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Staten Island, NY - Wagner (12-11; 6-4 NEC) returns to action for against a stout Bryant (16-9; 8-2 NEC) squad that has won three-straight on Sunday, February 16 at 12:00 pm in a game that will be televised by the
CBS Sports Network. Locally, the game can be accessed through
Verizon Fios (94), Time Warner Cable (457|467), Dish Network (158) and
DirecTV (221). Fans outside of Staten Island can click
HERE for the
CBS Sports Network channel finder.
* The game will not be streamed through
NEC Front Row, however a free audio stream can be accessed by clicking
HERE.
Top Storylines
#1 - Wagner returns home looking for its third-straight win against Bryant.
#2 - The game marks NEC's debut on the CBS Sports Network as well as head coach Bashir Mason's first as a 30-year old.
#3 - Both teams will be playing for the first time in eight days.
Quick Hits
* Sunday also marks the second annual Wagner College Hall of Fame Day and also marks the 50th Anniversary of the 1963-1964 Seahawk men's basketball team's historic victory over NYU's nationally ranked team. The 77-76 overtime win over a Violet team that was ranked No. 1 in the national preseason poll at Sutter Gym on December 18, 1963.
* The last time these teams met came exactly one year ago today with the Green & White posting a come-from-behind 89-75 victory over the Bulldogs.
* Senior
Latif Rivers paced four double-figure scorers for Wagner with 20 points as the Seahawks shot a blistering 54.1 percent, including 61.5 percent after halftime.
* Today's game will be broadcast by former Green & White men's basketball player and head coach Tim Capstraw, Dave Popkin and John Schmeelk.
* Wagner holds a 5-2 edge over Bryant in the all-time series, including winning two of three at home.
* Thursday's scheduled game at FDU marks the second postponement or cancellation of the year for the Seahawks due to weather.
* The Green & White's final scheduled non-conference game against North Carolina Central on Saturday, January 4 due to a snow storm.
* Wagner and FDU will now meet on Monday, February 24 at 7:00 pm in the first rescheduled game for the Seahawks since 2007 when the Green & White had to move its game against Robert Morris from a Thursday to a Sunday after being trapped on the bus overnight.
* A victory today would give the senior class of
Naofall Folahan,
Kenneth Ortiz,
Orlando Parker and
Latif Rivers its 70th win, breaking the previous D-1 record set by the Class of 2005.
* Wagner completed a 2-0 week against Sacred Heart last Saturday with a 62-55 win and assumed what would prove to be an insurmountable 32-21 halftime advantage with a 14-0 half-ending run. The Seahawks forced the Pioneers into 10-straight missed shots, including six from long range, the pivotal eight-plus minute stretch.
* Wagner limited SHU to just 26.2 percent shooting while yielding a season-lows in field goals (16) and first-half points (21).
* The by-product of the impressive defensive performance was that the Seahawks won for the 26th-straight game when limiting the opposition to less than 60 points.
* Sacred Heart's 14.8 percent (4-of-27) conversion rate from long range marked the sixth time this season that Wagner have limited an opponent to less than 20 percent shooting from deep.
* In the seven-point win, Ortiz led the way on offense with a team-best matching 15 points with four assists, four rebounds and two steals while holding Pioneer point guard Phil Gaetano to zero assists.
* Parker paced the defense against SHU with a game and career-high 14 rebounds after pulling down 12 against FDU. The Florida native, who now has seven career double-digit performances on the glass, has led the Seahawks in rebounding a team-best matching seven times this year with Wagner going 6-1 in those games.
* Bryant is led by the high-scoring duo of Alex Francis (19.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Dyami Starks (19.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg) while Corey Maynard (13.4 ppg, 4.6 apg) rounds out the double-digit scorers while giving the Bulldogs arguably the finest scoring trio in the NEC.
* During league play, the duo of Francis, Starks and Maynard have combined 72.0 percent (578/803) of Bryant's scoring.
* Ortiz ranks among the league leaders in scoring (12.4-15th), assists (4.5-7th), steals (1.8-3rd) and free throw percentage (.721-14th) while posting a 1.49 assist/turnover ratio (9th NEC). Over his four collegiate seasons, he has notched 935 points, 424 assists, 393 rebounds and 166 steals.
* Rivers notched his 17th 20-point game against FDU while pacing the Seahawks in scoring for the 34th time with the Green & White going 14-3 and 22-12 during that time, respectively.
* The Garden State native also cracked the 1,400-point barrier while moving past Fred Klittich into 14th place on the school's all-time scoring list and after registering 10 more at Sacred Heart now has 1,425 markers, which ranks fourth among active NEC players.
* Rivers double-digit performance against the Pioneers was also the 79th in his 102-game career. He continues to rank among the league leaders scoring (14.1 ppg-9th), assists/game (1.7-19th), field goal percentage (.460-12th), free throw percentage (.824-5th) and three-point percentage (.392-7th).
* Folahan recorded five blocks against FDU last week and ranks fifth in NEC history to record with 202 career rejections. He broke
Frantz Pierre-Louis' 14-year school-record for blocks at CCSU, and ranks 29th nationally with 2.7 per game.
* Harris recorded 15 points in both games last week and is averaging a team-best 14.5 points each time out over his last four games while ranking among the NEC leaders in scoring (10.3-24th), assists (2.8-12th), three-point percentage (.386-10th) and three-pointers/game (2.1-7th).
* Junior
Marcus Burton continues to lead the bench in scoring and is second among NEC reserves with 10.3 points per game (25th NEC) while pacing the circuit at the line with a 88.7 percent (47-of-53) conversion rate. During league play, his scoring average jumps to 11.9 points each time out.
