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Wagner MBB In The News | Non-Conference Breakdown
Gulf Coast Showcase Website | Tournament Bracket | Tournament Schedule | Wagner-Stetson Highlights
Estero, FL - Wagner (4-2) will be looking for its fourth-straight win tonight against St. Bonaventure (4-1) tonight at 8:30 pm in the semifinals of the inaugural Gulf Coast Showcase. The entire tournament can be watched for $25 through
America Sports One or $10 per day. As always Joey Wahler will have all the action for you for free through
Red Zone Media starting at 8:20 pm.
Today's Top Storylines
#1 - Wagner defeated Stetson 81-64 in opening round action at the Gulf Coast Showcase thanks to an 18-2 run midway through the second.
#2 - The Seahawks will now look to advance to the finals against St. Bonaventure, which posted an 83-71 win of its own against Southern Illinois.
#3 - Wagner has won three-straight neutral site games and six of its last seven.
Quick Hits
* Today's contest will be the second of three-straight neutral site games as the GCS marks the first time in the Seahawks' Division I history that Wagner will play on three-straight days.
* In their current three-game winning streak, the Seahawks are averaging 83.7 points per game, on 51.8 percent shooting, including 50.9 percent from long range.
* In its first three games, the Green & White averaged just 64.7 points each time out on 36.1 percent shooting, including 20.7 percent from deep.
* Wagner leads the all-time series 2-1 with both wins coming during the 1991-1992 season.
* All three games in the series have been decided by just one point.
* Did You Know??? 22 years ago today on November 26, 1991 the Seahawks posted a 60-59 win over SBU in WNY.
* Wagner is 3-11, all-time, against Atlantic 10 member schools with two of the victories coming against the Bonnies and the other against Rhode Island 63-61 on December 17, 2005. That Rams' squad was led by 1977 St. Bonaventure graduate and former head coach Jim Baron.
* The Bonnies are averaging 76.4 points per game while outscoring the opposition by an average of 16.4 points per game and are led by Matthew Wright, who is averaging a team-best 18.6 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists each time out. Charlon Kloof (11.4 ppg), Youssou Ndoye (11.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg), Dion Wright (10.6 ppg) and Andell Cumberbatch (10.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) round out the Bonnies in double-figures.
* St. Bonaventure is 65-24, all-time, against current members of the NEC.
* Seahawk junior forward
Mario Moody and Andell Cumberbatch played together at East Orange Campus High School while senior guard
Latif Rivers played his prep ball at Elizabeth High School with former Bonnie Da'Quan Cook, who helped lead SBU to the 2012 Atlantic 10 Championship.
* Former NBA player and Bonnie legend Fred Crawford's son
Freddie Crawford played for Wagner in 1985-1986.
* All-time (D-1), Wagner is now 27-41 when playing on a neutral court.
* The Seahawks picked up their first win in almost 20 years and second overall in the Sunshine State on Monday. Previously, the Green & White bested the University of Miami by a 57-55 score on December 29, 1993.
* The Green & White is also now 3-1, all-time, since moving to Division I (1976-1977) against teams from Florida, previously besting Florida International 84-71 on December 1, 1996 in the consolation game of the St. Peter's Tournament.
* Second-year head coach
Bashir Mason reached the 20-win plateau for his career in just his 33rd game against Chestnut Hill on Tuesday, November 12, matching
Chester Sellitto's 47-year school record.
* For the second season in a row, Mason, who is 29 years and 288 days old, is the youngest Division I head coach as well as the lone head man under the age of 30. He is 23-14 in his short time on Grymes Hill
* In 2012-2013, Mason led the Seahawks to 19-12 record (12-6 NEC) in 2012-2013. Both his overall and NEC win totals represented school-records for a rookie coach. Mason was also a finalist for the
CollegeInsider.com Joe B. Hall First-Year and Ben Jobe Minority Coach of the Year awards.
* Wagner is 7-5, all-time, against St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt, who patrolled the Robert Morris sidelines from 2001-2007.
