Game Notes: Robert Morris | WagnerCBS Sports Network: (Click to find your local channel)Listen: (Red Zone Media; Joey Wahler)Live StatsStaten Island Advance Game Preview Staten Island, NY- The Wagner College men's basketball team will look for back-to-back wins when the Seahawks welcome the Northeast Conference (NEC) rival Robert Morris tonight at 9:00 p.m.at the Spiro Sports Center in a game that will be broadcast live to a national television audience on
CBS Sports Network.
Delivering Staten Island to this national stage for the 64
th installment of the series between the Seahawks and the Colonials will be play-by-play man Dave Popkin, while former Wagner head coach and current Brooklyn Nets broadcaster, Tim Capstraw, will provide color analysis. Serving as sideline reporter for tonight's telecast is Paul Dottino.
Wagner (3-10, 1-1 NEC), which trails 38-25 in the all-time series between the schools, is coming off a thrilling 85-83 double overtime home victory over the defending Northeast Conference champions, Mount St. Mary's, thanks in large part to the heroics of 6-0 senior guard
Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC/David W. Butler), who turned in a career-high 38 point performance. The Colonials (5-9, 1-1 NEC), meanwhile are coming off a 66-59 road setback at the hands of Saint Francis U, despite 22 points from NEC Co-Rookie of the Week, Marcquise Reed.
THE COACHESWagner:
Bashir Mason: 41-34, Third Season
Overall Record: Same
All-time against RMU: 1-2
Robert Morris: Andrew Toole: 95-59, Fifth Season
Overall Record: Same
All-time against WC: 5-3
LAST TIME OUT FOR WAGNER…- Senior guard Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC/David W. Burton) poured in a career-high 38 points and Wagner overcame a 15-point second-half deficit in earning an 85-83 double-overtime victory over Mount St. Mary's in NEC play.
- For the game, Burton shot 13-of-24 from the floor, 9-of-10 from the free throw line, while pulling down six rebounds, dishing out two assists and coming up with two steals.
- This wild, back and forth contest featured six lead changes and 12 ties. The game was tied at 67-67 after regulation and 78-78 after the first overtime, before Wagner outscored Mount St. Mary's 7-5 in the second OT in pulling out the 85-83 victory.
- Freshman guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Mt. Zion Prep) added 15 points and 10 rebounds in recording his first career double-double, while junior forward Stedman Allen (Bronx, NY/Labette CC) and freshman guard Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) chipped in nine and seven points, respectively.
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS...- Robert Morris opened its 2014-15 Northeast Conference slate with a 70-45 home win over Mount St. Mary's (1/3/15), the third straight victory for the Colonials at the Charles L. Sewall Center. Senior forward Lucky Jones paced Robert Morris with 17 points and eight rebounds and was one of four players to score in double figures in the win.
- For the Colonials, tonight's matchup at Wagner is the second of a three-game road trip after RMU fell 66-59 in Loretto, PA against Saint Francis U. RMU freshman guard Marcquise Reed, who was recently named NEC Co-Rookie of the Week, led all scorers in the game with 22 points, finishing 8-for-9 shooting from the field and 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. Junior forward Stephan Bennett tied a season high with 10 points off the bench.
- For the season, three Colonials have three players who are averaging double-figures, led by the neophyte Reed, a 6-3 guard, who is pouring in 13.8 points per contest, good for eighth in the circuit, and second among all NEC rookies. Junior 6-5 guard Rodney Pryor is the team's second leading scorer at 13.3 ppg while veteran and Preseason All-NEC selection Lucky Jones, an athletic 6-6 wing who prepped at famed St. Anthony HS in Jersey City, NJ, checks in at 12.2 ppg and a team-leading 5.6 rebounds a contest.
ALL-TIME AGAINST ROBERT MORRIS...- Tonight's contest is the 64th all-time meeting, with the Colonials holding a 38-25 edge. Last season, these two teams split the season series, with each winning on their respective home courts.
ALL-TIME IN NEC ACTION...- The Seahawks are 250-277 all-time in conference play.
- Under Bashir Mason, the team is 25-11 in NEC play.
AT THE HELM...- Third year head coach Bashir Mason sports a 41-34 career record in his third season manning the sidelines for the Seahawks.
- Mason, who was the youngest coach in Division I Men's Basketball prior to the start of this season (Dana Ford: Tennessee State), has led the Seahawks to back-to-back Northeast Conference semifinal appearances.
