Game Notes: Wagner | Robert Morris

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Staten Island Advance Game Preview (By Cormac Gordon)
 
Moon Township, PA- The Wagner College men's basketball team will look to string back-to-back wins and improve its seeding for the upcoming 2015 Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament when the Seahawks travel to Robert Morris on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. 

The Seahawk-Colonial game kicks off a a two-game road swing as Wagner's NEC regular season slate concludes on Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. tip at Mount St. Mary's. Following Saturday's impressive 60-47 win at LIU Brooklyn, the Seahawks are 8-8 in the conference (10-17 overall) and in a three-way tie for the fifth seed with Saint Francis U. and LIU Brooklyn. The Colonials are tied with Bryant and defending NEC champion Mount St. Mary's for second place at 10-6 (14-14 overall) and need just one more win to clinch a quarterfinal round home game.THE COACHES
Wagner:                               
Bashir Mason:
48-41, Third Season
Overall Record at Wagner: Same
All-time against RMU: 1-3
 
Robert Morris:
Andrew Toole
Overall Record: 104-64
Overall Record at Robert Morris: Same
All-time against WC: 6-3
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR WAGNER...

• Wagner picked up a pivotal NEC victory as they def eated the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds, 60-47, at the Steinberg Wellness Center on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Seahawks, evened their NEC record at 8-8 while improving to 10-17 overall on the season. The Blackbirds, meanwhile, also sport an 8-8 league mark while their season record stands at 12-15.
• After the completion Saturday's games, Wagner finds itself in a three-way tie for fifth place with the Blackbirds and Saint Francis U., who were defeated by St. Francis Brooklyn earlier in the day, 66-54, a win that clinched the 2014-15 NEC regular season title for the Terriers.
• Senior guard Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC/David W. Butler) recorded his 15th straight double-digit scoring game, and his 10th 20-point effort this season, as the fourth-year shooting guard tallied 20 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the field, including a 5-of-11 shooting performance in the seconf. The Charlotte, NC native now stands 31st all-time on the Wagner all-time scoring list, five points shy to leapfrog Harry Orlando's ('60) total of 1,117.
• Junior forward Stedman Allen (Bronx, NY/Labette C.C.) recorded his first career "double-double," finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds vs. LIU Brooklyn. The 12 points match a career-best for the athletic 6-6 forward, who dropped 12 against Saint Francis U in the conference opener back on January 3. Sophomore forward Nolan Long (Waterford, CT/Waterford/South Kent) contributed eight points on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting while pulling down six caroms.
• The Blackbirds didn't have a single player score in double figures and were led by Glenn Feidanga's eight points. Trevin Woods and Elvar Fridriksson each posted six points with Woods pulling down a team-best seven rebounds.

 
ALL-TIME AGAINST ROBERT MORRIS...

• Tonight's contest is the 65th all-time meeting with the Colonials holding a 39-25 edge.
• Wagner is 1-4 against the Colonials in their last five matchups, most recently a 77-73 home setback on January 8 in a game seen live on CBS Sports Network.
• In that contest, three Seahawks scored in doubl -figures, led by senior guard Marcus Burton's game-high 21 points. Freshmen Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) and Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Mt. Zion Prep) added 16 and 12 points, respectivel..
• The Colonials also had three in double-digits, led by the tandem of Lucky Jones and Rodney Pryor, who each posted 18 points, with Jones adding 10 rebounds. Marcquise Reed added15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor.

 
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS...

• The Colonials, who have made it to five out of the last six NEC Championship finals, are currently tied with Bryant and defending NEC champion Mount St. Mary's for second place at 10-6 and need one more win to clinch a quarterfinal round home game in the upcoming NEC Tournament.
• Robert Morris has finished .500 or better in NEC play for 12 straight years, the longest streak in league history.
• Marcquise Reed is the team's leading scorer at 15.0 ppg while Rodney Pryor helped lead RMU to a split last week on the road with some deadeye shooting, averaging 27.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg while shooting 67.7 percent (21-31) from the field. His stat line included 63.6 percent (7-11) from beyond the arc, and 85.7 percent (6-7) accuracy at the free throw line.

 
#NECBBT15

• March Madness is around the corner, but in the Northeast Conference, the February Frenzy is where it's at.
• With just one week left in what has been another compelling regular season, one in which parity has reigned supreme - at least from second place on down - all that is great about the NEC will be on display when teams hit the hardwood this week.
• The eight qualifying teams were all but determined heading into last week, with just one berth remaining. That spot was gobbled up by Sacred Heart last Thursday, which earned its first NEC postseason berth since the 2011-12 season.
• The Pioneers joined St. Francis Brooklyn, Bryant, Robert Morris, Mount St. Mary's, LIU Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner in the tourney field.
• The race for the NEC regular season title turned into a runaway with St. Francis Brooklyn officially clinching the program's third crown on Saturday with a 66-54 win over Saint Francis U.
• For leagues that invite everyone to the tournament or host their postseason event at a neutral site, the end of February can't come close to boasting the drama the NEC will provide this week, especially with the three-way ties for second and fifth place in the standings.
• Bryant, Mount St. Mary's and Robert Morris are tied for second place at 10-6, with each needing one more win to clinch a quarterfinal round home game in the NEC Tournament.
• Robert Morris holds the three-way tiebreaker over Bryant and Mount St. Mary's. Robert Morris also holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Mount. If all three teams win out, then Robert Morris will be the #2 seed, Bryant the #3 seed and Mount the #4 seed.
• At 8-8, Saint Francis U, LIU Brooklyn and Wagner are all still alive to host NEC quarterfinal round games.
• For seeding purposes, Wagner holds the three-way tiebreaker with LIU Brooklyn and Saint Francis U, and the Blackbirds would slot in ahead of the Red Flash.
• At 7-9, Sacred Heart has exceeded all expectations, having been picked 10th in the preseason coaches poll. The Pioneers cannot host, but could climb as high as the #5 seed.
• How about going tiebreaker crazy?
• There could conceivably be a six-way tie for second place at 10-8. If that is the case, it would shake out with Bryant at #2, Wagner #3, LIU Brooklyn #4, Saint Francis U #5, Robert Morris #6 and Mount St. Mary's #7.

