Live Stats | Streaming Link (Subscriber) | Listen Live (Wagner) | Follow On Twitter | Non-Conference Breakdown

Penn State	Roster	Schedule	Notes
Wagner	Roster	Schedule	Notes

State College, PA - Wagner opens its 93rd season of intercollegiate basketball at Big Ten member Penn State on Saturday, November 9 at the Bryce Jordan Center with tip time slated for 4:00 pm. The game, which figures to be an impressive match-up of explosive guard play, will be streamed for a nominal fee through the Big Ten Digital Network. Fans may listen to the game for free through the Seahawk Broadcasting Network by clicking HERE.

Today's Top Storylines
#1- The Seahawks will be looking for their NEC's first-ever win against the Big Ten.

#2 - Wagner opens its 93rd season of college basketball as the NEC Favorites.

#3 - The Green & White returns nine letterwinners and three starters from last year's team that won 19 games.

Quick Hits
* Wagner travels to Penn State on for a 4:00 pm Saturday afternoon tilt at the Bryce Jordan Center in the season-opener for both teams.

* The Seahawks are 0-2, all-time, against the Nittany Lions and 0-3, all-time, vs. the Big Ten.

* In this the 34th year of Northeast Conference (NEC) basketball, no league member has ever defeated a Big Ten school.

* Penn State is 28-1, all-time, against the NEC and has won 27-straight games against the now 10-team league. Former league member Loyola bested PSU by a 74-70 on December 7, 1986.

* The Nittany Lions were a member of the Atlantic 10 at the time of the game and moved to the now 12-team Big Ten for the 1992-1993 season.

* Wagner is no stranger to ending long NEC losing streaks at the hands of BCS opponents. The Seahawks ended Pitt's 70-game dominance over league opposition on December 23, 2011 with a 59-54 victory over the No. 15 Panthers.

* The last NEC team to post a win over a BCS conference was Robert Morris against Kentucky by a 59-57 score on March 19, 2013 in the first round of the NIT.

* Bashir Mason returns for his second year as the head coach of the Seahawks after posting a 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.

* For the second season in a row, Mason, who is 29 years and 271 days old, is the youngest Division I coach in America as well as the lone head man under the age of 30.

* On October 22 at the NEC's Second Annual Social Media Day, Wagner received seven of the league's 10 first place votes in being selected to capture the 2014 NEC Title.

* This marks only the second time in the 27-year history of the NEC Coaches Poll that the Seahawks have been picked to win it all.

* The only previous time came in 1992-1993 when the Green & White dropped a 65-64 heartbreaker to Rider in the NEC Championship.

* Today's start date matches the earliest for Wagner as the Seahawks bested Lafayette 74-70 on November 9, 2007. In that game, Durell Vinson went off for 22 points and 14 rebounds while Jamal Smith chipped in with 14 markers and seven caroms.

* The Green & White is 53-39, all-time, in openers, including going 21-16 since moving to the Division I ranks for the 1976-1977 season.

* Penn State, meanwhile, is 87-30 in openers, including going 77-10 when opening at home, and has won eight-straight dating back to the 2005-2006 season.

* The Nittany Lions are 15-3, all-time, in their first game of the season at the Bryce Jordan Center and have won nine-straight lidlifters in the building.

* A year ago, Wagner lost to Delaware State in its opener on the road by a 73-69 count while Penn State held off NEC member Saint Francis U 65-58 exactly.

* Both of today's head coaches, Mason and PSU's Pat Chambers, attended college in Philadelphia with Mason graduating from Drexel in 2007 and Chambers from Philadelphia in 1994. While the two coaches have never squared off as head men, Mason scored a team-best 21 points to help lead his Dragon team to an 81-76 win over a Villanova squad in which Chambers assisted on December 9, 2006. That snapped a 17-game losing streak to the Wildcats and was the first Drexel win the series since 1924.

* Seahawk coach Marquis Webb is the lone Green & White assistant to suit up against the Nittany Lions, going 2-1 against Penn State as a player from 2003-2007.

