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Staten Island, NY - No. 2 Wagner opens up play in the 33rd annual Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament vs. No. 7 Central Connecticut in the friendly confines of the Spiro Sports Center on Thursday, March 6 at 7:00 pm. The game will be streamed free of charge through
NEC Front Row with
WFAN Update Anchor Joey Wahler providing the call.
QUICK HITS
* The teams will square off in the quarterfinal round for the second-straight year with the winner moving to the semifinal round, which will be contested on Saturday, March 9th at either 12:00 pm or 2:30 pm.
* Each school was victorious in its respective home game in the season series, with the Blue Devils winning 73-66 in New Britain and the Seahawks posting an 101-82 victory in Staten Island.
* Wagner has won five its last six games beginning with its aforementioned win over Central Connecticut. During that time the offense is averaging 85.0 points per game on 51.4 percent shooting from the floor.
* Leading the way during the recent six-game surge has been senior
Jonathon Williams, who is averaging 17.3 points per game while shooting 65.6 percent (40-of-61) from the field.
* Wagner is the No. 2 seed for the second-straight year and the fifth time in program history.
* It is also the third time in the last six years that the Seahawks are the No. 2 seed. The last two times, the Green & White lost to the No. 3 seed in the semifinals.
* All-time, Wagner is 4-4 when playing at No. 2. Once before have the Seahawks reached the title game as the No. 2 seed (1993).
* The Green & White is 16-24, all-time, in 25 trips to the NEC Tournament, winning it once in 2003.
* If Wagner was to advance to the NEC Title game it would be played on March 12, 2013, on the 10th anniversary of the school's only NEC Basketball Championship.
* The Seahawks are 11-12, all-time, during quarterfinal action.
* The Green & White is 9-6, all-time, in NEC Playoff games in Staten Island, including posting a 5-5 record in the renovated Spiro Sports Center (since 1998-1999).
* This season also marks the second time ever that both Robert Morris and Wagner were the top two seeds, having last happened in 2008. Both teams lost in the semifinal round that year.
* No. 2 seeds have won eight league titles while going 50-23, all-time, in the history of the conference tournament. Robert Morris was the last No. 2 seed to win it all, doing so in 2010.
* The Seahawks would be the sixth different current NEC institution to win the championship as a No. 2 seed if they were to claim the title.
* In quarterfinal games, No. 2 seeds are an impressive 26-5 and have won eighth-straight opening-round games by an average of 15.5 points per game with none of the games being decided by less than eight points.
* The last time a No. 2 seed lost an opening round game was in 2004 when No. 7 CCSU bested No. 2 St. Francis Brooklyn by an 81-68 score.
* In 2002, the Green & White dropped its opening round quarterfinal game as the No. 2 seed to Quinnipiac.
* Junior
Kenneth Ortiz was named as the NEC's Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight year while becoming the fifth Wagner player to win the award since its inception for the 1999-2000 season. Click
HERE for the entire release and
HERE for the All-NEC video.
* Ortiz finished third in the NEC with 2.0 steals per game while helping anchor a Seahawk defense that ranks first in the league in field goal percentage defense (.408) and second in scoring defense (66.7).
* Senior
Jonathon Williams was voted Second Team All-NEC while Ortiz joined him as a member of the Third Team. Williams leads the Seahawks and ranks among the league leaders in scoring (15.2 ppg, 7th NEC), rebounding (6.6 rpg, 9th NEC), field goal percentage (.535, 6th NEC) and free throw percentage (.789, 9th NEC). Ortiz, meanwhile, was 18th in the NEC in scoring (12.0 ppg) and fourth with 5.2 assists per game to go along with his aforementioned 2.0 steals per game.
* Central Connecticut, which has now qualified for 15-straight NEC Tournaments, is 15-11, all-time in the tourney, having won the Championship in 2000, 2002 and 2007.
* The Blue Devils are 6-3, all-time, in tournament games in the Spiro Sports Center. Eight of the games were played in a neutral site setting with the Nutmeg State institution going 6-2.
* CCSU has never won a true road game in its 14 years of NEC Tournament play, having gone 0-7 during that time. Additionally, since winning their last of their three league titles in 2007, the Blue Devils are 1-5 in the NEC Tourney.
* In last year's opening round match-up between the teams, Ortiz paced five double-figure scorers with 16 points, six assists and five rebounds as the Green & White built up a 20-point lead midway through the second half and never looked back in an 87-77 triumph.
* In the teams' most recent match-up, Wagner shot a season-high 61.4 percent from the floor, including 60.0 percent from long range. The Seahawks scored a season-best 52 first-half points en route to cracking the century mark for the first time in exactly five years.
