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Moon Township, PA - Wagner (13-9; 7-4 NEC) hits the road for a crucial match-up on with perennial conference power Robert Morris (16-8; 8-3) on Saturday, February 9 at 7:00 pm in the teams' lone meeting of the regular season. The game will not be available as part of the
NEC Front Row platform and can be accessed for a nominal fee by clicking on the link at the top of the page.
QUICK HITS
* The Seahawks will be looking for a measure of revenge as they have been knocked out of the conference tournament in each of the last two years by the Colonials.
* Both teams enter on a high note after the Green & White posted a 74-65 victory Mount St. Mary's while RMU grinded out a 60-48 win over Saint Francis U.
* Robert Morris holds a 36-24 lead in the all-time series, including posting a 23-7 mark when playing at home, and has claimed eight of the last 11 meetings.
* Wagner will be looking to snap a seven-game losing streak in Moon Township, having last won by a 69-65 count on March 3, 2005.
* During their aforementioned seven-game skid, the Seahawks have lost by an average of 15.3 points per game, with four of those defeats have come by 10 points or less, including three by five or less.
* The last time Wagner played in the Pittsburgh area, the Seahawks defeated No. 15 Pitt by a 59-54 count on December 23, 2011.
* Wagner was 159th in the most recent RPI rankings while Robert Morris checks in at No. 141. Bryant is ahead of both schools at No. 138.
*
Bashir Mason enters today's game as the youngest head coach in America at 28 years and 364 days old while RMU's Andy Toole is the sixth youngest at 31 years and 150 days.
* Besides Mason and Toole, the NEC also boasts two other coaches that are among the 15th-youngest in the nation in the Mount's Jamion Christian (5th, 30 years and 297 days) and Saint Francis University's Rob Krimmel (15th, 35 years, 136 days).
* Mason, who is the nation's lone coach under the age of 30, improved to 4-0 against first-year NEC coaches in Wagner' 74-65 victory over Mount St. Mary's while matching former mentor
Dan Hurley and
Mike Deane for the most wins (13) by a Seahawk rookie coach in the school's Division I era (since 1976-1977).
* Wagner defeated the Mount on Thursday in large part to outscoring the visitors by a 42-26 count in the paint. Over two wins against the Mountaineers, 40 of the Seahawks' 43 field goals came inside the paint, en route to notching a mind-blowing 80 points in the paint.
* Leading the way in the Green & White's win over the Mount was the play of senior
Jonathon Williams and junior
Latif Rivers, as the pair combined for 36 points, on 11-of-20 shooting. Williams paced all players with 19 points and nine rebounds while Rivers scored 17 points on just seven shots. In the teams' prior meeting, the players combined for just 13 points, on 5-of-14 shooting as both players were held under double-figures for the first time as teammates.
* This season, Williams has led Wagner in scoring 11 times and on the glass on 12 occasions, both of which are team-highs. Over 48 career games, the Golden State native has paced the squad in scoring 22 times and in rebounding on 24 occasions.
* Williams also helped close out the Mount with six-straight free throws over the final five minutes and has now made good on 22-of-24 (.917) over the final five minutes of games decided by 10 points or less or in overtime.
* Over his last two games, Rivers is averaging 23.0 points per game while shooting 56.5 percent (13-for-23) from the floor and 63.6 percent (7-for-11) from long range during that time.
* Rivers has now notched double-figures in scoring over each of his last four games while averaging 17.5 points per game on 54.8 percent shooting (23-for-42) from the floor, including 57.1 percent (12-for-21) from deep. Over his first nine games this year, he notched double-figures on just four occasions, averaging 9.8 points per game while shooting 34.1 percent from both the field (29-for-85) and 34.1 percent from long range (14-for-41).
* In his 74-game career, Rivers has recorded double-digits in scoring 54 times - with the Seahawks going 35-19 during that time - and is 37th all-time in school history, including 23rd in the D-1 era (since 1976-1977), with 1,026 markers. With three more points, Rivers will match
Charlie Harreus (1,029) for 36th place.
* Senior
Josh Thompson rounded out the double-figure scorers against the Mountaineers with a season-high 10 points to go along with a season-best eight rebounds. Thompson's performance marked his most points and rebounds since going for 11 points and 10 rebounds against Saint Francis U on February 4, 2012 - a span of 29 games.
* Helping facilitate the Seahawks' big performance was Ortiz, who handed out seven assists while marking the fifth time this year that the Garden State native has notched at least seven in a game.
* Junior
Kenneth Ortiz failed to score after halftime for the first time this year, scoring all eight of his points in the first half. Thus far, Ortiz is averaging 6.5 points per game on 48.4 percent shooting in the second half, compared with just 4.2 points per game on 39.2 percent shooting in the first half.
* Ortiz has now recorded over 500 points, 200 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals during his time on Grymes Hill.
* With its most recent victory, Wagner improved to 10-5 in games decided by 10 points or less or in overtime and is 20-9 over the last two years.
* The Seahawks also won for the 30th straight time when leading or tied with five minutes to play and is 12-0 this year and 37-1 over the last two seasons.
* By virtue of its 74-point performance against the Mount, the Green & White also moved to a perfect 5-0 this season when notching at least 70 and is 24-1 over the last two years when hitting the threshold.
* Wagner also improved to 10-3 over the last two years following a loss, while snapping a four-game losing streak when playing before a televised audience. The Seahawks will host LIU Brooklyn on
ESPNU on Sunday, February 24 at 8:00 pm.