 AT THE HELM...

• Tonight's contest between the Seahawks and Colonials features two of the three youngest head coaches in the Northeast Conference as third-year Seahawks head coach Bashir Mason brings a 47-41 career record against the Colonials' Andrew Toole, who has the highest winning percentage amongst the nine-youngest head coaches in the nation, sports a 104-64 career record.

 
BURTON CONTINUES HIS ASCENSION...

• In Saturday's 60-47 win at LIU Brooklyn, Wagner senior guard Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC/David W. Butler) recorded his 15th straight double-digit scoring performance and his tenth 20-point effort this season as the fourth-year shooting guard tallied 20 points on 9-21 shooting from the field.
• The Charlotte, NC native now stands 31st on Wagner's all-time scoring list with 1,112 points, surpassing Tony Rice (1,101) last week.
• Burton enters the final week of the regular season needing just six points to leapfrog Harry Orlando's ('60) total of 1,117.

 
OVERCOMING POTENTIAL DEFEAT...

• On three occasions this season, the Wagner men's basketball team erased double-digit deficits to pick up key victories.
• The first occurrence, on November 29th, the Seahawks were down by 12 to the University of Pennsylvania and managed to secure a three-point win against the Quakers.
• The second time, the defending Northeast Conference (NEC) champions, Mount St. Mary's, built up a 15 point lead in which Wagner responded sending the game to double-overtime and securing a 85-83 triumph.
•  The most recent time this has this season, the Green & White hosted LIU Brooklyn. The Seahawks found themselves down 11 points and wound up turning the tables and defeating the Blackbirds by five.

 
ROAD BLOCK...

• Wagner is just 2-12 on the season in games away from the Spiro Sports Center.
• Prior to their 60-47, wire-to-wire triumph at LIU Brooklyn on February 21st, the Seahawks had dropped their last three road contests, as their first road victory came back on January 17th in Hackensack, NJ against the Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights.
• The Green & White are being outscored, 75.7-to-64.9 on the road while being held to just 29.9 percent shooting from long rang as opposed to 38.6 from their opponents.
• Senior guard Marcus Burton is the lone Seahawk averaging double-figures away from Staten Island, as the fourth-year guard is pouring in 16.5 points per game in 13 road contests.

 
SEAHAWK TIP-INS...

• Wagner leads the Northeast Conference (NEC) in Offensive Rebounds and tanks eighth among the NCAA in tis category, averaging 14.7 offensive boards per contest this season.
• Over their first 10 games of the season (2-8 overall record), the Seahawks were only converting 60.9% from the free-throw line.
• Senior guard Marcus Burton and junior forward Mike Aaman have transformed this team towards a possible home playoff game in the upcoming NEC Tournament as Burton is pouring in 20.8 points per game during this stretch while Aaman is averaging a double-double of 11.3 points and 11.6 caroms per contest.

 RECORD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF...

• 5-2: When leading at halftime
• 4-1: When holding opponents under 60 points
• 7-4: When shooting 70 percent or better from the free-throw line
• 4-4: When 2 players hit double-figures
• 6-4: on games played on Saturday
• 3-5: on games played on Thursday
• 10-12: When senior guard Marcus Burton scores in double-figures
• 6-6: When freshman guard JoJo Cooper dishes out five or more assists.

 BURTON'S A CHART-TOPPER...

• Senior guard Marcus Burton recorded his 15th straight double-digit scoring performance and his tenth 20-point effort this season as the fourth-year shooting guard tallied 20 points on 9-21 shooting from the field at LIU Brooklyn (2/21/15).
• The Charlotte, NC native now stands 31st on Wagner's all-time scoring list with 1,112 points, surpassing Tony Rice (1,101) last week. Burton enters the final week of the regular season needing just six points to leapfrog Harry Orlando's ('60) total of 1,117.
• Once Burton surpasses Orlando's total, he will have his sights set on embarking the top-25 as he will need to score a total of 62 points to replace Tom Miller ('74), who finished his Seahawk career with 1,174
• Among the names that Burton will pass if he does indeed become the 25th all-time leading scorer in Wagner men's basketball history: 29th: Oliver Featherston ('69; 1,129); 28th: Durell Vinson ('08; 1,144); 27th Courtney Pritchard ('04; 1,147); 26th: Ed Peterson ('56; 1,172).
• Burton became the 42nd member of the 1,000 career-point club back on January 31st against the Central Connecticut Blue Devils at the Spiro Sports Center.

 
NEXT UP FOR WAGNER...

• The 2014-15 regular season concludes on Saturday, February 28 when the Seahawks travel to Emmitsburg, MD to square off against the defending Northeast Conference champions Mount St. Mary's at Knott Arena.
• The Green & White defeated the defending champs back on January 5 in an 85-83 double-overtime thriller on Grymes Hill.

 
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.