* The Nittany Lions went just 10-21 a year ago, including 2-16 during Big Ten play, due largely to the loss of preseason All-Big Ten selection and current graduate student Tim Frazier. Additionally, PSU played 15 of their 31 games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, highlighted by a thrilling 84-78 victory over eventual National Runner-Up Michigan.

* Wagner returns 68.5 percent of their scoring and 72.0 percent of its rebounding from last year's squad led by senior guards Kenneth Ortiz and Latif Rivers. Ortiz has claimed NEC Defensive Player of the Year honors in each of his two seasons on Grymes Hill. He averaged 11.8 points, 5.4 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game a year ago en route to also garnering Third Team All-NEC accolades.

* Rivers, meanwhile, returns for his fourth season as a member of the Seahawks after an injury-plagued junior season that saw him play just 20 games. Rivers averaged 13.9 points per game while becoming the 40th member of the school's 1,000-point club.

* Ortiz, like Penn State's D.J. Newbill, each played one year at Southern Mississippi before transferring. Newbill, who averaged a team-leading 16.3 points per game while adding 5.0 caroms each time out, along with Frazier give the Nittany Lions one of the top backcourts in the country.

* Ortiz's 120 steals over the last two seasons lead all active NEC players while his 299 assists are fourth. Rivers' 1,128 career points are are fourth among active NEC players and 29th in school history (19th in D-1 era).

* Junior Jay Harris joins the backcourt after sitting out last season as a transfer from Valparaiso and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. Harris is the lone member of Wagner to face a Big Ten school and rose to the challenge in scoring 18 points, on 7-of-14 shooting, against the No. 3 Buckeyes on November 25, 2011.

* Two members of Penn State have faced the Seahawks with both coming up short. John Johnson scored two points in Pitt's 59-54 loss to the Green & White on December 23, 2011 while Jordan Dickerson did not play in SMU's 63-53 loss to Wagner on December 21, 2012.

* The Seahawks have won 22-straight games when limiting teams to less than 60 points, including going 20-0 over the last two seasons, and are also 32-2 during that time when heading into intermission with a lead.

* Wagner led the NEC in field goal percentage defense (.409) and blocked shots (5.3 bpg) while also finishing among the top-two of the league in scoring defense (67.1 ppg), rebounding offense (37.2 rpg), rebounding margin (+3.5) and defensive rebounds (25.0 rpg).

* Leading the defensive charge a year ago were seniors Naofall Folahan and Orlando Parker. Folahan finished second in the NEC with 1.5 rejections per game and is first among active NEC players and second in school history with 141 blocks. He enters his final season just 35 shy of former standout Frantz Pierre Louis' school-record total of 176. Parker meanwhile helped anchor the frontline with 4.3 rebounds per game while ranking among the league leaders with 0.7 blocks per game and enters his final campaign sixth (380) among active rebounders and 15th (518) among active scorers. The duo also helped the Seahawks block a school-record 163 shots a year ago.

* Wagner is 15-7 in non-conference games since the start of the 2011-2012 season, including going 6-5 a year ago.

* The Seahawks last played a team from the Big Ten on December 19, 2006, dropping a 95-56 decision at Purdue.

* Today's game is the first of three non-conference games to played in Pennsylvania and the first of five on the year to be contested in the Keystone State.

* Wagner will open up the home portion of its schedule on Tuesday, November 12 against Chestnut Hill and is 23-6 at home over the last two years while holding an all-time record of 121-67 (.644) at the renovated Spiro Sports Center (since 1999).

What's On Tap
Wagner will play the first of 14 non-conference games at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, November 9 with tip time slated for 4:00 pm.

Long Time Coming
The Seahawks last played exactly six months ago today, dropping a 94-82 decision to LIU Brooklyn in the NEC Tournament.

Last Time Out For Penn State
The Nittany Lions defeated Northwood by a 98-61 score in an exhibition game on November 3. Seven different PSU players notched double-figures led by junior Ross Travis, who scored 17 points to go along with a team-best eight rebounds. Frazier, who was recently named to the Cousy Award Watch List, added 11 points and six assists while Newbill, last year's leading scorer, added 11 points.