* Williams ranks among the league and national leaders in scoring (14.6 ppg) (9th NEC/232nd NCAA), rebounding (7.1 rpg) (8th NEC/180th NCAA), field goal percentage (.500) (9th NEC/74th NCAA) and free throw percentage (.813) (4th NEC/119th NCAA).
* Ortiz is 70th nationally in both assists (4.9 apg) (4th NEC) and steals (2.0 spg) (3rd NEC).
* Junior
Naofall Folahan continues to lead the NEC with 1.7 blocks per game while sophomore
Mario Moody ranks third with 1.5 blocks per game. Additionally, the duo ranks 99th and 131st on a national level.
* Thanks to the strong post play of Folahan, Moody and junior
Orlando Parker the Seahawks continue to lead the league and rank among the national leaders in scoring defense (63.8) (109th NCAA), field goal percentage defense (.397) (49th NCAA) and blocks (5.0) (39th NCAA). Additionally, the Green & White is among the top-100 in rebounding margin (+4.4) (63rd NCAA) and steals per game (8.3) (60th NCAA).
* The Green & White is 8-0 this year and 18-0 over the last two seasons when limiting teams to 60 points or less and 11-1 and 22-5 in the same time frames when holding teams to less than 40 percent shooting.
* Today's game is one of just two on the docket - along with the Mount's game at Saint Francis U - for the NEC as three games have been pushed to Sunday due to winter storm Nemo.
* Wagner will be attempting to post its fifth-straight win the state of Pennsylvania, having last lost in the state to Robert Morris on March 5, 2011 in the NEC Quarterfinals.
TIGHT AT THE TOP
More than halfway through conference play, there are five teams within two games of each other in the ultra-competitive NEC. Bryant is in first place with an 9-2 record while Robert Morris is second at 8-3. Wagner is one of three teams tied for third at 7-4. Additionally, Central Connecticut and Quinnipiac are lurking in sixth place at 6-5.
ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS
The Colonials have been the class of the NEC over the last five years and are again having a stellar season at 16-8 and 8-3 in the league. RMU boasts a balanced attack that features three players in double-figures and six averaging between 12.9 and 8.6 points per game. Junior guard Karvel Anderson is averaging a team-leading 12.9 points per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 43.2 percent from long range. Fifth-year senior guard Velton Jones directs the offense and is averaging 11.3 points and 5.1 assists per game. Sophomore forward Lucky Jones rounds out the double-digit scorers at 11.1 points per game while pulling down 5.9 rebounds per game.
LAST TIME VS. RMU
In a game that featured a combined 59 fouls and 80 free throws, Robert Morris shot 45.5 percent after halftime while posting a +13 margin on the glass en route to a 71-64 win over Wagner in the conference tournament at the Spiro Sports Center on March 4, 2012. The Colonials erased an early eight-point Seahawk lead thanks to a game-high 25 points from Velton Jones as the First Team All-NEC pick converted on 5-of-10 from the floor and 14-of-16 from the line.
AGAINST THE COLONIALS ...
Rivers is averaging 16.8 points per game over five games against Robert Morris while shooting a blistering 89.8 percent (44-for-49) from the line.
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.
STREAK SNAPPED
The Green & White's loss to the Bobcats snapped a 10-game Wagner winning streak when Rivers hit for at least 20 points, dating back to the guard's freshman campaign. All-time, the Seahawks are now 10-2 when Rivers goes for at least 20 as well as 16-7 when the Garden State native paces the team in scoring.
RIVERS LIGHTS UP QUINNIPIAC
Thanks to his 29-point performance, Rivers is now averaging 20.3 points per game over four career match-ups with QU while shooting 65.2 percent (15-for-23) from long range during that time.
HOME COOKING
The Green & White is 7-2 at home this season and 19-5 in the Spiro Sports Center over the last two season, including posting a 13-4 record against conference opposition.
AT THE SPIRO
Wagner has posted an all-time record of 118-66 (.641) in the renovated Spiro Sports Center since it opened in February of 1999.
THE CLOSER
Williams is shooting 57.6 percent (19-for-33) from the field and 90.0 percent (27-for-30) from the line over the last five minutes of the second half this year.
DOMINATING THE GLASS
Thanks to the play of Williams (7.1 rpg) (8th NEC), Moody (5.8 rpg) (t-13th NEC) and Parker (4.6 rpg) (t-18th NEC), Wagner ranks second in the NEC with a +4.4 rebounding margin and is 12-4 when winning the battle of the boards this season. During league play, the Seahawks have posted a double-figure rebounding edge in five of their 11 conference tilts.
MOVING ON UP
Folahan recorded his 130th career block against the Sacred Heart, leaving him just five behind
Miladin Mutavdzic for second place on the all-time Green & White rankings.
TALE OF TWO HALVES
Wagner is averaging 34.0 points per game in the second half on 44.6 percent shooting from the floor, compared to just 27.0 points per game in the first half on 38.8 percent shooting. Leading the way after halftime has been the duo of Ortiz and Williams, as the pair is averaging 14.1 points per game while shooting 51.1 percent (95-for-186) from the floor and 72.6 percent (90-for-124) from the line.
BROOKLYN STATE OF MIND
Former Seahawk head coach P.J. Carlesimo is currently 14-6 since being named as the interim coach of the Brooklyn Nets. Carlesimo ushered the Wagner program to the Division I level in 1976-1977 and was the head coach for six seasons.
ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY
The Seahawks are 3-4 when playing on February 9th in the D-1 era (since 1976-1977).
UP NEXT
Wagner will host Central Connecticut on Thursday, February 14 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 @bashirmason to follow the Seahawks' first-year head coach.
Photography by Dave Saffran
