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LIU Brooklyn	Roster	Schedule	Notes
Wagner	Roster	Schedule	Notes

Staten Island, NY - No. 2 Wagner (19-11) hosts No. 3 LIU Brooklyn (18-13) on Saturday afternoon at 12:00 pm with a berth in the 2013 Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship game on the line. The game will be televised by MSG2 and Fox College Sports, and also can be seen on ESPN3, ESPN's online streaming platform. Those wishing to watch online may do so by clicking HERE. For the Seahawks' free audio stream click HERE.

QUICK HITS
* The Wagner College Alumni Association is holding a pre-game event in the VIP room tomorrow starting at 10:30 am.  Click HERE for more information and the registration link.

* The Seahawks will be looking to qualify for the finals for the fourth time in program history and the first time since 2005.

* Wagner is 3-8, all-time, during semifinal play in the NEC Tournament and has lost each of its last two appearances in 2012 and 2008.

* The Seahawks are 3-1, all-time, during NEC Tournament play against the Blackbirds, including posting a 2-0 record when the teams have met on Staten Island.

* The teams last met in the postseason on March 6, 2008 with the Green & White posting a 78-67 victory in a quarterfinal match-up.

* LIU Brooklyn leads the all-time series by a 54-40 count, but the series has been played to a 36-36 deadlock since Wagner ascended to the Division I ranks for the 1976-1977 season.

* Additionally, the teams have split 36 match-ups played on Staten Island during that time.

* The Seahawks are 9-6 when playing the Blackbirds in the renovated Spiro Sports Center thanks to a 94-92 win in the teams' last meeting on February 24th before a nationally televised ESPNU audience. Click HERE for the highlights from that game.

* Thanks to its 72-50 win over CCSU in the quarterfinal round, Wagner is now 17-24, all-time, in this its 26th trip to the NEC Tournament.

* The Seahawks' 55 rebounds was a season-high and the most recorded by the Green & White since pulling down 56 in a 100-92 double overtime victory over Sacred Heart back on February 14, 2008.

* Wagner is now 12-12, all-time, during NEC quarterfinal action.

* The Seahawks are 10-6, all-time, in NEC Playoff games in Staten Island, including posting a 6-5 record in the renovated Spiro Sports Center (since 1998-1999).

* In quarterfinal games, No. 2 seeds are now an impressive 27-5 and have won nine-straight opening-round games by an average of 16.2 points per game.

* All-time, Wagner is 5-4 in this its fifth appearance when playing at No. 2. Once before have the Seahawks reached the title game as the No. 2 seed (1993).

* It is also the third time in the last six years that the Green & White has been the No. 2 seed. The last two times, Wagner lost to the No. 3 seed in the semifinals.

* No. 2 seeds have won eight league titles while going 51-23, all-time, in the history of the conference tournament. Robert Morris (2010) was the last No. 2 seed to win it all.

* If the Seahawks were 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.

* With a victory, the Green & White would also post its second-straight 20-win season for the first time in school history as well as just the seventh time in this the 92nd year of intercollegiate basketball, including the fifth time in 37 years of playing basketball at the Division I level.

* Bashir Mason's 19 overall and 12 NEC victories are the most by a first-year coach in school history. Mason, who is the nation's youngest head coach at 29 years and 27 days, was listed as a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award, which is awarded to the nation's top first-year coach. Click HERE for that release.

* Mason will be opposing fellow first-year coach Jack Perri in today's game. This season, Mason is 6-0 against first-year coaches, including 5-0 against first-year NEC coaches.

* Perri and Mount St. Mary's coach Jamion Christian along with Mason are finalists for the aforementioned Joe B. Hall award.

* Wagner's 44 overall wins and 27 NEC victories over the last two years are also school-records.

* The Seahawks are the league's second-highest ranked team according to the RPI rankings at No. 120. Robert Morris first at No. 114 with LIU Brooklyn checking in at No. 198.

