Washington, D.C. – The Wagner men's basketball team kicks off Thanksgiving week by traveling to our nation's capital as the Seahawks square off against the American University Eagles at Bender Arena on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

Wagner enters Tuesday's contest looking to snap a two-game skid after falling in its home opener to Fairfield, 70-64, in overtime on Saturday.  American enters play at 0-3, most recently falling to Akron on the road, 72-62.  
 
Tuesday's contest from Bender Arena is the home opener for the Eagles.  Wagner is 1-1 against teams hosting their home openers this season.  The Seahawks shocked then No. 18|16 UCONN at Gampel Pavilion before falling in its home opener on Nov. 19 against Fairfield.  Before Saturday's overtime defeat, the Green & White had won their previous six home openers (2010-2015).  

Series History: The all-time series between Wagner and American is tied at 6-6. Wagner has won four of the previous five meetings against the Eagles by an average of 3.4 points (63.4- 60.0). 

All-Time Against The Patriot League: All-time, the Seahawks are 42-39 against current members of the Patriot League.  Wagner holds a .500 record or better against three of the seven teams: Boston University (4-2), Bucknell (8-4), and Lehigh (12-7). The Seahawks have never faced Colgate, Holy Cross, and Navy.

The Last Meeting (Dec. 6, 2015): Three Seahawks finished in double figures, led by Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic), who tallied 14 points in 32 minutes of action while Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) netted 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Wagner defeated American at the Spiro Sports Center, 55-48. American was led by Delante Jones, who scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field while grabbing seven rebounds.  
 
Scouting The American University Eagles: Predicted to finish fifth in the Patriot League standings, the Eagles have started the year 0-3. American traveled to preseason No.25|21 Maryland in the season opener, battling the Terps before falling 62-56. American then headed to College Station, TX where the Eagles fell to Texas A&M, 76-53, before wrapping up its road trip in Akron, OH against the Zips.  On Thursday, the Eagles dropped a 72-62 decision to Akron, despite getting 18 points apiece from Delante Jones and James Washington.  

Over the first three games, the Eagles are averaging 57.0 ppg while giving up 70.0 (-13.0 scoring margin). As a whole, they are shooting 39.5% from the field and 32.4% from three-point range. The Eagles have struggled early from the charity stripe, converting on just 58.6% from the line (17-of-29). Following the Wagner contest, American will see only one more member of the Northeast Conference (NEC), as the Saint Francis U Red Flash pays a visit on Nov. 26.  Last season, American went 0-3 against the NEC, with losses to Wagner, Mount St. Mary's and Saint Francis U, all coming on the road.

A Win Would: Give Wagner a 7-6 edge in the head-to-head series and extends its winning streak to three against the Eagles and up the win total to five wins in the last six meetings while running Wagner's record against the current members of the Patriot League to 43-39 and two straight against the conference. 

Hanging With Mr. Cooper: Junior guard JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord) filled up the stat sheet in the home opener against Fairfield on Saturday afternoon.  Garnering his first start of the season, Cooper matched his season-high in points with 13 while pulling down a season-best ten rebounds and dishing out eight helpers. The Delaware native recorded his second career double-double in the process while being the team's leader in assists for the 40th time in his three-year career. 

Blake, Rattle and Roll: Freshman Blake Francis (Herndon, VA/Westfield) showed no signs of being a "rookie" over the Seahawks last two games. Francis has averaged 13.0 ppg, while shooting close to 40.0% from the field and 42.9% percent from the outside (6-of-14). In his first collegiate game at UMass Lowell (11/14/16), Francis logged 21 minutes in which he tallied 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting.  Coming into the contest at the 9:11 mark to replace Carey, Francis misfired on his first three attempts, two of which coming from the outside.  His first career bucket came at the 4:45 mark of the first half as he got the feed from Cooper to cut the River Hawks lead to nine at 29-20. In his first home game against Fairfield, Francis provided the Green & White with valuable minutes in reserve, logging 37 minutes while connecting on 4-of-8 from beyond-the-arc en route to a career-best 14 points. 

Mr. Double-Double:  Senior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) picked up his 16th career double-double against UMass Lowell (11/14/16), in which he tallied 11 points and a season-high 13 rebounds.  Last season, Carey ranked third in the NEC with 15 double-doubles, 12 of which coming against NEC-opponents.