Audio Stream | Live Stats | Follow On Twitter

Mount	Roster	Schedule	Notes
Wagner	Roster	Schedule	Notes

Staten Island, NY - Winners of nine in a row, Wagner (19-11) will be in search of its first NEC Championship Game berth since 2005 against a stout Mount St. Mary's (14-16) squad on Saturday, March 8 at 12:00 pm in a game that will be televised by MSG+ and FCS.

Top Storylines
#1 - No. 2 Wagner hosts No. 4 Mount with a berth in the NEC Title Game on the line.

#2 - The squads split two regular season match-ups with the home team winning each game.

#3 - With a win, the Seahawks would extend their winning streak to a NEC season-high 10 while snapping a three-game losing streak in the semifinal round of the playoffs.

Quick Hits
* The Seahawks are 18-25, all-time, in this their 27th trip to the NEC Tournament and won their lone league title in 2003 as the No. 1 seed.

*  As the No. 2 seed, Wagner is now 6-5, reaching the finals once, the semifinals three times and losing in the quarterfinals once.

*  The Seahawks' current nine-game streak is the longest by a NEC team this season and tied with the 2011-2012 team for the second-longest in the D-1 era (since 1976-1977).

* In the nine-game stretch, no opponent has scored more then 70 points while shooting a combined 35.0 percent (185-of-529) from the floor, including just 23.9 percent (45-of-188) from long range.

* Additionally, during the stretch teams are on average recording their 30th point with 16:38 remaining in the game. The lone team to hit 30 before halftime was the Mount.

* When limiting teams to less than 70 points, the Green & White is an impressive 17-0 while the Mount is 2-8 when failing to hit 70, including going 0-4 during league play.

* With a title this year Wagner would be the sixth different league institution to capture the league crown as the No. 2 seed.

* The Seahawks are 3-9, all-time, in semifinal action and will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak that dates back to the 2008 season. The last time the Green & White captured a semifinal victory was by a 63-60 count against Monmouth on March 6, 2005.

* All-time, Wagner is 1-1 against the Mount in NEC Tournament play, losing the last meeting in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 NEC Tournament. The Seahawks defeated the Mountaineers 65-48 on March 6, 1993 in semifinal action.

* All-time, the Green & White is 11-8 in NEC Tournament action on Staten Island, including going 7-6 in the renovated Spiro Sports Center which opened in February of 1999.

* No. 2 seeds now hold an all-time record of 52-24 and have won eight titles with the last coming in 2010 when Robert Morris knocked off top-seeded Quinnipiac.

* During NEC Tournament play, Wagner is a perfect 2-0 against No. 4 seeds, last defeating Quinnipiac in the semifinals of the 2003 NCAA Tournament.

* No. 2 seeds hold an all-time record of 19-9 during semifinal action but have lost each of the last three games.

* The Mountaineers won the first meeting between the teams by an 89-80 score before the Green & White claimed a 71-66 victory in the rematch.

* In that game, the Mount converted on 10-of-24  (.417) from long range but made good on just 7-of-26 (.269) in the second meeting.

* Additionally, Wagner lost the battle of the boards in Emmitsburg before posting a +11 advantage in the rematch. During NEC play, the Seahawks were outrebounded just twice.

* The senior guard trio of Julian Norfleet, Sam Prescott and Rashad Whack have accounted for 67.7 percent (105/155) of the Mount's offense this year against the Green & White.

* Over the two games vs. MSM, senior Latif Rivers averaged a team-high 16.0 points per game while shooting 60.0 percent (12-of-20) from the floor. Rivers went over 1,500 points for his career against CCSU and currently ranks 13th with 1,506 points.

* The Garden State native continues to rank among the league leaders scoring (13.5 ppg-9th), free throw percentage (.821-6th) and three-point percentage (.360-14th).

* Wagner defeated CCSU in the quarterfinals for the third-straight season with an 83-59 romp in Wednesday night's quarterfinal action thanks to a season-high matching 21 points from Kenneth Ortiz while the Seahawks pulled down a NEC Tournament record 56 rebounds, including 24 on the offensive end, and committed a season-low matching four turnovers.

* The Southern Mississippi transfer has now notched four 20+ point games this season and seven in his  career.

* Ortiz is averaging a team-best 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game during Wagner's current eight-game winning streak.