Frazier Not Bad
Tim Frazier was one of six players named to the Big Ten Preseason First Team after missing last year due to injury. Two years ago, he became just the sixth-ever Nittany Lion to earn First Team All-Big Ten honors as well as becoming the first player in school history to be named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team. Frazier averaged 18.8 points per game to go along with a conference-leading 6.2 assists per game.

One Tough League
The Big Ten placed seven teams in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, including two that advanced to the Final Four. This season, the league is expected to be just as strong as five teams from the ultra-competitive league are ranked in the USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll.

Common Foes
Penn State and Wagner will each square off with St. John's, La Salle, Monmouth and Mount St. Mary's this season.

Last Meeting Between The Teams
The last time the teams played came on December 18, 2000 at the Bryce Jordan Center. In that game, the Nittany Lions held off a feisty Seahawk squad by a 100-91 count as Jermaine Hall led the visitors with a game-high 34 points, on 15-of-18 shooting. That PSU squad, which would go on to the Sweet 16, placed all five starters in double-figures.

Wagner Picked To Reign Supreme
For the first time in 21 years the Green & White was picked in the annual NEC Coaches Poll to stand atop the summit at the end of the season as Wagner received seven of the 10 first place votes. Robert Morris and Bryant tied for second with the Colonials earning two first place nods. Three-time defending champion LIU Brooklyn garnered the final first place vote and was tabbed fourth. Central Connecticut was fifth, followed by last year's runner-up Mount St. Mary's, St. Francis Brooklyn, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis U and Fairleigh Dickinson.

NEC Television Package Announced
For the third-straight year the Wagner Seahawks will play at least two regionally televised games at home, including one on national television as part of the Northeast Conference package. Before playing the aforementioned two games on television, the Green & White will played before a Fox College Sports (FCS) audience at Mount St. Mary's on Thursday, January 16 at 7:00 pm. Exactly one month later, Wagner will host Bryant on Sunday, February 16 at 12:00 pm on the national CBS Sports Network before welcoming FCS to the building on Senior Day, March 1 at 6:00 pm against Robert Morris.

Seahawks Heading South For Gulf Coast Showcase
Wagner is one of eight schools that will descend upon Southwest Florida to participate in the inaugural Gulf Coast Showcase at the Germain Arena in Estero, FL. The eight-team tournament, designed to showcase the top mid-major programs from across the country will take place from Monday, November 25 to Wednesday, November 27. The Seahawks along with Louisiana Tech are among the headliners in the eight-team field which also includes St. Bonaventure, San Diego, UNC Greensboro, Illinois-Chicago, Southern Illinois and Stetson. The Green & White will lock horns with Stetson on Monday night at 6:00 pm before playing either St. Bonaventure or Southern Illinois on the second day of the tournament.

Mason Profiled By The New York Times
While being the youngest coach in Division I is a story in itself, it may not be the most unique regarding Wagner's second-year head man Bashir Mason. The Jersey City native was recently profiled by the New York Times and Zach Schonbrun due to the fact that Mason is believed to be the only Division I men's head coach that is also student-teaching in the mornings in order to attain his master's degree in education.

Experience Yields Results
Wagner is hoping that statement rings true in 2012-2013 as the Seahawks boast a roster that features eight upperclassmen and nine student-athletes that are in at least their third year of college. Additionally, both of  the Green & White's freshmen played a post-graduate year of school before furthering their education at the college.

Seniors Lead Resurgence
The senior class of Folahan, Ortiz, Parker and Rivers is arguably the main reason that Wagner in considered among the elite of the NEC. The Seahawks are an impressive 57-35, including 36-18 during league play, since the foursome descended on Staten Island. This turnaround comes the heels of a 2009-2010 campaign that saw the Green & White go 5-26 and 3-15 in the NEC.

Right To The Point
After sitting out his first year on Grymes Hill due to NCAA transfer rules, Ortiz, who plays the point, has led the Green & White to a 44-18 record, including 27-9 during league play, while starting 61 games during that time. The 44 overall and 27 NEC wins represent school-records and the Jersey City native has also notched four game-winning shots during that time.

