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Staten Island, NY - Wagner (4-4) will be looking for its third-straight victory against Lafayette (1-5) out of the Patriot League tonight at 7:00 pm in the friendly confines of the Spiro Sports Center. The non-conference tilt will be streamed for free via NEC Front Row starting at 6:50 pm.

Today's Top Storylines
#1 - Wagner will look to get back in the victory column against Lafayette after dropping its final two games of the Gulf Coast Showcase.

#2 - After playing six-straight seasons, the teams resume their series following a one-year hiatus.

#3 - The Seahawks will look to improve to a perfect 3-0 at home and are 25-6 at the Spiro Sports Center since the start of 2011-2012.

Quick Hits
* Wagner will be looking for its third-straight victory against Lafayette tonight at 7:00 pm in the friendly confines of the Spiro Sports Center.

* All-time, the Seahawks are just 1-2 against the Leopards at home.

* The last time the teams met was on November 19, 2011 with the Green & White posting a wire-to-wire 71-65 victory as senior Latif Rivers scored a team-best 19 points.

* Rivers hit the go-ahead basket in the teams' last meeting at the Spiro Sports Center, a three pointer that propelled Wagner to a thrilling 63-58 win on November 12, 2010.

* In that game, Rivers scored a team-high matching 18 points and over two games against the Leopards is averaging 18.5 points on 52.2 percent (12-of-23) shooting, including 50.0 percent (6-of-12) from long range.

* Wagner is 16-9, all-time, against Patriot League competition and 41-37 against current members, including 32-29 since moving to Division I (1976-1977).

* The Seahawks have won three of their last five games against the Patriot League since the 2010-2011 season with the lone losses coming to Lehigh.

* Junior Marcus Burton scored a team-best 17 points in Wagner's 94-76 loss to UIC, marking the second time this season the North Carolina native has paced the Seahawks in scoring. Burton, who is averaging 11.0 points (20th NEC) per game off the bench, has converted all 17 of his free throws this year and has made good on 27-of-28 dating back to last season.

* Wagner turned the ball over just four times against the Flames, representing the Seahawks' fewest miscues in a game since also turning it over four times in a 63-60 victory over Monmouth in the semifinals of the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament on March 6, 2005.

* The Green & White shot a blistering 81.8 percent (54-of-66) from the line in Florida and lead the NEC from the line with a 72.6 percent (135-of-186) conversion rate.

* DYK? Wagner has not led in any of its four losses this season.

* Over the last three years, the Seahawks are 13-5 following a loss and has dropped three-straight games on just one occasion.

* Against St. Bonaventure, junior Mario Moody registered a career-high matching 19 points while notching double-figures in scoring for the 13th time in his career.

* Moody's outing against the Bonnies matched his career-high set on a pair of occasions against LIU Brooklyn a year ago. He has now notched double-figures in four of his last five games and is averaging 10.4 points during that time on 60.0 percent (21-of-35) shooting.

* This season, the Wagner backcourt has accounted for 67.7 percent (398-of-588) of the team's offense while posting 22 of the Seahawks' 27 double-digit performances.

* The Seahawk frontcourt has registered three double-figure performances in the last two games after recording just two over the first six games of the season.

* Wagner's senior class has registered 61 wins since descending on Grymes Hill and has accounted for 50.2 percent (295-of-588) of the team's offense this year.

* Rivers has now notched double-figures in scoring in seven of his eight games this and ranks among the league leaders in scoring (14.9 ppg, 8th), field goal percentage (.488, 7th) and 3-point percentage (.433, 9th). Additionally, the Green & White is 19-9, all-time, when Rivers paces the squad in scoring.

* Rivers (1,247) is just 13 points behind Jamal Smith for 20th on the all-time Wagner scoring list while his 169 three pointers and 306 free throws ranks ninth all-time.

* Defensively, Naofall Folahan turned in one of the finest performances of his career against Stetson. The senior pivot blocked a personal-best matching seven shots, just one off of Miladin Mutavdzic 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 1.9 rejections per game while also pulling down a team-best 6.3 rebounds (5th NEC) per game and with 156 blocks is just 20 off of Frantz Pierre-Louis' school-record total of 176.

* Moody also ranks among the league leaders in rebounding (5.5, 9th) and blocks (1.5, 4th) while chipping in with 8.6 points per game.

* Two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Year Kenneth Ortiz was recently named as the 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 (12.5 ppg) (12th NEC), rebounding (4.1 rpg) (19th), assists (4.3 apg) (t-5th) and steals (1.4 spg) (8th) while posting a 1.55 assist/turnover ratio (7th NEC).

* Ortiz has notched over 700 points, 300 rebounds and 300 assists in three years with the Seahawks.

