Emmitsburg, MD - The opening week of Northeast Conference (NEC) play concludes on Saturday, as the Wagner men's basketball team travels to Emmitsburg, MD to take on the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers. The Seahawks won back-to-back games for the first time this season on the heels of a 71-46 home victory against the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils on Thursday evening. The Mountaineers have also won two straight games, picking up a thrilling 67-65 road victory at LIU Brooklyn.
Series History: Saturday's contest is the 56th all-time meeting between the Seahawks and the Mountaineers with Wagner leading the head-to-head series, 35-20. The Green & White are 17-10 all-time at Knott Arena. Wagner took last season's meetings, 73-63 back on Jan. 30 in Emmitsburg and a 72-51 decision at the Spiro Sports Center. The Mountaineers last defeated Wagner, 74-64, on February 28, 2015, the final day of the regular season at Knott Arena. Overall, Wagner is 3-2 in its last five meetings and 7-3 over the past ten games in the series.
The Coaches: Wagner's
Bashir Mason and Mount's Jamion Christian are in their fifth season as head coaches of their respective teams. Mason is 6-3 against Christian all-time. However, Christian has one Northeast Conference (NEC) title under his belt, capturing the 2014 crown while Mason and the Seahawks are looking for their first since the 2003 campaign.
Scouting The Mount St. Mary's University Mountaineers: The Mount concluded its non-conference schedule at 2-11. Currently, Mount St. Mary's is 3-11; 1-0 NEC after picking up a 67-65 victory on the road at LIU Brooklyn on Thursday night. Chris Wray received the inbounds pass with 4.2 seconds remaining and dribbled the length of the court and hit a driving lay-up at the buzzer to lift the Mount to the win in its Northeast Conference opener. The Mountaineers have a strength of schedule of 35, as they had started the season with nine road games, of that one being ranked (No. 11 West Virginia, lost 87-59) and three that received votes in the most recent AP Poll (Iowa State; Lost 73-55, Minnesota; Lost 80-56, and Arkansas; Lost 89-76). Mount St. Mary's picked up its first win of the season back on November 18 in overtime, defeating Atlantic-10 members, George Mason, 78-76, thanks to Chris Wray's dunk with 1.3 seconds left in overtime. In closing out the non-conference portion of its schedule, the Mountaineers defeated in-state rival, Coppin State, 87-49 at Knott Arena back on December 22. The Mountaineers shot 68.1 percent from the floor while hitting 16-of-25 from three-point range in the victory. Will Miller led the Mount with 16 points, converting 5-of-7 from three-point range in the win. Junior Robinson added 15 points and five assists, with Elijah Long chipping 13 points, five assists and five rebounds. On the season, Long and Robinson are averaging double-digits in points, with Long leading the way at 15.1 ppg while dishing out a team-best 3.6 apg. Robinson, who is the shortest player in the NCAA at 5-5, is tallying 12.4 ppg and 2.6 apg while connecting on 94.1 percent from the free-throw line. As a team, Mount is shooting 41.1 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from beyond-the-arc and 69.8 percent from the free-throw line. They are currently the second-best shooting team from three-point range in the conference, only trailing Saint Francis U (39.4 percent from deep). The Mount is tied in the circuit averaging 3.93 blocks per contest with LIU Brooklyn.
Last Time Against The Mountaineers (2/6/16): Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) tallied the first 10 points for Wagner and finished with a game-high 22 as the Seahawks completed the season-sweep of the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers, 72-51. For Henson, the 22-point outburst marks the third time during the season in which he hit the 20-point plateau. Henson converted on 7-of-14 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in 33 minutes of play. Guard
Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) was the only other Seahawk to reach double-figures, concluding the game with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 23 minutes of action. Mount St. Mary's Junior Robinson scored a team-high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting in 26 minutes of play. The next closet was Charles Glover, who added nine points on a 1-of-6 shooting performance but capitalized from the charity stripe, going 7-for-7 in 30 minutes of play.
Milestone Win For Coach Mason: Fifth-year Wagner head men's basketball coach
Bashir Mason recorded his 75th career win this last Thursday when his Seahawks defeated local rival, CSI, 94-42. It was a case of deja vu for Mason, who earned his 50th career victory against the same Dolphins program last season in which the Seahawks were victorious, 83-59.
Henson Closing In On 1K Career Points: Junior guard
Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) is closing in on becoming the 43rd member of the 1,000 career points club as he enters the Mount St. Mary's contest with 859 career points. After averaging 9.1 ppg in his freshman year (273), Henson has netted a total 586 points between his sophomore and eight games of his junior campaign, which translates to 13.3 ppg over that span. The last member to join the Wagner 1,000 point club was guard Marcus Burton ['14].
Seahawks Top-10 On The Offensive Glass: One of the many staples of the Wagner men's basketball team is the ability to rebound and this year's group is cleaning up on the offensive glass. According to the most recent NCAA release (Dec. 29), Wagner is eighth in the nation, grabbing 15.18 offensive caroms a contest. Ahead of the Green & White is North Carolina (ACC) at 15.64 while Kent St. (Mid-American) is the nation's leader at 18.08 a game.
Back-To-Back #NECPrimePerformers For Wagner: Freshman
Connor Ferrell (Conyers, GA/Rockdale County [DME Sports Academy]), whose father Duane was an 11-year NBA veteran from 1988-99, exploded for a career-high 20 points in Wagner's win over neighboring College of Staten Island on Thursday. He made 4-6 shots from three-point territory and also pulled down a personal-best nine rebounds, all in 23 minutes of play off the bench. Sophomore guard/forward
Elijah Davis (Bronx, NY/Lincoln [Odessa College [TX]) made his third straight start against Providence (12/17) and set career-highs with 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