Looking To Make History
The ball-hawking Ortiz ranked third in the NEC with 2.0 steals per game a year while pacing arguably the best defensive unit in the league en route to notching his second-straight NEC Defensive Player of the Year accolade. If Ortiz were to capture the award again, he would be the first player in league history to win it three-straight years.

Rivers Carries The Load
Since arriving on campus three years ago, Rivers has been one of the team's top scorers and last year was no different as the Garden State native averaged 13.0 points per game while shooting 39.4 percent from long range. As has been the case throughout his career, when Rivers scores Wagner wins. He has notched at least 20 points on 14 occasions with the Seahawks going 11-3 during that time. Additionally, the Green & White is 17-8 when Rivers paces the squad in scoring.

In The Rankings
Rivers is 29th in school history (19th-D-1) with 1,128 points and is just one behind Oliver Featherston (1,129) as well as 16 behind Durell Vinson (1,144) and 19 back of Courtney Pritchard (1,147). Rivers also is third with a career 86.9 percent (278-for-320) conversion rate from the line.

Block Party
Folahan, who is just 35 blocks short of the Wagner career record, led the NEC in rejections with 1.7 as a sophomore and ranked second in each of his other two seasons while establishing himself as one of the best shot blockers in the nation. All three of his seasonal totals rank among the top-10 in school history and with one more solid season the Republic of Benin native could lay claim as the best shot-blocker ever to set foot on Grymes Hill.

Moody Looks To Step Up
With the graduation of 2013 Second Team All-NEC selection Jonathon Williams and his team-leading 15.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, junior Mario Moody looks to help fill the void in the frontcourt after a sophomore season in which the Jersey City native made impressive strides. Arguably the most athletic big man in the NEC, Moody recorded a team-best 34 dunks en route to averaging 6.9 points, 5.3 rebounds (16th NEC) and 1.3 blocks (4th NEC) each time out. Saving his finest for big games, Moody snared a game and career-high 14 rebounds at eventual NCAA participant Temple, before averaging 19.0 points per game on 62.5 percent (15-for-24) shooting in spurring a regular season series sweep of LIU Brooklyn.

Instant Offense
Classmate Marcus Burton returns to the backcourt after ranking fourth on the team and first among reserves with a sterling 8.6 points per game in just 23.9 minutes each time out while posting an impressive 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Big Ten Ties
Sophomore Dwaun Anderson began his collegiate career at Michigan State in the summer of 2011, before transferring to Grymes Hill in January of 2012. Anderson averaged 4.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in his first season.

Mr. ESPN
Anderson registered three dunks that appeared on SportsCenter's Top-10 plays a year ago.

Harris, Long, Senat Join The Fold
The Seahawks welcomes Valparaiso transfer Jay Harris (G, 6-1, 160) along with freshmen Nolan Long (F, 6-10, 240) and Greg Senat (F, 6-8, 240) to Grymes Hill for the 2013-2014 season. Harris transferred to Wagner after averaging 6.9 points per game over two seasons at Valparaiso and was recently named as the top impact transfer in the NEC by Big Apple Buckets. Long averaged 10.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in a post-graduate season at South Kent Prep while Senat notched 9.4 points and a team-leading 9.0 rebounds per game in a post-graduate year of his own at Marianapolis Prep.

DYK???
Anderson and Harris were both Top-100 recruits out of high school.

Double-Duty
Following in the footsteps of former Seahawk student-athlete, head coach and current Brooklyn Nets announcer Tim Capstraw, Long will play both baseball and basketball at Wagner. On the diamond, Long was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 38th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

Close Games
The Green & White was an impressive 12-7 in games decided by 10 points or less or in overtime last year and are 22-11 over the last two seasons.

Defensive State Of Mind
Wagner was also 13-2 last season and 32-2 over the last two years when limiting opponents to less than 70 points.

Closing It Out
The Seahawks have has won 35 straight games dating back to 2011-2012 when leading with five minutes to play and were a perfect 17-0 last year.

2012-2013 Non-Conference /NEC Splits
A year ago, Wagner averaged 74.4 points per game on 47.3 percent shooting, including 35.3 percent from long range, in NEC play. During non-conference action, the Seahawks notched just 58.4 points per game on 38.2 percent shooting, including 27.6 percent from deep.

