (.493) (9th NEC) and free throw percentage (.825). The California native has also paced the Seahawks in scoring a team-best nine times and on the glass a team-leading 10 times.
* Ortiz ranks among the league leaders in scoring (11.1 ppg) (22nd NEC), assists (4.7 apg) (4th NEC) and steals (1.9 spg). During NEC play, he is averaging a team-best 11.9 points and 5.6 assists per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the floor and 60.0 percent from long range
* Rivers is just 44 points shy of becoming the 40th member of the Green & White 1,000-point club and has notched double-figures in scoring 50 times.
* Williams is shooting 57.7 percent (15-for-26) from the field over the last five minutes of games with the rest of Wagner converting on just 38.4 percent (43-for-112).
* The Seahawks are averaging 32.3 points per game in the second half on 43.1 percent shooting from the floor, compared to just 25.8 points per game in the first half on 37.4 percent shooting. The Green & White has also scored 30 points or more in the second half 12 times, compared with just three times in the opening stanza.
* Ortiz is averaging 6.6 points per game on 47.9 percent shooting after halftime, after notching just 3.8 points per game on 34.6 percent shooting in the first half.
* Wagner will next host Sacred Heart on Thursday, January 31 at 7:00 pm while playing at home for the first time in nearly three weeks. One lucky fan will have a chance at a half-court shot worth $10,000 ... for more information click
HERE
* Former Seahawk coach
P.J. Carlesimo is currently 12-2 as the interim coach of the Brooklyn Nets. Carlesimo ushered the Green & White program to the Division I level in 1976-1977 and was the head coach for six seasons.
* The Green & White is just 2-6 when playing on January 26th since moving up to Division I for the 1976-1977 season, but won last year on the date by a 73-54 score at Sacred Heart.
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
