Game 11 UMass Lowell River Hawks (4-8; 0-0 AE) @ Wagner College Seahawks (6-4; 0-0 NEC)
Game Details	Wednesday, December 30, 2015  | Staten Island, NY 7:00 p.m. | Spiro Sports Center (2,100)
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UMass Lowell Is Headed Into Spiro Sports Center Wednesday, Where Wager Is Undefeated (Cormac Gordon, Staten Island Advance)

Staten Island, NY - After splitting a season-high four game road trip with victories over Rider and Fairfield University, the Wagner men's basketball team concludes its non-conference schedule and 2015 at the Spiro Sports Center as they welcome America East member, the UMass Lowell River Hawks this evening.

STORYLINES...

• Wagner is 17-15 against schools in the America East Conference. 
• UMass Lowell is the second America East school on the Seahawks schedule, after the Green & White defeated the University of Maine, 87-73, back on November 21 for Wagner's home opener.  
• Fourth-year head coach Bashir Mason is 2-3 against teams from the America East Conference.
• Wagner is UMass Lowell's fourth Northeast Conference (NEC) opponent this season as they hold a 1-2 record this season.  
• The Seahawks sport a 4-0 record at the Spiro Sports Center this season, bringing their overall home record to 144-76 and are 33-11 under Coach Mason.

UMASS LOWELL RIVER HAWKS:

• Wednesday evenings contest between the Seahawks and the River Hawks is the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
• Wagner is 1-0 on the year against members of the America East Conference, after defeating the University of Maine, 87-73, back on November 21 in the Seahawks' home opener.
• The Seahawks are 4-0 at the Spiro Sports Center this year and boasts an overall home mark of 144-76. Under fourth-year head coach, Bashir Mason, the Green & White are 33-11 at home.

TALE OF THE TAPE:

 

STATS COMPARISON (2015-16 stats)

Category	WAGNER	UMASS LOWELL
Points	65.8	73.8
Opponent Points	64.8	81.6
Rebounds	39.5	34.0
Opponent Rebounds	35.0	38.4
Field Goal Pct.	38.2	44.1
Opponent Field Goal Pct.	41.6	47.8
Three-Point Field Goal Pct.	31.1	36.9
Opponent Three-Point Field Goal Pct.	36.3	39.7
Three-Point Field Goal Made Per Game	6.6	11.0
Opponent Three-Point Field Goal Made Per Game	6.5	14.1
Free Throw Pct.	72.7	69.8
Opponent Free Throw Pct.	69.9	65.0
Free Throws Made	12.8	11.0
Opponent Free Throws Made	15.1	14.1
Assists	11.2	14.5
Opponent Assists	11.9	14.5
Turnovers	14.6	14.5
Opponent Turnovers	16.4	13.9
Blocked Shots	2.9	2.3
Opponent Blocked Shots	4.0	3.3

COMMON FOES:

• Wagner and UMass Lowell have four opponents in common, Central Connecticut, LIU Brooklyn, Maine and Sacred Heart
• While the Seahawks will see Central Connecticut, LIU Brooklyn, and Sacred Heart when Northeast Conference (NEC) commences in 2016, the River Hawks will see the University of Maine on two occasions when America East play begins on January 6 and will see the Black Bears on January 13. 

WAGNER ALL-TIME VS. THE AMERICA EAST CONFERENCE:

• All-time, Wagner is 17-15 against schools that make up the America East Conference.  
• UMass Lowell is the second America East school on the Seahawks schedule, after the Green & White defeated the University of Maine, 87-73, back on November 21 in the Seahawks' home opener.  
• The Seahawks have yet to face two members of the conference, Binghamton, and Hartford.

WAGNER ALL-TIME VS. MASSACHUSETTS DIVISION I SCHOOLS:

• Wagner holds an all-time mark of 8-4 against Division I programs from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• Out of the seven D1 programs in Massachusetts, Wagner has faced Boston University (4-2), Harvard (2-0), and Northeastern (2-2).  
• The Seahawks have yet to face Boston College, Holy Cross, and Massachusetts. 

SCOUTING THE UMASS LOWELL RIVER HAWKS: 

• The River Hawks are 4-8 on the season and look to stop a season-high four game losing streak after falling to Rutgers, 89-66, on Monday evening from The RAC. 
• UML has two players scoring in double-figures for the season in Jahad Thomas and Isaac White.  Thomas is the team's leading scorer at 12.0 ppg while shooting 55.3 percent from the field and the squad's leading rebounder, pulling down 7.3 caroms a contest.  
• White is averaging 11.3 ppg while converting on a team-leading 40.6 percent from three-point range.  White is logging 30.8 minutes a contest, leading the River Hawks in that department. 

UMASS LOWELL HEAD COACH PAT DUQUETTE:

• Duquette enters his third year as the UMass Lowell men's basketball head coach in 2015-16.  
• During his tenure, he has guided the squad through its first two years of the NCAA Division I transition, compiling a 26-43 overall record and a 14-18 mark in league play as the newest member of the America East Conference.  
• In 2014-15, Duquette led the River Hawks to their best Division I finish yet with a 12-17 overall record.  
• Opening its inaugural DI season in 2013-14 at just 1-11, Duquette's squad hit its stride during the latter part of the year en route to accumulating a 10-18 overall mark with an impressive 8-8 America East record. 
• In recognition of his first-year successes at UMass Lowell, Duquette was named America East Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com and one of 10 finalists for the 2014 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award.
• Duquette came to UMass Lowell following three years as the associate head coach to Bill Coen at Northeastern, which followed 13 years as an assistant/associate head coach to Al Skinner at Boston College.