* Thanks to the aforementioned trio of Folahan, Moody and Ortiz, the Green & White is off to a fantastic start on the defensive end of the court, leading the NEC in rebounding offense (37.9/game),  blocked shots (4.9/game) and defensive rebounds (27.1/game) while also ranking second in field goal percentage defense (.407), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.265) and rebounding margin (+0.0).

* 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 295 days old, is the youngest Division I head coach as well as the lone head man under the age of 30. He is 23-16 in his short time on Grymes Hill

* In 2012-2013, Mason led Wagner to 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.

* Since Mason took over as coach last season, the Seahawks have limited their opposition to 40 percent or less shooting in 22 of its 39 games.

* Over the last three years, Wagner is 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.

* The Seahawks are also now 36-2 during that time when limiting teams to less than 70 points.

* Wagner is 24-12 over the last three years in games decided by 10 points or less or in overtime.

* By The Numbers (40) ... Also, the Seahawks are 38-8 when shooting 40 percent or higher and 29-8 when limiting opposing teams to 40 percent or less shooting.

* Since the start of the 2011-2012 season, Wagner, which was picked to win the 2014 NEC Championship by the league's coaches, is 48-22, including 27-9 during conference play and 19-11 in non-conference action.

* The Seahawks are 123-67 (.647), all-time, at the renovated Spiro Sports Center (since 1999).

SCOUTING LAFAYETTE
Under 19th-year head coach Fran O'Hanlon, Lafayette enters tonight's game with a deceiving 1-5 record as the Leopards have dropped three games by a grand total of seven points. Lafayette is averaging 77.2 points per game, led by junior Seth Hinrichs' team-best 22.3 ppg average.

MASON AGAINST THE LEOPARDS
As a player at Drexel, Mason went 1-1 against O'Hanlon.

GULF COAST SHOWCASE RECAP
Wagner defeated Stetson by an 81-64 count, before dropping a pair of decisions to St. Bonaventure and UIC en route to finishing fourth at the Gulf Coast Showcase.

LONG TIME COMING
The Seahawks victory over the Hatters was their first in almost 20 years in the Sunshine State. Previously, the Green & White bested the University of Miami by a 57-55 score on December 29, 1993.

VERMONT RECAP
Wagner picked up one of its finest wins in the last few years by a 68-61 count against Vermont before leaving for Florida. The Seahawks used a 13-5 game-ending run to overcoming a one-point deficit with 5:29 remaining. The rally marked just the second time in 18 games over the last three years that the Green & White won a game when trailing with five minutes to play.

NO THREE FOR YOU
Defensively, Wagner held Vermont without a three pointer, marking the second time this season the Seahawks have held the opposition without a triple.

THE LAST TIME ...
Wagner held two different opponents without a three pointer was in 2011-2012 when Hofstra and FDU failed to convert at least one triple.

ON A NATIONAL LEVEL
Thanks to their defensive performances against Vermont and St. John's, the Seahawks are second in the NEC and 25th nationally in three-point defense (.265).

SUPERSUB
Senior Orlando Parker has also been outstanding off the bench this season, averaging 7.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

HARRIS QUIETLY SETTING IN
Along with the aforementioned guards, junior Jay Harris also ranks among the NEC scoring leaders with 8.9 points per game (30th NEC) and is 10th with 1.9 triples per game and 15th with a 36.1 percent conversion rate from long range.

MASON ANNOUNCES CLASS OF 2018
Mason recently announced the signings of Joseph Cooper (Wilmington, DE / Concord), Aaren Edmead (Deer Park, NY / Deer Park) and Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD / DeMatha Catholic) to National Letters of Intent. Cooper will be playing his senior season at Concord High School averaging 13.0 points, 4.0 steals, 3.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game as a junior at the Tatnall School. As a junior, Edmead averaged 14 points per game while helping lead Deer Park to a 17-4 record, a league championship and the Suffolk Class AA title game. Henson averaged 10.7 points while draining 48 three-pointers for DeMatha Catholic as a junior and is the top returning scorer for the Stags.

WAGNER PICKED TO REIGN SUPREME
For the first time in 21 years Wagner was picked in the annual NEC Coaches Poll to stand atop the summit at the end of the season as The Seahawks 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.

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.

SENIORS PACE 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 61-39, including 36-18 during league play, since the foursome arrived 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.

LOOKING TO MAKE HISTORY
The ball-hawking Ortiz ranked third in the NEC with 2.0 steals per game last 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.

BLOCK PARTY
Folahan, who is just 20 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.

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 among the Scarlet Knight all-time leaders with 305 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.

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 will start a four-game road trip at Penn on Saturday, December 7 at 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 Bashir Mason">@BashirMason for news on the second-year coach.