* Sophomore
Marcus Burton, who missed the teams' first match-up, led five double-figure scorers with a team and career-high 23 points, on 6-of-9 shooting, while adding a personal-best seven assists, against no turnovers.
* Thanks to Burton's big game, the Green & White reserves scored a season-high 44 points, on 15-of-23 shooting, while grabbing half the team's 40 rebounds.
* This season, Ortiz averaged 16.0 points and 6.5 assists per game over two games against CCSU and has notched averages of 13.5 points, 5.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game over five career match-ups.
* At home, Wagner has won seven of its last 10 games with Central Connecticut and is 11-5, all-time, at home against the Blue Devils.
* CCSU's Kyle Vinales averaged 36.0 points per game over two meetings with the Seahawks this season while shooting 48.8 percent (20-of-41) from the field, 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from long range and 74.1 percent (20-of-27) from the line. The Michigan native scored a Spiro Sports Center record 42 points while leading the NEC in scoring this season (21.6 ppg) and is averaging 23.6 points per game over five career match-ups with the Green & White.
*
Bashir Mason, the youngest coach in America at 29 years and 23 days, finished the regular season with 18 wins, including 12 NEC victories. Both totals are school-records for a first-year coach at Wagner.
* The Seahawks' 43 overall wins and 27 NEC victories over the last two years are also school-records.
* Wagner is the league's second-highest ranked team according to the RPI rankings at No. 120. Robert Morris first at No. 114 with CCSU checking in at No. 195.
* The Seahawks continue to lead the NEC and rank among the national leaders in blocks (5.3) (21st NCAA) and field goal percentage defense (.408) (80th NCAA), while also placing among the top-100 in steals (8.2) (48th NCAA) and rebounding margin (+3.6) (75th NCAA).
* Wagner's No. 21 national ranking in blocked shots (5.1/game) has been fueled by a school-record 153 rejections, which have come primarily from the trio of Folahan (1.5 bpg) (2nd NEC/119th NCAA), sophomore
Mario Moody (1.3 bpg) (4th NEC/161st NCAA) and Parker (0.8 bpg) (11th NEC).
* Since moving up to the Division I ranks in 1976-1977, the Seahawks are just 19-31, all-time, in the month of March.
CLOSE GAMES
Wagner is an impressive 12-7 in games decided by 10 points or less or in overtime this year and 22-11 over the last two seasons.
WILLIAMS SHOULDERS THE LOAD
This season, Williams has paced Wagner in scoring on 15 times while hitting for double-figures on 21 occasions - both of which leads the team.
20/20 VISION
Williams scored 21 points and the Seahawks' win over FDU and 21 in the victory over Monmouth and has now hit for at least 20 points six times this season and 10 times over his two-year career.
BURTON STEPPING UP
Burton has been outstanding over his last six games, averaging 13.8 points per game while notching double-figures in scoring five times. He has also handed out 19 assists, against just four turnovers.
LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN
Ortiz has dished out at least seven assists in nine games this season with Wagner going 8-1 during that time.
MOVING ON UP
With one more block against Monmouth, Folahan now has 138 for his career and is just 38 behind Frantz Pierre-Louis for the top spot in school history.
TRY TO KEEP UP
The Seahawks have won 22 straight games when scoring at least 80 points and are a perfect 7-0 this year.
FOR STARTERS
Wagner has used 11 different starting line-ups this season.
THAT'S A LOT OF GAMES
Senior
Josh Thompson matched former teammate
Jamal Smith for third place in school history when he played in his 119th career game this past Saturday. With his inclusion in tonight's game, Thompson will have matched Justin Drummond for the second-most games played in school history.
Joey Mundweiler holds the school-record with 123 games.
DEFENSIVE STATE OF MIND
The Seahawks are 12-2 this season and 31-2 over the last two years when limiting opponents to less than 70 points.
CLOSING IT OUT
Wagner has won 34 straight games dating back to last year when leading with five minutes to play and is a perfect 16-0 this season. A big reason for this dominance is Williams, who is shooting a blistering 90.2 percent from the line over the final five minutes of games this season.
DOUBLE DOWN
Williams recorded his second double-double of the year and the fourth of his career with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds in the Seahawks' 67-57 victory at Monmouth.
CAN'T HOLD 'EM DOWN
Wagner erased a season-high 13-point deficit in its win over LIU Brooklyn. It was the Seahawks' largest comeback since overcoming a 19-point Mount lead in an 83-75 victory back on February 7, 2008.