* In the aforemetioned victory over CCSU, senior Jonathon Williams led the Green & White with a team-high 20 points while hitting for at least 20 for the third-straight game and the team-best seventh time this year. Over his last three games, Golden State native is averaging a team-best 20.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

* When Williams scores at least 20 points, Wagner is 6-1 this season and 10-1 over his two years on Grymes Hill. Additionally, Williams has paced the team in scoring a team-best for the team-best 16th time this season and for the 27th time in 56 career games

* Sophomore Marcus Burton also had a big game with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists and averaged 19.0 points and 6.0 assists per game, on 55.6 percent (10-of-18) shooting, including 60.0 percent (6-of-10) from long range, over two games with the Blue Devils this season. He has hit for double-figures in six of his last seven games, averaging 14.0 points and 3.4 assists per game during that time.

* Two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Year junior Kenneth Ortiz handed out seven assists with eight points and three steals against CCSU as the Seahawks are 9-1 this season when Ortiz hands out at least seven helpers.

* Wagner won for the 22nd-straight time when limited teams to less than 60 points and is 10-0 this season and 20-0 over the last two years.

* The Seahawks are now 11-2 at the Spiro Sports Center this season and 23-5 over the last two years while holding an all-time record of 121-66 (.647) at the Spiro (since 1999).

* Wagner also improved to 11-0 when leading at intermission and is 32-2 over the last two years when heading into the break with a lead.

* The Seahawks, which won the last meeting with the Blackbirds 94-92 in thrilling fashion, will be looking to record three wins over the visitors in a season for the first time in school history. The Green & White became the first team to sweep the regular season series from LIU Brooklyn in NEC play since the 2008-2009 season.

* In the teams' most recent game, Ortiz hit the game-winning shot with just 0.8 seconds remaining to cap a solid nine-assist, eight-point, six-rebound, three-steal performance. Williams also added 20, but the star of the game was sophomore Mario Moody, who recorded a career-best matching 19 points, on 7-of-10 shooting, with six rebounds.

* Both of Moody's career-high 19 point performances have come this season against LIU Brooklyn as the Garden State native is averaging 19.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game over two contests against the Blackbirds while shooting 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from the field and 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from the line. For his career, Moody is averaging 16.7 points and 8.3 rebounds over three games against LIU Brooklyn.

* Did you know that three of Moody's 10 career double-digit scoring performances have come against the Blackbirds?

* This season, Wagner shot 57.1 percent (64-for-112) from the floor against LIU Brooklyn. The Seahawks also shot a blistering 65.4 percent (17-of-26) from long range, but have made good on just 30.3 percent (111-of-366) from deep in their other 28 games. Ortiz helped facilitate the offense to the tune of 10.0 assists per game while adding 13.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals each time out.

* Junior Latif Rivers added 16.0 points per game against the Blackbirds and closed out the first meeting with four free throws in the final minute to help the Green & White pull out the win. Rivers is 30th in school history with 1,115 career points, ranking him 30th, including 19th in the program's Division I history (since 1976-1977).

* Today's game is being played on the 20th anniversary of Wagner's heartbreaking 65-64 loss to Rider and the fifth anniversary of the Seahawks' 55-49 semifinal loss to SHU.

* Wagner continue to lead the NEC and rank among the national leaders in blocks (5.4) (17th NCAA) and field goal percentage defense (.402) (59th NCAA), while also placing among the top-100 in steals (8.1) (51st NCAA) and rebounding margin (+4.0) (65th NCAA).

INTERESTING
This season marks just the second time that both Robert Morris and Wagner were the top two seeds for the NEC Tournament, last happening in the 2007-2008 season.

CLOSE GAMES
The Seahawks are 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.

MOVING ON UP
With three more blocks against Central Connecticut, junior Naofall Folahan now has 141 for his career and is just 35 behind Frantz Pierre-Louis for the top spot in school history.

BLOCK PARTY
The Green & White's school-record 161 blocks and counting and their NEC-leading total of 5.3 per game have come primarily from the trio of Folahan (1.6 bpg) (1st NEC/119th NCAA), Moody (1.3 bpg) (4th NEC/161st NCAA) and junior Orlando Parker (0.8 bpg) (11th NEC).

TWO IN A ROW
Ortiz earned his second NEC Defensive Player of the Year citation and is 19th in the league in scoring (11.9 ppg), fourth in assists (5.2 apg) and third in steals (2.0 spg). He has helped to anchor a defense that leads the league in field goal percentage defense (.402) and second in scoring defense (66.2 ppg).