* Seahawk assistant coach
Mike Babul went 3-5 as a player at UMass against St. Bonaventure from 1996-2000. The Minutemen also were ranked in the AP Poll yesterday for the first time since Babul's junior year in 1998-1999. Babul and Schmidt were both recently inducted to the inaugural Attleboro Area High School Hall of Fame.
* Wagner is off to a fantastic start on the defensive end of the court, leading the NEC in field goal percentage defense (.374), rebounding offense (39.3/game), rebounding margin (+0.3), blocked shots (5.7/game), scoring margin (+3.2) and defensive rebounds (28.5/game) while also ranking second in 3-pt field goal percentage defense (.233).
* Since Mason took over as coach last season, the Seahawks have limited its opposition to 40 percent or less shooting in 22 of its 37 games.
* Two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Year senior
Kenneth Ortiz was named yesterday as the
Choice Hotels/NEC Player of the Week after averaging 13.5 points, 6.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game in leading Wagner to wins over Vermont and Coppin State. Ortiz ranks among the NEC leaders in scoring (12.8 ppg) (13th NEC), rebounding (4.3 rpg) (t-17th), assists (4.3 apg) (5th) and steals (1.5 spg) (t-4th).
* The Seahawks advanced to the semifinal round with a rousing 81-64 against Stetson as Rivers paced four players in double-figures with 17 points while sophomore
Dwaun Anderson and junior
Marcus Burton each notched 10 of their 12 points after halftime to lead the Green & White reserves, which outscored their counterparts by a 37-18 count.
* Defensively,
Naofall Folahan turned in one of the finest performances of his career. The senior pivot blocked a personal-best matching seven shots, just one off of
Miladin Mutavdzic's single-game school record of eight (2/29/92), to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds and six points.
* Folahan, who has ranked among the top-two in blocks in the NEC in each of his first three years, leads the circuit with 2.5 rejections per game while also pulling down a team-best 7.3 rebounds (3rd NEC) per game and with 156 blocks is just 20 off of
Frantz Pierre-Louis' school-record total of 176.
* Thanks to the win, the Green & White senior class of Folahan, Ortiz, senior
Orlando Parker and Rivers has now has posted 61 victories since arriving on campus in 2010-2011 and is accounting for 51.9 percent (231-445) of this year's scoring.
* Rivers has now notched double-figures in scoring in all six of his games this season and ranks among the league leaders in scoring (16.7 ppg, t-6th), field goal percentage (.516, 3rd) and 3-point percentage (.522, 2nd). Additionally, Wagner is 19-9, all-time, when Rivers paces the squad in scoring.
* Rivers (1,228) also moved past former teammate
Tyler Murray and
Bob Mahala, Sr. into 22nd place on the all-time Wagner scoring list while his three triples give him 168 for his career and place him in a tie with
Matt Vitale for ninth all-time. Rivers is now eight points behind
Howard "Bones" Thompkins for 21st.
* By virtue of yesterday's victory, the Seahawks are now 18-1 when scoring 80 or more points, 29-3 when shooting 45 percent of higher and 45-1 when leading with five minutes to play - including capturing 38-straight - over the last three seasons.
* The Green & White is also 36-2 during that time when limiting teams to less than 70 points.
* Wagner is 24-11 over the last three years in games decided by 10 points or less or in overtime.
* This season, the Seahawks have 20 double-digit scoring performances in its six games with 18 coming from the backcourt. All told, Wagner guards are accounting for 70.8 percent (315-for-445) of the scoring.
* By The Numbers (40) ... The Seahawks are 38-6 when shooting 40 percent or higher and 29-8 when limiting opposing teams to 40 percent or less shooting since 2010-2011.
* Also during that time, Wagner, which was picked to win the 2014 NEC Championship by the league's coaches, is 48-20, 27-9 during conference play and 19-9 in non-conference action.
* The Seahawks will next play UIC or Louisiana Tech tomorrow night at either 6/8:30 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 Bashir Mason">@BashirMason for news on the second-year coach.
Photography by Dave Saffran