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RMU	Roster	Schedule	Notes
Wagner	Roster	Schedule	Notes

Staten Island, NY - Wagner (9-9; 3-2 NEC) returns to the road for the eighth time in 10 games and will look to hand Robert Morris (10-10; 5-0 NEC) its first conference loss on Saturday, January 25 at 4:00 pm. As always, the game will be streamed through NEC Front Row while Joey Wahler will have the call through Red Zone Media beginning at 3:50 pm.

Top Storylines
#1 - Wagner will be looking to snap an eight-game road losing streak to Robert Morris.

#2 - The Seahawks overcame a 20-point second-half deficit before dropping an 83-79 overtime decision in the teams' lone meeting last year.

#3 - Wagner which fell to CCSU 87-83 on Thursday is 17-6 following a loss since the 2011-2012 season.

Quick Hits
* Wagner (9-9; 3-2 NEC) will look to hand Robert Morris (10-10; 5-0 NEC) its first conference loss on Saturday, January 25 at 4:00 pm. Fans may watch the game online through NEC Front Row.

* The Seahawks have lost eight-straight to the Colonials by an average of 13.9 points per game with five being decided by 10 points or less.

* Wagner last won in Moon Township on March 3, 2005 by a 69-65 count in the NEC Tournament.

* RMU holds a 37-24 advantage in the all-time series and a 24-7 edge when playing at home.

* Additionally, the Seahawks have claimed 10 of the last 11 meetings between the teams since the Green & White's 2003 NEC Championship season.

* Wagner was picked to win the 2014 NEC Title in the annual preseason coaches poll with Robert Morris tabbed to place second.

* The Seahawks placed five players in double-figures for the first time this season against CCSU with senior Kenneth Ortiz and junior Marcus Burton leading the way with 16 points apiece.

* Ortiz scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime while notching double-figures in scoring for the first time in conference play. In the second half of games, he is averaging 7.1 points per game while shooting 42.3 percent from the field, compared to 5.3 points each time out before halftime on 34.9 percent shooting.

* The Southern Mississippi transfer continues to rank among the league leaders in scoring (12.5-15th), assists (4.2-8th), steals (1.6-5th) and free throw percentage (.755-9th) while posting a 1.42 assist/turnover ratio (10th NEC).  He is the only Wagner student-athlete to earn NEC Player of the Week accolades this year, after averaging 13.5 points, 6.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game in wins over Vermont and Coppin State.

* During league play, Ortiz is handing out 5.4 assists each time out while posting an impressive 1.8 assist/turnover ratio.

* Burton, meanwhile, has now notched double-figures in each of his last six games and his 11.1 points per game (21st NEC) are the most by a reserve in the league this season. He is also converting a NEC-best 87.2 percent (41-of-47) from the line and since the start of conference play is averaging a team-best 15.6 points each time out.

* Over the last two years against CCSU, the North Carolina native is averaging 18.0 points and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 55.0 percent (22-of-40) from the field and 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from deep.

* Senior Latif Rivers also had a solid game from his guard position, scoring 14 points while posting career-highs with eight rebounds and three steals. Rivers' scoring haul gives him 1,353 points for his career while moving him past Dedrick Dye into 15th place on the all-time Seahawk scoring list.

* Rivers also notched double-figures in scoring for the 75th time in his 97-game career and ranks among the league leaders in scoring (14.1 ppg, 10th), field goal percentage (.478, 10th) and free throw percentage (.785, 7th). Since the start of NEC play, he is shooting 53.1 percent (26-of-49) from the floor but has converted on just 3-of-13 from deep.

* Joining Burton in double-figures off the bench was junior Mario Moody, who added 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocks while going 7-for-11 from the field. The two blocks also give him 84 for his career while matching Mark Porter for ninth in the all-time Wagner annals and is just two back of Dave Smolka for eighth.

