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Wagner	Roster	Schedule	Notes

Staten Island, NY - Wagner (10-10; 4-3 NEC) returns to the road for the 10th time in 12 games at St. Francis Brooklyn (13-9; 4-3 NEC) on Saturday, February 1 at 5:00 pm. As always, fans can watch the game for free through NEC Front Row with Joey Wahler bringing you the the free audio broadcast through Red Zone Media beginning at 4:50 pm.

Top Storylines
#1 - Wagner will look to pick up its second-straight win in the borough of Brooklyn.

#2 - This will be the lone game between the teams this season.

#3 - The Terriers have won seven of the last nine meetings with the Seahawks, including both match-ups a year ago.

Quick Hits
* After today's game, the Seahawks will play six of their next eight games in the friendly confines of the Spiro Sports Center, including the final five of the regular season.

* Wagner swept the season series from LIU Brooklyn for the second-straight season while improving to 18-7 following a loss over the last three years.

* With their win over the Blackbirds, the Seahawks are now 8-1 when leading with five minutes to play this season and 49-2 over the last three years.

* Senior Latif Rivers paced the Green & White in scoring for the eighth time this season and the 33rd time in his career with a game-high 18 points this past Thursday in Brooklyn.

* Rivers is averaging 18.5 points per game and is shooting 50.0 percent (7-for-14) on three pointers over the last two games while pacing the squad each time out. Before last Saturday, he had been just 1-for-10 from deep over his previous three games.

* The Garden State native also notched double-figures in scoring for the 77th time in his 99-game career against LIU Brooklyn and ranks among the league leaders in scoring (14.6 ppg, 9th), field goal percentage (.479, 8th) and free throw percentage (.786, 6th). Since the start of NEC play, he is averaging 14.3 points per game while shooting 51.3 percent (39-of-76) from the floor.

* Senior Orlando Parker added a season-high 14 points while junior Mario Moody matched him with 14 point off the bench as the duo combined to convert on 12-of-18 from the field.

* Since replacing Moody in the starting line-up three games ago, Parker is averaging 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. The move to the bench hasn't hurt Moody's production, as the Jersey City native is notching 14.7 points and 7.7 rebounds each time out.

* On the year, Moody ranks among the NEC leaders in scoring (9.8-25th), rebounding (6.8-4th) and blocks (1.2-8th). During league play, his numbers go up to 12.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game to go along with an impressive 62.3 percent (38-of-61) shooting clip.

* Despite only recording two points in the win over the Blackbirds, senior Naofall Folahan still managed to block five shots while helping to anchor the Wagner defense in the paint. He leads the NEC while ranking 33rd nationally with 2.6 blocks per game.

* Folahan broke Frantz Pierre-Louis' 14-year school-record for blocks at CCSU and now has 193 rejections.

* The Republic of Benin native has blocked four or more shots on 14 occasions with the Green & White going 11-3 in those games.

* Senior Kenneth Ortiz rounded out the impressive performers against LIU Brooklyn with a career-high six steals, seven assists, seven points and five rebounds. The six swipes give him 156 for his career - most among active NEC players - while moving him into eighth place in the all-time Wagner annals.

* Ortiz, who is averaging 10.7 points, 5.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 steals per game over his last three outings, has also now handed out at least seven assists 18 times during his time on Grymes Hill with the Seahawks posting a 15-3 record in those games..

* The Southern Mississippi transfer ranks among the league leaders in scoring (12.1-16th), assists (4.4-7th), steals (1.8-t-2nd) and free throw percentage (.706-15th) while posting a 1.52 assist/turnover ratio (9th NEC). 

* After halftime this season, Ortiz is averaging 6.9 points per game (5.9 ppg-NEC) and 42.3 percent from the field, compared to 5.1 points (2.9 ppg-NEC) each time out before halftime on 35.1 percent shooting.

* Folahan, Ortiz, Parker and Rivers comprise the Green & White senior class, which has registered 67 wins since descending on Grymes Hill and has accounted for 48.5 percent (701-of-1445) of the team's offense this year.

* The 67 victories are the second-most by a senior class at Wagner since the college moved to Division I for the 1976-1977 season and just two off the school-record of 69 set by the Class of 2005, which claimed the 2003 NEC Title while advancing to the 2005 Championship tilt. The Class of 1969 has the all-time record of 72 victories.

* Junior Jay Harris returned to action at LIU Brooklyn after missing the previous game due to injury and had 10 points, five assists and four rebounds. All of Harris' 10 points came in the final 10 minutes as the Valparaiso transfer had a hand in 16 of the Seahawks' final 27 points (3 FG, 2 FT, 3 assists). He continues to rank among the NEC leaders in scoring (9.4-28th), assists (2.9-11th), three-point percentage (.402-6th) and three-pointers/game (2.1-8th).

* Despite failing to record double-figures for the second-straight game, sophomore Marcus Burton continues to lead all NEC reserves in scoring at 10.5 points (23rd NEC) while pacing the circuit at the line with a 87.8 percent conversion rate.