* In the final five minutes of games decided by 10 points or less, the Seahawks have converted 78.1 percent (75-of-96) from the line, led by Burton (12-of-12).
* Thanks to the quartet of Ortiz, Rivers, Harris and Burton, the Green & White guards have accounted for 69.5 percent (1149/1654) of the team's scoring.
* Rounding out the double-figure scorers for Wagner is junior
Mario Moody, who is among the NEC leaders in scoring (9.5-28th), rebounding (6.5-4th) and blocks (1.3-8th). During league play, his numbers go up to 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game to go along with an impressive 59.1 percent (39-of-66) shooting clip.
* Led by Burton and Moody, the Seahawk bench has outscored its counterparts in eight of the Green & White's 10 NEC games by an average of 12.2 points each time out. The reserves are notching 30.3 points per game on 45.7 percent (105-of-230) shooting from the field, including 39.0 percent (30-of-77) from deep.
* Freshman
Greg Senat has come on strong of late, averaging 3.3 points and 4.7 rebounds over the last three games. His classmate
Nolan Long grabbed three rebounds with two blocks over nine minutes at Sacred Heart.
* Since Mason took over at the start of last season, his teams have limited the opposition to less than 40 percent shooting in 29 of the Wagner's 54 games. Additionally, the Seahawks are a perfect 12-0 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 31-23 in this his second year.
* For the second season in a row, Mason, who is 30 years and five days old, is the youngest Division I head coach. In 2012-2013, Mason led the Green & White 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 56-29, including 33-13 during conference play Additionally, the Seahawks are 30-16 in games decided by less than 10 points or in OT, 51-2 when leading with five minutes remaining, 43-2 when limiting opponents to less than 70 points, 37-9 when scoring at least 70, 42-3 when leading at the half, 32-4 when shooting 45 percent or higher and 19-7 following a loss.
* Wagner has been solid on defense this season, leading the NEC in rebounding (38.8), blocks (5.9) (19th NCAA), field goal percentage defense (.339) (35th NCAA) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.316) (58th NCAA).
* The Seahawks are 27-8 at home (17-4 NEC) over the last three years and 125-69 (.644), all-time, at the renovated Spiro Sports Center (since 1999).
HIGH NOON
Since the 2010-2011 season, Wagner has lost three of its last four games that have started at 12:00 pm, including each of its NEC semifinal losses over the last two years and last won at Monmouth by an 89-79 count on January 7, 2011.
NATIONAL TV
The Seahawks are 2-1 when playing on National Television over the last three years, defeating No. 15 Pitt 59-54 on
ESPNU on December 23, 2011 and LIU Brooklyn by a 94-92 score on a last-second Ortiz layup on February 24, 2013.
AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
Over five career games against Bryant, Rivers is averaging 14.8 points each time out, including notching 20 in each game in the Spiro Sports Center.
FOR STARTERS
Since entering the starting line-up six games ago, Parker is averaging 9.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
BLOCK PARTY
Folahan's five-block performance vs. FDU also marked the 15th time in his career that he has blocked at least four shots with Wagner going 11-4 during that time. Over his last five games, the Republic of Benin native is averaging 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 blocks and 5.0 points per game.
THE GLASS
Thanks to Parker and Folahan, the Seahawks have won the rebounding battle in nine of its 10 NEC games while grabbing at least 40 on eight occasions. During that time, Wagner is averaging a NEC-best 41.4 rebounds per game.
THE SENIORS
Folahan, Ortiz, Parker and Rivers comprise the Seahawks senior class, which has registered 69 wins since descending on Grymes Hill while accounting for 49.2 percent (813-of-1654) of the team's offense this year.
ALL-TIME
The 69 victories are the second-most by a senior class since the college moved to Division I for the 1976-1977 season and just one off the school-record of 69 set by the Class of 2005, which claimed the 2003 NEC Title before advancing to the 2005 Championship tilt. The Class of 1969 has the all-time record of 72 victories.
MAKES SENSE
When outshooting the opposition, Wagner is 11-1 this season and 28-3 since the start of last season.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
The Seahawks are averaging 32.4 points per game in the first half while shooting 38.9 percent from the floor, including 33.3 percent from deep, and 67.9 percent from the line. After halftime, the Green & White is scoring 38.3 points each time out while shooting 44.7 percent from the field, including 34.4 percent from deep, and 74.3 percent from the line.
IN THE RANKINGS
* Ortiz is eighth in school history with 402 assists, 53 behind
Tony Rice for seventh.
* Ortiz is also eighth with 161 steals and with one more will match
Bobby Hopson.
* Rivers is fifth with 348 free throws and needs six more to equal Hopson.
* Rivers is tied with Lamont Street for seventh with 187 triples and on the verge of passing former teammate
Tyler Murray (189) and Hopson (192).
* Moody is eighth in school history with 88 blocks and with six more will equal
Dave Smolka.
60-POINT CLUB
Wagner has have won 26 straight games (24-0 since 2011-2012) when limiting teams to 60 points or less thanks to impressive defensive performances against Saint Francis U, CCSU, Monmouth and Sacred Heart.
LONG GARNERS BASEBALL ACCOLADES
Long was recently selected as the second-best pro baseball prospect in the NEC by
Baseball America and was named as the league's preseason Rookie of the Year.
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 on
Fox College Sports (FCS) at Mount St. Mary's (1/16) and will be hosting Bryant on Sunday, February 16 at 12:00 pm on the
CBS Sports Network. The Green & White will then welcome
FCS to the Spiro for Senior Day against Robert Morris in the season finale on March 1 at 6:00 pm.
UP NEXT
Wagner continues a three-game homestand against Sacred Heart on Thursday, February 20 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. Photography by Dave Saffran.