- On the opposite bench, Andrew Toole, is in his fifth season on the RMU sidelines, compiling a 95-59 overall record while leading his program to three of the last four NEC Championship games and two regular season championships.
ON THE MARK; RECAPPING BURTON'S CAREER-NIGHT...- Senior guard Marcus Burton's (Charlotte, NC/David W. Butler) 38-Point outing vs. Mount St. Mary's is the most by a Seahawk since other deep-shooting guard, Joey Mundweiler, went for 39 at Monmouth on February 28, 2009 en route to a 91-60 win over the Hawks in what was the final game of Mundweiler's career, and the final game ever played at Boylan Gymnasium. The Hawks moved into the Multipurpose Activity Center (MAC) the following season.
- The 38-point outing fashioned by Burton marked the first time a Seahawk has hit the 30-point plateau since December 15, 2012 when Jonathon Williams tallied 33 during a 77-65 victory over Coppin State.
- Burton's 38-point explosion ranks 13th on the Wagner all-time single-game scoring list. The all-time Seahawk single-game scoring record of 49 points is shared by Terrance Bailey (1/29/86 vs. Brooklyn) and Ray Hodge (12/3/69) vs. Moravian.
- Burton's 38-point performance set a record for the most points ever scored at the Spiro Center by a Wagner player. The previous high recorded by a Seahawk at Spiro, which opened in 1999, was held by Jermaine Hall, who tossed in 36 during an 88-86 win over LIU Brooklyn on February 22, 2001. The all-time Spiro Center scoring mark is held by former Central Connecticut Blue Devil, Kyle Vinales, who totaled 42 points in a 101-82 loss to the Seahawks on February 14, 2013.
- Burton's 38 points are the most by an NEC player this season, surpassing the 32-point outing crafted by Central's Matt Mobley at Sacred Heart also on Monday evening. Prior to Monday, Mobley's 30-point effort vs. Fairfield (11/14) was the high game by an NEC player this season. The 38-point game by Burton is also the highest by an NEC player since March 18, 2014, when Karvel Anderson of Robert Morris hit for 38 in an NIT victory at St. John's.
- Burton surpassed the 800-point plateau vs. the Mount as his 38-point effort gives him 819 for his career.
FREE HOOPS...- Under head coach Bashir Mason, Wagner has played in 10 overtime contests and the team has composed a record of 6-4.
- Wagner's double-overtime game against Mount St. Mary's was the first for the program since February 21, 2008 when the Seahawks posted a 100-92 victory over Sacred Heart at the Spiro Center.
- Monday's double-OT thriller was the second overtime contest of the season for the Green & White, as the Seahawks dropped an 82-81 overtime heart-breaker on the road at America East member, Maine.
- Monday's 2-OT game was the first overtime contest against an NEC opponent for Wagner since falling to St. Francis Brooklyn, 73-72, last February at the Pope Physical Education Center in Brooklyn Heights, NY.
COUNTDOWN TO 1,000 FOR BURTON...- Senior guard Marcus Burton is 181 points away from becoming the 42nd member of the Wagner College 1,000 point club.
- Burton, who has amassed 819 career points, would become third player under coach Mason to achieve the plateau.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME...- All-time, Wagner is 134-72 at the Spiro Center, which includes a 3-2 start this season.
- The Seahawks are outscoring their opponents an average score of 73.8-68.6 at home this season.
- The Seahawks are out-rebounding their opposition on the boards by a +1.2 margin at home(36.0-34.8).
- Wagner's defense has forced 97 turnovers at the Spiro Sports Center, as compared to only 60 forced by visiitng teams.
- Three Seahawks are averaging in double-figures at home, led by senior guard Marcus Burton, who is pouring in 20.4 points per home contest, while logging 34.6 minutes per game.
- A duo of talented freshmen guards, Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Mt. Zion Prep) and JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord), are averaging 13.4 and 11.0 points per contest, respectively, at home, with Cooper dishing out 5.5 assists.
UP NEXT...• On Saturday, January 10 at 4:00 p.m., Wagner hosts LIU Brooklyn in a game that will be streamed live on
ESPN3, the third time this season that Wagner has been featured on the
ESPN platform.This matchup will be the second game of a doubleheader with the Seahawk and Blackbird women's team meeting at 1:00 p.m. in a contest that will aalso be seen on
ESPN 3.
Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department and on the men's basketball program and head coach Bashir Mason (@BashirMason) for news on the third-year head coach.