BLOCK PARTY
Against Bryant, eight of the nine Green & White players that saw action recorded at least one rejection in the game as the Seahawks notched a NEC-best matching 11 rejections. The 11 blocks were the most by a Wagner team since posting 11 in a 72-62 victory over Saint Francis U on February 13, 1999.
RESERVES STEP UP
This season, the Seahawks' second unit is outscoring their counterparts by 4.0 points per game and outrebounding them by 4.2 rebounds each time out, highlighted by a season-high 44 points, on 65.2 percent shooting (15-for-23), with 20 rebounds in a win over Central Connecticut.
OFFENSE COMES ALIVE
Wagner is 9-3 over its last 12 games thanks to a red-hot offense that is averaging 79.1 points per game while shooting 49.5 percent from the floor and 37.0 percent from long range.
NON CONFERENCE/NEC SPLITS
During NEC play, Wagner averaged 74.4 points per game on 47.3 percent shooting, including 35.3 percent from long range. During non-conference action, the Seahawks notched just 58.4 points per game on 38.2 percent shooting, including 27.6 percent from deep.
RED-HOT RIVERS
Junior
Latif Rivers is averaging 16.6 points per game over his last nine games while shooting 49.5 percent (49-for-99) from the field and 50.0 percent (24-for-48) from long range. Over his first nine games of the season, he averaged just 9.8 points per game on 34.1 percent shooting from the field and long range.
HOME SWEET HOME
Wagner finished up the regular season with a 10-2 mark at home, including posting a 7-2 record during league play, and is 121-67 (.644) at the Spiro Sports Center since its opening in February of 1999.
WE'RE HALFWAY THERE
The Seahawks are a perfect 10-0 when leading at halftime this season and 31-2 over the last two years.
CLOSING IT OUT
The trio of Williams, Ortiz and Rivers have accounted for 67.7 percent of the Green & White's scoring (246/386) in the final five minutes of games this season.
FIRST-YEAR PHENOM
Mason is 6-0 this season against fellow first-year coaches, including going 5-0 during league play.
ANDERSON HEATING UP
Freshman
Dwaun Anderson has notched a career-high nine points in three of his last four times out and is averaging 7.4 points per game on 46.9 percent (23-of-49) shooting. Against LIU Brooklyn, Anderson had nine points on a career-best three triples after recording nine with a career-high seven rebounds at St. Francis Brooklyn. He then capped the regular season with nine points at Monmouth.
ORTIZ ON FIRE
Over his last six games, Ortiz is averaging 12.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game while posting a suburb 2.0 assist-turnover ratio.
DID YOU KNOW?
Wagner's 43 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.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
With their 101 points in a win over the Blue Devils, the Seahawks cracked the 100-point plateau for the first time since besting Sacred Heart in a double-overtime thriller on February 14, 2008.
ADDITIONALLY ...
Wagner's 61.4 percent conversion rate from the field against CCSU was the Seahawks' best performance from the field since converting 64.7 percent in an 89-70 win over Saint Francis U on January 15, 2005.
THE LAST TIME ...
The Green & White recorded 100 points in a regulation game was in a 105-86 win over UMES.
DID YOU KNOW PART II?
Wagner has converted on at least 50.0 percent of its shots from the field in five of its last seven games after doing so just three times in the first 22 games.
FIRST HALF FURY
The Seahawks scored a season-high 52 first-half points against Central Connecticut while shooting a season-best 69.0 (20-for-29) from the field. The 52 points were also better than or matched the Green & White's scoring output in six games this season.
BURTON'S BIG GAME
Burton led the way against the Blue Devils with a career-high 23 points and seven assists, against no turnovers, over just 24 minutes. He also converted on 6-of-9 from the floor, 3-of-5 from deep and 8-of-9 from the line.
MASON TURNS ... 29
Head coach
Bashir Mason turned 29 on Monday, February 11th and with his victory over the 66-year-old Howie Dickenman of Central Connecticut, improved to 3-2 this season against senior citizens.
DURING LEAGUE PLAY ...
The trio of Williams (14.8 ppg), Rivers (13.8 ppg) and Ortiz (12.9 ppg) have combined for 49.3 percent (661/1340) of Wagner's scoring.
TALE OF TWO HALVES
The Green & White is averaging 36.7 points per game in the second half on 46.8 percent shooting from the floor, compared to just 29.6 points per game in the first half on 41.8 percent shooting.
BROOKLYN STATE OF MIND
Former Wagner head coach
P.J. Carlesimo is currently 20-12 since being named as the interim coach of the Brooklyn Nets. Carlesimo ushered the Seahawk program to the Division I level in 1976-1977 and was the head coach for six seasons.
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