* The three-time NEC Defensive Player of the Year ranks among the league leaders in scoring (13.5-9th), assists (4.3-6th), steals (1.9-2nd) (44th NCAA) and free throw percentage (.734-14th) while posting a 1.44 assist/turnover ratio (10th NEC). Over his four collegiate seasons, he has 1,054 points, 449 assists, 434 rebounds and 181 steals.

* As he has done over the last two years, junior Marcus Burton helped to put away the Blue Devils with 13 second-half points and is now averaging 15.0 points per game in five games against Central Connecticut while shooting 47.6 percent (20-of-42) from the floor, including a blistering 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from deep.

* On the year, Burton has notched double-figures on 15 occasions and ranks 22nd in the NEC in scoring (11.0 ppg) despite coming off the bench in all 27 games. He has also converted a NEC-best 86.5 percent (64-of-74) from the line while shooting 36.4 percent (12th NEC) from deep with 1.6 triples (15th NEC) per game.

* Over his last seven games, Burton is averaging 13.0 points per game while shooting 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the floor and 43.2 percent (16-of-37) from long range.

* Burton has also been clutch throughout the season and hit two huge three pointers in helping the Green & White rally from a seven-point deficit with less than four minutes to play at FDU. He is averaging a team-best 2.9 points each time out over the last five minutes against NEC opposition while making good on 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from long range and 85.2 percent (23-of-27) from the free throw line.

* Led by Burton, the Seahawk reserves outscored their NEC counterparts by 11.7 points each time. Additionally, the Wagner bench has shot 39.4 percent (52-of-132) from long range, compared to just 26.8 percent (26-of-97) for the opposition.

* Thanks to the trio of Ortiz, Rivers and Burton, the Seahawk guards have accounted for 69.4 percent (1489/2145) of the team's scoring. 

* Senior Orlando Parker notched his second double-double of the year and the fifth of his career with 13 points and 12 rebounds against CCSU and has now recorded all five of his double-digit performances on the glass during the Seahawks' current five-game winning streak. Additionally, the Green & White is 11-1 when Parker, who is fourth in the NEC in rebounding (6.8/game), leads the way on the glass.

* Classmate Naofall Folahan joined Parker with double-figures on the glass, finishing up with 10 rebounds to go along with six points and three blocks. The Republic of Benin native has now notched double-figures on the glass four times this season.

* Folahan also blocked three shots and has a single-season school record 84 for the year, which is tied for the ninth-best mark in NEC history. Folahan ranks 26th in the nation with a NEC-leading 2.8 blocks per game.

* Thanks in large part to Folahan, Wagner ranks sixth in the nation with 6.4 blocks per game and has notched a school-record 191 blocks. The Seahawks are just 12 rejections short of FDU's NEC record of 203 set in 2006.

* The senior class of Folahan, Ortiz, Parker and Rivers have notched 76 wins over the last four years and 63 over the previous three, both of which are school-record totals. Additionally, the quartet finished up their careers 48-22 during NEC play.

* Freshman Greg Senat scored a carer-high 10 points over 11 minutes of action against CCSU after scoring just 17 in 10 previous games.

* Since head coach Bashir Mason, who earned his Master's of Science in education in December, took over at the start of last season, his teams have limited the opposition to less than 40 percent shooting in 33 of Wagner's 61 games. Additionally, the Seahawks are a perfect 16-0 when holding teams to less than 35 percent shooting.

* 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 38-23 in this his second year. The Jersey City native, who is 30 years and 26 days old, is the youngest Division I head men's basketball 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 63-29, including 39-13 during conference play Additionally, the Seahawks are 32-16 in games decided by less than 10 points or in OT, 57-2 when leading with five minutes remaining, 50-2 when limiting opponents to less than 70 points, 42-9 when scoring at least 70, 48-3 when leading at the half, 36-4 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 (39.6), defensive rebounds (26.7) (24th NCAA), offensive rebounds (12.9) (67th NCAA) scoring margin (+3.3), blocks (6.4) (8th NCAA), field goal percentage defense (.388) (15th NCAA) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.299) (22nd NCAA).

KEY MATCH-UPS
* The Three Ball ... Mount St. Mary's is averaging a NEC-best 9.0 three pointers per game while Wagner is tops in the league at guarding the three pointer (.299).
* Rebounding ... The Seahawks lead the NEC in rebounding at 39.6 caroms each time out while the Mountaineers are eighth with just 32.1 per game.
* Point Guard Play ... Ortiz is averaging 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game against the Mount this season while Norfleet checks in with 21.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals each time out.
* Closing Out The Half ... In the first meeting, Mount St. Mary's ended the first half with an 8-0 run to turn a six-point deficit into a two point lead ... In game number two, Wagner scored the final four points of the first to take a three-point advantage at intermission ... In both games, the team that assumed the halftime lead never trailed in the second.