Did You Know?
The Green & White's 44 wins since the start of last season marks the best-ever two-year span in school history, bettering the previous mark of 40 set between 1966-1968 and 2001-2003 seasons.

Overtime
Wagner played a school-record six overtime games a year ago, bettering the previous mark of five set during the 2007-2008 season in going 4-2. The Seahawks are 7-3 in overtime games since the 2010-2011 season and 13-5 over the last six years.

Rivers Hits The Century Mark
Rivers became the 40th member of the Wagner 1,000-point club in a loss to Quinnipiac, scoring a season-high 29 points, including 14 in the final 51 seconds. Rivers, who superseded the Seahawks' first-half total of 19 points with 26 second-half markers, converted a career-best matching 10 field goals and six three pointers.

Tale Of Two Halves
Wagner averaged 37.3 points per game in the second half on 46.1 percent shooting from the floor in the second half of games last season, compared to just 29.7 points per game in the first half on 41.5 percent shooting.

Streak Snapped
The Seahawks win over eventual league champion LIU Brooklyn snapped a four-game losing streak to the now 3x defending NEC Champions while also ending the Blackbirds' 31-game WRAC winning streak, including 23 against NEC foes, with its 86-75 win. The Green & White also 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-for-9) set by Marist against St. Francis Brooklyn on February 21, 1991.

2012-2013 Non-Conference Wrap-Up
The Green & White were one of just three NEC teams to post a winning record (6-5) during non-conference play in 2012-2013, despite playing a schedule that featured five teams (Syracuse, NCCU, Albany, Temple and Santa Clara) that won at least 20 games.

Mason Topples Brown
In Wagner's win over SMU, the then 28-year old Mason bested the 72-year old Brown, who is in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Brown, who is the nation's second-oldest coach, is one of four senior citizens that Mason, the nation's youngest coach, will face this year.

Defense
The Seahawks limited the opposition to less than 50 points in three of their wins a year ago, for the first time since the 1951-1952 season.

Mason Captures First Win
The Green & White posted the first win of the Mason era with a 38-36 wire-to-wire victory over North Carolina Central (NCCU).

Meet The Staff
Mason will be joined on the bench by Mike Babul, Marquis Webb, Scott Smith, Scott Butterworth and Obie Nwadike in year two. Babul came to Wagner from Auburn, where he served as the Director of Basketball Operations for two years. The former UMass standout and Parade All-American also worked at UTEP, Drexel, Youngstown State and Memphis. Webb descended on Staten Island after spending a year at George Mason, where he helped the Patriots to 24 wins in 2011-2012. A 1,000-point scorer at Rutgers, he ranks 10th all-time in the Scarlet Knight record book with 305 career assists. Smith is in his fourth  season as an assistant coach with the Seahawks and the third overall as a member of the staff. Butterworth, who played collegiately at Colby-Sawyer University, begins his first season as the Director of Operations after working in the corporate world. Rounding out the staff is former NEC First Team selection and Central Connecticut standout Nwadike, who notched 1,265 points and 980 rebounds for the Blue Devils from 2003-2007 and most recently played professionally overseas.

Don't Get Defensive
Mason, Babul and Webb all garnered All-Conference Defensive Team honors during their collegiate careers. Mason was recognized as the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman and was a four-year member of the CAA All-Defensive Team. Babul was a three-year selection to the Atlantic 10 (A-10) All-Defensive Team. Webb was named to the 2006 Defensive All America team.

Wahler To Again Serve As Official Voice Of Wagner Basketball
Mason announced that WFAN Update Anchor and News 12 New Jersey Sports Anchor/Reporter Joey Wahler will return for his second season as the official voice of all Seahawk broadcasts for the 2012-2013 season. During the home portion of the schedule, Wahler will broadcast all 10 home games that are slated to be streamed via the Northeast Conference's (NEC) Front Row Platform.

Up Next
Wagner returns home to host Chestnut Hill on Tuesday, November 12 at 7:00 pm in the Seahawks' home opener.

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