'TIS THE (CONFERENCE BASKETBALL) SEASON:

• After 50 days of competing it out with the other 31 conferences, a new battle begins this Saturday, one that will stretch more than two months and conclude on March 8 with the crowning of a new NEC men's basketball champion.
• Due to New Year's falling on a Friday, the first week of games has once again been shifted to a Saturday/Monday format, meaning teams will be playing four games in eight days to begin the conference campaign.
• Look no further than Wagner.  The Seahawks were predicted to finish sixth in the poll but have won six games in out-of-league play.  Saint Francis U and Fairleigh Dickinson, tabbed eighth and ninth, respectively, have had some impressive wins and look the part of contenders rather than bottom half of the league teams.
• Perhaps the most intriguing storyline on opening weekend is Wagner's trip out west to play Saint Francis U and Robert Morris. 
• If the Seahawks can navigate the always elusive Keystone State sweep, they would return home knowing seven of their next ten games are in the friendly confines of the Spiro Sports Center.

RPI RISING: 

• Wagner brings a 6-4 record into Wednesday's contest with two of the setbacks coming against teams in the top 60 RPI rankings (#12 Monmouth and #45 Seton Hall). 
• Wagner has losses against teams among the top-200 RPI, namely #182 George Mason and #204 St. John's.
• Among Northeast Conference (NEC) schools, the Seahawks are the highest ranked team at #173, followed by #207 Fairleigh Dickinson, #242 Saint Francis U and #286 LIU Brooklyn. 

NATIONAL STATISTICS:

• Through games 12/27/15, Wagner ranks among the top-100 in the entire NCAA in eight statistical categories while ranking among the top-50 in three categories.
• The Seahawks are 18th in the nation in Offensive Rebounds Per Game at 14.6 while ranking 26th in Turnovers Forced at 16.4.
• The Green & White are 41st in the Steals Per Game at 8.3 per game. 
• Additionally, Wagner is 55th in the NCAA in Scoring Defense (64.8 ppg), 62nd in Free-Throw Percentage (72.7%), 80th in Total Rebounds Per Game (39.5), 87th in Turnover Margin (1.8) and 93rd in Rebounding Margin (+4.5). 

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES:

• Through the first ten games last season, Wagner was just 2-8, being outscored by 9.3 points per game (74.1-to-64.8) while only shooting 38.5 percent from the field, 31.2 percent from three-point range and 60.9 percent from the free-throw line.
• Additionally, Wagner only had one player average in double-figures as Marcus Burton ('15) was the team's leading scorer at 14.3 ppg. 
• This season, the Seahawks have tripled its win production (6) and cut their losses in half (4).  While the team is shooting around the same percentage from the field and three-point range, the team's free-throw percentage increased nearly 12 percentage points while having two players average double-figures in scoring, Corey Henson (14.6 ppg) and Dwaun Anderson (13.1 ppg). 

THIS AND THAT:

• The 2015-16 Seahawks guards have accounted for 71.28% percent of the team's total points this season, led by sophomore guard Corey Henson, who paces the program at 22.19%.
• The Seahawks have scored 42.2 percent of its points (658) from the paint this season. 
• Wagner finished its season-high four game road trip with a 2-2 record, posting victories over Rider (65-64) and Fairfield (76-64).
• According to the latest KenPom statistics, junior guard Michael Carey ranks 50th in the entire NCAA in Defensive Rebounding Percentage at 25.3 percentage. This statistic measures the percentage of possible defensive rebounds a player gets and computed PlayerDR [%Min * (Team DR + Opp. OR)].
• Also according to KenPom, the lineup of Corey Henson-Romone Saunders-Dwaun Anderson-Michael Carey-and Henry Brooks has been the most frequent used lineup for the fourth-year head coach, Bashir Mason, as that lineup is used about 14.0 percent of the time so far this season.
• At George Mason (12/22/15), Dwaun Anderson scored a career-high 21 points, the first 20-point performance of Anderson's career and only the second 20-point game from a Seahawk this season (Corey Henson tallied 24 points vs. Maine on November 21.)
• At Fairfield, Anderson's double-digit scoring was halted at eight games as he finished with nine points in the Green & White's, 76-64, victory over the Stags.
• Dwaun Anderson's putback, one-hand slam in Wagner's thrilling 65-64 win over Rider back on December 8, reached No. 5 on ESPN's Sportscenter #SCTop10. For Anderson, it was his fifth appearance on the countdown.

NEXT UP:

• The Seahawks will open its Northeast Conference (NEC) slate on the road for the second straight year, as they travel to Western Pennsylvania to tangle with the Saint Francis University Red Flash on January 2 and conclude the two-day road trip at Robert Morris on Monday, January 4.