* Moody ranks among the NEC leaders in scoring (9.2-28th), rebounding (6.7-4th) and blocks (1.3-7th) and has seen him numbers go up to 12.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game during league play while shooting 62.5 percent (25-of-40) from the field.

* Thanks to Burton and Moody, the Seahawk bench outscored its counterparts for the 12th time this season and is averaging 36.0 points per game during league play while shooting 52.3 percent (67-of-128) from the field and 42.9 percent (18-of-42) from deep.

* Replacing Moody in the line-up was senior Orlando Parker, who hit for a season-best matching 12 points while marking the fourth time this season and the fifth time in their careers that all four seniors started in the same game. During league play, Parker is averaging 8.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

* Folahan, Ortiz, Parker and Rivers comprise the Green & White senior class, which has registered 66 wins since descending on Grymes Hill and has accounted for 47.4 percent (611-of-1290) of the team's offense this year.

* Junior Jay Harris continues to star in Wagner's guard-dominated offense and ranks among the NEC leaders in scoring (9.4-26th), assists (2.8-11th), three-point percentage (.407-6th) and three-pointers/game (2.1-8th).

* Thanks to Rivers, Ortiz, Harris and Burton, the Seahawk guards have accounted for 70.1 percent of the offense (904/1290) of the team's scoring.

* Senior Naofall Folahan broke Frantz Pierre-Louis' 14-year school-record for blocks at Central Connecticut. Folahan now has 184 blocks and ranks 50th nationally with a league-best 2.4 blocks per game and is 12th in the NEC with 4.9 rebounds each time out. In his career, Folahan has blocked four or more shots on 12 occasions with the Green & White going 10-2 in those games.

* Sophomore Dwaun Anderson has hit for double-figures in three of his last seven games since entering the starting line-up after doing so just once in his first 42 games. In the seven-game sample, the Michigan State transfer is averaging 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 40.0 percent (22-of-55).

* Anderson was recently cited as having the top dunk of the first half of the college basketball season by the Sporting News and garnered top billing on ESPN's #SCTop10 on Saturday, January 11 for his alley-oop dunk off of a Rivers' backboard pass. The dunk was Anderson's fourth career top-10 play on the worldwide sports leader.

* Wagner is 7-1 when leading with five minutes to play this season and 48-2 over the last three years, but had its 42-game winning streak snapped in the game against CCSU.

* DYK? The last time the Seahawks lost a game when leading with five minutes to play was on December 10, 2011 to Lehigh by a 70-69 count. The next time out, Wagner bested No. 15 Pitt by a 59-54 score.

* Since head coach Bashir Mason took over at the start of last season, his teams have limited the opposition to less than 40 percent shooting in 27 of the Seahawks' 49 games. Additionally, the Green & White is a perfect 11-0 when limiting teams to less than 35 percent during that time.

* Mason, who was a finalist for the CollegeInsider.com Joe B. Hall First-Year and Ben Jobe Minority Coach of the Year awards last season, is 28-21 in this his second year on Grymes Hill. He reached the 20-win plateau for his career in 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 348 days old, is the youngest Division I head coach as well as the lone head man under the age of 30. In 2012-2013, Mason led the Seahawks 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.

* Since the start of the 2011-2012 season, Wagner, which was picked to win the 2014 NEC Championship by the league's coaches, is 53-27, including 30-11 during conference play and 21-14 in non-conference action.

* Over the last three years, the Seahawks are 27-14 in games decided by less than 10 points or in OT, 40-2 when limiting opponents to less than 70 points, 35-7 when scoring at least 70, 39-2 when leading at the half, 17-6 following a loss and 31-4 when shooting 45 percent or higher.

* Wagner is off to a solid start on defense, leading the NEC in rebounding (37.9), blocks (5.5) (32nd NCAA), field goal percentage defense (.406) (64th NCAA) and three point field goal percentage defense (.316) (76th NCAA).