WILLIAMS, ORTIZ EARN ALL-NEC RECOGNITION
Thanks to his team-leading 15.3 points (7th NEC) and 6.5 rebounds (9th NEC) per game, Williams garnered Second Team All-NEC honors. The Golden State native also ranks among the league leaders in field goal percentage (.535) (6th NEC) and free throw percentage (.788) (10th NEC). Ortiz, meanwhile, notched All-NEC Third Team accolades thanks to his aforementioned stellar numbers.

THE IDES OF MARCH
Wagner is 20-31 in the month of March since moving up to the Division I ranks for the 1976-1977 season. Additionally, the Seahawks are 1-3, all-time, when playing on March 9th.

TRY TO KEEP UP
The Green & White have won 22 straight games when scoring at least 80 points.

FOR STARTERS
Wagner has used 11 different starting line-ups this season.

THAT'S A LOT OF GAMES
Senior Josh Thompson matched former teammate Justin Drummond for second place in school history when he played in his 120th career game this past Wednesday. Joey Mundweiler holds the school-record with 123 games.

DEFENSIVE STATE OF MIND
The Seahawks are 13-2 this season and 32-2 over the last two years when limiting opponents to less than 70 points.

CLOSING IT OUT
Wagner has won 35 straight games dating back to last year when leading with five minutes to play and is a perfect 17-0 this season. A big reason for this dominance is Williams, who is shooting a blistering 90.2 percent (37-of-41) from the line over the final five minutes of games this season.

CAN'T HOLD 'EM DOWN
The Seahawks erased a season-high 13-point deficit in its win over LIU Brooklyn. It was Wagner's 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 Seahawk players that saw action recorded at least one rejection in the game as the Green & White 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, Wagner's second unit is outscoring their counterparts by 4.5 points per game and outrebounding them by 4.5 rebounds each time out, highlighted by a season-high 44 points, on 65.2 percent shooting (15-for-23), with 20 rebounds in the team's first win over Central Connecticut.

OFFENSE COMES ALIVE
The Seahawks are 10-3 over its last 13 games thanks to a red-hot offense that is averaging 78.5 points per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from long range. Leading the charge has been Williams (16.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg), Rivers (14.9 ppg, 56.5 FG%, 48.2 3-pt FG %), Ortiz (12.4 ppg, 6.0 apg) and Burton (10.2 ppg).

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
Rivers is averaging 15.9 points per game over his last 10 games while shooting 48.2 percent (53-for-110) from the field and 48.1 percent (26-for-54) 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.

CLOSING IT OUT
The trio of Williams, Ortiz and Rivers have accounted for 63.1 percent of the Green & White's scoring (250/396) in the final five minutes of games this season.

ANDERSON HEATING UP
Freshman Dwaun Anderson has notched a career-high nine points in three of his last five times and is averaging 6.8 points per game on 43.6 percent (24-of-55) shooting over his last nine games. 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, before adding seven rebounds with three blocks against CCSU.

ORTIZ ON FIRE
Over his last seven games, Ortiz is averaging 11.6 points, 6.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game while posting a suburb 2.0 assist-turnover ratio.

DID YOU KNOW?
The Seahawks' 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.

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 eight games after doing so just three times in the first 22 games.

TALE OF TWO HALVES
The Seahawks are averaging 36.8 points per game in the second half on 46.5 percent shooting from the floor, compared to just 29.7 points per game in the first half on 41.6 percent shooting.

BROOKLYN STATE OF MIND
Former Wagner head coach P.J. Carlesimo is currently 21-12 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.

STREAK SNAPPED
With its win over LIU Brooklyn, Wagner snapped a four-game losing streak to the 2x defending NEC Champions while also ending the Blackbirds' 31-game WRAC winning streak, including 23 against NEC foes, with its 86-75 win. The Seahawks 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.

PERFECT 10
Rivers led the offensive explosion against the Blackbirds with 20 points, highlighted by a perfect 4-for-4 performance from long range as the Seahawks won for the 10th straight time when the Garden State native hit for at least 20 points.

DOUBLE DOWN
Ortiz has recorded his second and third career double-double this season. Most recently, he notched a career-high 11 assists with 19 points in the win at LIU Brooklyn. Ortiz's 11 helpers are the most by a Wagner player since Mark Porter recorded 13 in a win over UMES on December 15, 2007. Before that, the Garden State native scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the Seahawks' 68-63 overtime victory over Penn.

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