HOME COOKING
The Seahawks, which are celebrating the 15th anniversary of the opening of the renovated Spiro Sports Center, are 33-8 at home (22-4 NEC) over the last three years and are 131-69 (.653) since its opening in 1999 thanks to their 83-59 win over CCSU.

HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF
Mason notched his 38th career win against the Mount to match his former mentor Dan Hurley's school-record total of 38 wins by a Wagner second-year coach. Mason also posted 19 overall and 12 NEC victories in his first year. Both totals represent school-records for a rookie coach.

CLOSING IT OUT
The Seahawks have converted on 79.3 percent (96-of-121) from the charity stripe in the final five minutes of games against NEC opposition.

TOPPLING THE COLONIALS
Wagner capped the regular season with a 59-48 victory over Robert Morris thanks to ripping off 21 straight points, which included a 17-0 half-ending spurt in which RMU missed 12 straight shots. For the game, the Colonials were limited to season-lows in points (48) and three-point field goal percentage (.222). Highlighting the run was Burton, who notched four-straight three pointers at the tail end of the first half.

1,000-POINT CLUB
Ortiz celebrated Senior Day by becoming the 41st member of the Wagner 1,000-point club with his team-best 18 markers against RMU. The Garden State native is currently tied with former teammate Chris Martin for 38th in school history with 1,024 markers.

MING DYNASTY
Folahan, who goes by the nickname of 'Ming,' notched his sixth five-block game of the season against RMU while breaking Miladin Mutavdzic's 22-year single-season record of 79 in the process.

MORE FOLAHAN
The 6-11 pivot also broke Frantz Pierre-Louis' 14-year school-record for blocks earlier this season at CCSU and has 225 career blocks, which rank fifth in NEC history.

A DIFFERENT MOOD
Junior Mario Moody helped finish off Robert Morris with a three-point play that extended a four-point lead out to seven and is averaging 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game over his last four games. This comes after recording just 15 points and 12 rebounds on 18.2 percent (4-for-22) shooting over the previous four.

RECORD BREAKING
With the victory over FDU, the senior class Folahan, Ortiz, Parker and Rivers broke the previous school record of wins over four years set by the Class of 1969 (72).

EXCELLENCE PERSONIFIED
Wagner also guaranteed its third-straight winning season, marking the fourth time since ascending to Division I in 1976-1977 that the Seahawks have done so.

CLOSING IT OUT
In the final five minutes of games decided by 10 points or less, the Seahawks have converted 79.6 percent (90-of-113) from the line, led by Burton (14-of-15).

BLOCK PARTY
Folahan has blocked at least five shots 18 times in his career with Wagner going 14-4 during that time.

SERVING IT UP
Ortiz has recorded at least seven assists on 19 occasions in his career with the Seahawks posting a 16-3 mark during that time.

THE SENIORS
Folahan, Ortiz, Parker and Rivers comprise the Seahawk senior class, which has registered 75 wins since descending on Grymes Hill and have accounted for 51.0 percent (1093-of-2145) of the team's offense this year.

SPLITS
The Seahawks are averaging 32.6 points per game in the first half while shooting 39.4 percent from the floor, including 32.5 percent from deep, and 68.5 percent from the line. After halftime, the Green & White is scoring 38.3 points each time out while shooting 45.0 percent from the field, including 34.4 percent from deep, and 75.3 percent from the line.

IN THE RANKINGS
* Ortiz is eighth in school history with 427 assists, 28 behind Tony Rice for seventh.
* Ortiz is tied with Terrance Bailey for sixth with 176 steals and with seven will match Courtney Pritchard.
* Ortiz is eighth with 337 free throws and with three more will match Jamie Ciampaglio.
* Rivers is fourth with 374 free throws and needs 51 to equal Mark Porter.
* Rivers is fifth with 196 triples and needs three more to match former teammate Chris Martin.
* Moody is seventh in school history with 97 blocks and is eight back of Nick Frederick.

MAKES SENSE
When outshooting the opposition, Wagner is 18-1 this season and 35-3 since the start of last season.

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.

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 76-46, including 48-22 during league play, since the foursome arrived on Staten Island.

UP NEXT
The NEC Championship Game will be contested on Tuesday, March 11 at 7:00 pm at Robert Morris, Wagner or Mount St. Mary's.

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.