* The Seahawks are 26-8 at home (16-4 NEC) over the last three years and 124-69 (.642), all-time, at the renovated Spiro Sports Center (since 1999).

SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS
Last year's NEC Regular Season Champion enters today's game as the league's lone unbeaten team with a perfect 5-0 record and is led by the inside-outside duo of senior guard Karvel Anderson (19.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.5 apg) and junior forward Lucky Jones (14.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg). Senior guard Anthony Myers-Pate (5.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.5 apg) directs an offensive attack that is averaging 74.2 points per game and is first in turnover margin (+1.45) and second in assist/turnover ratio (1.12).

KEY MATCH-UPS
Wagner is limiting teams to a NEC-low 40.6 percent shooting from the field and a 31.6 percent conversion rate from long range while RMU ranks second in field goal percentage (.445) and first in three point field goal percentage (.405).

DURING LEAGUE PLAY
The Colonials have converted on a league-best 44.3 percent from deep while the Seahawks have held opponents to a league-low 33.0 percent on triple tries. Additionally, Robert Morris is allowing a league-low 29.0 rebounds per game while the Green & White is averaging a league-best 41.0.

THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET
Ortiz and Rivers each scored 22 points in helping Wagner erase a 20-point second-half deficit and force overtime, before falling  to RMU by an 83-79 score.

RIVERS VS. RMU
Over six career games against the Colonials, Rivers is averaging 17.7 points per game and has scored at least 20 points on three occasions.

ON THIS DATE
The last time that the Seahawks won on January 25 came at Robert Morris 11 years ago in 2003 by a 101-80 count.

BENCH PLAY BIG
Led by Burton's game-high 14 points, Wagner's reserves outscored the starters for the second time this season against Saint Francis U by notching 31 of the Seahawks' 56 points in a come-from-behind six-point victory.

BURTON DELIVERS THE HAMMER
Burton also helped close out the win over the Red Flash with four free throws in the final 20 seconds. As a unit, the Green & White has made good on 77.2 percent (44-of-57) in the final five minutes of games decided by 10 points or less, highlighted by perfect efforts from Burton (8-of-8) and Harris (6-of-6).

CARDIAC KIDS
In overcoming its largest deficit (-13) of the year in the win in Loretto, Wagner improved to 17-6 over the last three years following a loss while winning for the 25th straight time when limiting the opposition to less than 60 points.

FOUL TROUBLE? NOT SO MUCH
The Seahawks entered the SFU game 327th in the NCAA with 22.9 fouls per game, committed just nine, including two in the second half. The nine penalties were the fewest by the Green & White since registering eight at Princeton on December 30, 2009.

MAKES SENSE
When outshooting the opposition, Wagner is 9-1 this season and 45-6 over the last three years - including 26-3 since the start of last season. The Seahawks are also 7-3 this season when winning the rebounding battle and 37-9 since 2011-2012.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES
Wagner is averaging 32.0 points per game in the first half while shooting 38.6 percent from the floor, including 32.4 percent from deep, and 68.0 percent from the line. After halftime, the Seahawks are scoring 38.9 points each time out while shooting 45.2 percent from the field, including 34.0 percent from deep, and 74.4 percent from the line.

IN THE RANKINGS
* Ortiz is currently eighth in school history with 374 assists, 81 behind Tony Rice for seventh.
* Ortiz is 10th with 148 steals and with four more will match former Courtney Pritchard.
* Rivers is seventh with 329 free throws and needs 11 more to equal Jamie Ciampaglio.
* Rivers is also ninth with 176 triples and with nine will match Jeff Klauder.
* Moody is ninth in school history with 84 blocks and with two more will equal Dave Smolka.

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, SFU and FDU.

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 66-44, including 39-20 during league play, since the foursome arrived on Staten Island.

UP NEXT
Wagner will play at LIU Brooklyn on Thursday, January 30 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">@Bashir Mason for news on the second-year coach.