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Staten Island, NY - Wagner (7-5; 1-0 NEC) will be looking for its third-straight victory against Fairleigh Dickinson (6-7; 1-0 NEC) today at 4:00 pm. Each team will be attempting to improve to 2-0 in the league after posting wins on Thursday night.
QUICK HITS
* Today's game will be played on the 30th anniversary of Wagner's landmark 84-77 victory over Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 5, 1983.
* The Seahawks improved to 19-13 in conference openers after their most recent victory and have won three-straight lidlifters.
* FDU holds a 49-43 advantage in the all-time series, including posting a 40-30 edge in the Division I era (since 1976-1977).
* Wagner has won three-straight and seven-of-nine against Fairleigh Dickinson.
* The Seahawks are 17-17, all-time, against the Knights on Staten Island, including going 6-7 at the Spiro Sports Center.
*
Did You Know? The Green & White opened its current home court with a 78-56 victory over FDU on February 20, 1999.
* Wagner claimed both meetings a year ago by an average of 22.0 points per game.
* Senior
Jonathon Williams averaged 21.5 points per game against Fairleigh Dickinson while shooting 56.5 percent (13-for-23) from the floor. Junior
Latif Rivers also was impressive, notching 16.0 points per game.
* By virtue of its win over Monmouth, Wagner improved to a perfect 4-0 at home this season and is 16-3 over the last two seasons.
* All-time, the Seahawks are 115-64 at the renovated Spiro Sports Center since it opened in 1999.
* The Green & White has now won four-straight games against the Monmouth, with all four coming by 10 points or less. Over the last two years, Wagner is 16-7 in games decided by 10 points or less.
* Wagner also collected its ninth-straight win against a school from New Jersey and will look to make it 10 in a row on Saturday.
* Sophomore
Marcus Burton paced the Seahawks for the second time this year with 15 points off the bench, while closing the game out with three-straight free throws to give the Green & White an insurmountable 60-56 advantage. As a team, Wagner converted 9-of-12 over the last five minutes and has now made good on 19-of-23 (.826) in its current two-game winning streak.
* Fueled by Burton's effort and 10 points from Williams in his first-ever game as a reserve, the second unit matched the starters with 30 points.
* Sophomore
Mario Moody added 12 points and nine rebounds while falling one carom shy of his first double-double of the year. Additionally, all four of Moody's field goals were dunks that electrified the crowd. To take a look at some of the dunks click
HERE.
* Junior
Kenneth Ortiz scored all 10 of his points after halftime while freshman
Eric Fanning also added all eight of his points in the second half.
* After halftime this year, the Garden State native is averaging 6.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor. In the first half, those numbers are 3.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.7 steals per game while converting at a 30.6 percent clip.
* As a unit, Wagner has failed to hit for 30 points in the first half the season, while notching at least 30 in the second half on nine occasions. The Seahawks are shooting 42.6 percent from the floor after halftime, while outrebounding the opposition by +4.1 margin. In the first half, the Green & White is making good on just 35.0 percent while being outrebounded by a -1.2 count.
* Wagner improved to 6-0 this season and 31-1 over the last two seasons when leading with five minutes to play.
* Mason bested a head coach that played at North Carolina in Monmouth's King Rice for the second time this year, after previously defeating Larry Brown and SMU at the Cable Car Classic. All three players were point guards at the collegiate level.
* Through 12 games (7-5), Mason is off to the best-ever start in the Division I era (since 1976-1977) by a first-year coach on Grymes Hill.
* The Seahawks won eighth-straight game on January 3rd, while improving to 10-1 on Thursdays over the last two years.
* The Green & White is also 5-0 this season when limiting the opposition to less than 60 points and 15-0 over the last two seasons.
* The Seahawks also placed four players in double-figures for the second time this season and the first time since the opener at Delaware State.
* One year ago today, the Green White bested Fairleigh Dickinson by an 88-64 count in Hackensack, NJ. Wagner has won four-straight games on January 5th and are 8-6 on this date since moving to Division I in the 1976-1977 season.
* Today's game will also pit two players that recorded 30-point, 15-rebound performances this season in Williams and Kinu Rochford. Williams went for 33 points and 17 rebounds in a 77-62 overtime victory over Coppin State (12/15), while Rochford notched 30 points and 16 rebounds in a loss at VCU (12/29). Each player is one of just eight NEC players to record a 30/15 game over the last 16 years.
* Junior
Naofall Folahan (2.0 bpg) and Moody (1.8 bpg) continue to lead the NEC in blocked shots and are a major reason why the Seahawks lead the NEC in scoring defense (60.4 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.382), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.330) blocked shots (5.7) and defensive rebounds (26.7).
* Each player has more blocks (24 - Folahan / 22 - Moody) than Monmouth (18), Mount St. Mary's (17) and Bryant (14).
* Rivers now has 898 career point, ranking him seventh among active NEC players in scoring. He is now just 102 points away from becoming the 40th member of the Green & White 1,000-point club. He also has converted on a blistering 88.6 percent (233-263) from the line in his career.
* The Knights are led by three double-figure scorers in Rochford (17.3 ppg, 10.1 rpg), Melquan Bolding (15.5 ppg) and Lonnie Robinson (12.8 ppg).
* FDU has already doubled their win total from a year ago (6-3) and will be looking to match their conference win total (2) from last season.
* Today's Key Match-Up: Fairleigh Dickinson offense vs. the Wagner defense ... The Knights are shooting 46.8 percent from the floor and 39.5 percent from long range, while the Seahawks are limiting the opposition to just 38.2 shooting from the floor and 33.0 percent from deep.
* Wagner will return to action on Thursday, January 10 with a game at two-time defending NEC Champion LIU Brooklyn with tip time slated for 7:00 pm.
* 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