* In games decided by 10 points or less Burton has converted all 10 of his free throw attempts while Harris has made good on all eight of his.

* During league play, Burton is second in scoring (12.7 ppg) while shooting 43.5 percent (27-of-62) from the field, including 41.9 percent (13-of-31) from deep, and 88.0 percent (22-of-25) from the line.

* Thanks to Burton and Moody, the Seahawk bench has outscored its counterparts in six of the Green & White's seven NEC games by an average of 16.7 points each time out. The reserves are averaging 33.0 points per game on 50.6 percent (86-of-170) shooting from the field, including 41.4 percent (24-of-58) from deep.

* This season the Seahawk guards have accounted for 68.0 percent of the offense (982/1445) of the team's scoring.

* Jason Brickman handed out 13 assists against Wagner on Thursday, marking the most by an opponent in the 21st century as former Maryland standout and current LA Laker Steve Blake recorded 12 on January 4, 2003.

* 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' 51 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 28-23 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 355 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 54-28, including 31-12 during conference play and 21-14 in non-conference action. Additionally, the Seahawks are 28-15 in games decided by less than 10 points or in OT (6-4 in 2013-2014), 41-2 when limiting opponents to less than 70 points (8-0 in 2013-2014), 36-8 when scoring at least 70, 40-2 when leading at the half (8-0 in 2013-2014), 18-7 following a loss and 32-4 when shooting 45 percent or higher.

* Wagner is also off to a solid start on defense, leading the NEC in rebounding (38.0), blocks (5.7) (26th NCAA) and field goal percentage defense (.407) (62nd NCAA).

SCOUTING ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN
The Terriers, like the Seahawks, are a team built on defense as St. Francis Brooklyn ranks first in the NEC in scoring defense (68.1 ppg), three-point field goal percentage defense (.333) and rebounding margin (+2.5). Jalen Cannon leads SFBK in both scoring (16.1 ppg) and rebounding (8.4 rpg) while Ben Mockford (11.8 ppg) is the team's only other double-digig scorer.

DEEP THOUGHTS
St. Francis Brooklyn employs arguably the deepest rotation in the NEC as the Terriers routinely go 10 deep.

RIGHT TO THE POINT
While Cannon and Mockford have been steady throughout the season, Brent Jones has taken his game to another level during league play. The junior point guard is averaging 9.1 assists and 12.7 points per game while posting an 5.82 assist/turnover ratio.

KEY MATCH-UP
St. Francis Brooklyn is second in the NEC with a 46.4 percent conversion rate from the floor while Wagner employs the stingiest defense (.415).

FEBRUARY NOTES
The Seahawks are 12-4 in the month of February over the last two years ... Additionally, the Green & White is 3-7 when playing on the 1st of the month since moving to Division I for the 1976-1977 season.

YOU ALWAYS DOUBLE DOWN
At Robert Morris, Folahan recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds over 30 minutes of action. Folahan, who was 5-for-8 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line, hit for double-digits for the 10th time in his career and the first time since last year's opener at Delaware State. Additionally, the 12 caroms marked the fourth time in Folahan's career that he notched double-figures on the glass.

FRONTCOURT LEADS THE WAY
Thanks to Moody (15) and Folahan (14), the frontcourt outscored the backcourt for the second time this season at RMU by a 36-34 count as the duo along with senior Orlando Parker (7 points) shot 56.0 percent (14-of-25) from the field.

CLOSING IT OUT
As a unit, the Green & White has made good on 75.7 percent (53-of-70) in the final five minutes of games decided by 10 points or less.

MAKES SENSE
When outshooting the opposition, Wagner is 10-1 this season and 27-3 since the start of the 2012-2013 season.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES
The Seahawks are averaging 32.0 points per game in the first half while shooting 38.9 percent from the floor, including 32.9 percent from deep, and 66.7 percent from the line. After halftime, the Green & White is scoring 39.0 points each time out while shooting 45.8 percent from the field, including 34.5 percent from deep, and 73.4 percent from the line.

IN THE RANKINGS
* Ortiz is eighth in school history with 387 assists, 68 behind Tony Rice for seventh.
* Ortiz is also eighth with 156 steals and with six more will match Bobby Hopson.
* Rivers is seventh with 333 free throws and needs seven more to equal Jamie Ciampaglio.
* Rivers is also ninth with 183 triples and with two more 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.

NEC TELEVISION PACKAGE ANNOUNCED
For the third-straight year Wagner will play at least two televised games at home, including one on national television as part of the NEC package. Before the aforementioned two televised home games, the Seahawks played before a Fox College Sports (FCS) audience at Mount St. Mary's (1/16). The Green & White will next be on television when it hosts Bryant on Sunday, February 16 at 12:00 pm on the CBS Sports Network before welcoming FCS back to the Spiro for Senior Day vs. Robert Morris on March 1 at 6:00 pm.

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 67-45, including 40-21 during league play, since the foursome arrived on Staten Island.

UP NEXT
Wagner returns home to host Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday, February 6 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 for news on the second-year coach.