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New Britain, CT - Fresh off claiming sole possession of first place in the Northeast Conference (NEC) standings, the Wagner men's basketball team concludes its season-long four game road trip at Central Connecticut on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in a contest that can be seen live on ESPN3 and WatchESPN app.

The Seahawks (17-9; 10-5 NEC) created some separation in the bunched up league standings following a resounding 94-74 triumph over Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday evening.  Six Seahawks finished in double figures, led by redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman's (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan [University of Rhode Island]) 19-point performance. Wagner got double-double efforts from junior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) (11 pts, 12 rebounds; 11th of the season) and JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord) (12 pts, 12 rebounds; first career double-double).

Central Connecticut (4-22; 3-12 NEC) helped Wagner as the Blue Devils defeated Mount St. Mary's, 76-72 at home thanks to Brandon Peel's game-high 20-point, 12-rebound effort. Saturday's contest marks CCSU head coach Howie Dickenman's final game against Wagner as he announced Thursday evening that he will retire at the conclusion of the season after 20 seasons at the helm of his alma mater. 

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2015-16 Northeast Conference (NEC) Standings (through games 2/18/16)
School	Overall	Pct.	NEC Record	Pct.	Streak
1. WAGNER *	17-9	.654	10-5	.667	Won, 2
2. Fairleigh Dickinson *	13-13	.500	9-6	.600	Lost, 2
Saint Francis U *	13-13	.500	9-6	.600	Lost,2
Mount St. Mary's *	12-16	.429	9-6	.600	Lost, 1
Sacred Heart *	10-16	.385	9-6	.600	Won, 2
6. St. Francis Brooklyn *	12-16	.429	8-7	.533	Won, 1
7. LIU Brooklyn	13-13	.500	7-8	.467	Lost, 1
Robert Morris *	9-19	.321	7-8	.467	Won, 2
9. Bryant	7-21	.250	4-11	.267	Lost, 10
10. Central Connecticut	4-22	.154	3-12	.200	Won, 1

BY THE NUMBERS: 
2: Double-doubles produced by Wagner at FDU as Michael Carey notched his 11th of the season (11 pts, 12 rebounds) and sophomore guard JoJo Cooper recorded the first of his career (12 pts, 12 rebs).
22: Point win over Central Connecticut (70-48) when the two teams met back on January 16, 2016 on Staten Island.
50: Season-high first-half points recorded against Fairleigh Dickinson (2/18/16).
94: Season-high single-game point total for the 2015-16 Seahawks. 
330: Straight game that the Seahawks have made a three-point basket.INSIDE THE SERIES:

• Saturday afternoon's contest marks the 43rd meeting between Wagner and Central Connecticut with the Seahawks holding a 22-20 edge in the head-to-head matchup. 
• These teams met back on January 16 at the Spiro Sports Center in which the Green & White picked up a decisive 70-48 victory over the Blue Devils. 
• This series first began in 1939-40 when Central Connecticut was called New Britain.  The Blue Devils took the inaugural meeting, 51-36.  
• It took 42 years for the two programs to meet again, on December 8, 1988, when CCSU defeated Wagner, 71-54.

 

SCOUTING THE CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY BLUE DEVILS:

• Central Connecticut earned its fourth victory of the season, as the Blue Devils defeated the Mount St. Mary's, 76-72, at Detrick Gymnasium on Thursday.
• Three CCSU players scored in double figures, led by Brandon Peel's game-high 20 points which came on 4-8 shooting from the field and 12-of-14 accuracy from the charity stripe in 35 minutes of action. Peel also pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds in the victory.
• Freshman guard Austin Nehls chipped in 16 points on a 5-of-7 shooting performance while Kevin Seymour added 14 points and six rebounds in 36 minutes of action.
• Following Thursday's win over the Mount, Central Connecticut head coach Howie Dickenman announced that he will be retiring effective at the end of the 2015-2016 season. 
• The Blue Devils feature three players that average double digits, in Khalen Cumberlander (11.7 ppg), Austin Nehls (11.6 ppg) and Brandon Peel (11.3).
• In NEC-only games, Peel is averaging 12.4 ppg to go along with 9.7 rebounds per contest while Cumberlander is chipping in 11.3 ppg and Nehls at 11.1 ppg. 
• As a whole, Central Connecticut is shooting close to 40.0 percent from the field while hitting 32.2 percent from beyond-the-arc. 

 

WAGNER ALL-TIME VS. CONNECTICUT DIVISION I SCHOOLS:

• Wagner holds an all-time mark of 65-58 against all Division I Connecticut schools (Central Connecticut, UConn, Fairfield, Hartford, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and Yale.)
• The only Connecticut-based D-I school that Wagner hasn't faced is Hartford.

UP NEXT FOR WAGNER:

• The final week of the 2015-16 Northeast Conference regular season approaches as the Seahawks welcome Saint Francis U on Thursday, February 25 for a 7:00 p.m. tip at the Spiro Sports Center. 
• The regular season finale is set for Saturday, February 27 at 4:00 p.m. as the Green & White play host to Robert Morris on Senior Day. Before the start of this contest, Wagner will recognize its two seniors, Henry Brooks, and Dwaun Anderson. 
• Both games will be streamed lived on NEC Front Row (www.necfrontrow.com) with Joey Wahler on the call courtside.

 
50/50:

• On Feb. 18 at Fairleigh Dickinson, the Wagner Seahawks entered the break with a 50-39 halftime lead.
• It marked a season-high for points in one half, surpassing the 44 points put up in the November 21 home contest 

 
DOUBLE TROUBLE:

• Junior guard Michael Carey and sophomore guard JoJo Cooper each posted double-doubles against the Knights.
• For Carey, it was his team-leading 11th double-double of the season as he finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
• Cooper, on the other hand, posted his first career double-double performance as he finished with a season-high 12 points to go along with a career-best 12 caroms.
• Carey and Cooper are the first pair of Seahawks to both post double-doubles in the same game since Mark Porter and Durell Vinson accomplished the feat back on February 16, 2008 at home against Monmouth.
• Porter finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Vinson had 19 points and 19 rebounds. 

THE (MICHAEL) CAREY SHOW:

• Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) has a team-leading 11 double-doubles on the season, the last coming on February 11 when he went for 12 points and ten rebounds against LIU Brooklyn on the road.
• Carey ranks third in the Northeast Conference (NEC) in double-doubles. Below, is Carey's double-double performances, in which he is averaging 14.1 ppg and 12.1 rpg when he produces a double-double:

 

A-AMAN FOR MIKE:

• Redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman has been an inside force for the Seahawks over the last five games.
• The 6-8 big man is averaging 10.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg in 21.6 minutes over his last five.
• Aaman's field-goal percentage has been consistently improving, as he is shooting 60.0 percent in the last five contests while converting on 50.0 from the floor overall. 

 
 
ROAD WARRIORS:

• Wagner concludes its second, four-game trip of the season, where the Green & White took on LIU Brooklyn (2/11), Bryant (2/13), Fairleigh Dickinson (2/18) this afternoon at Central Connecticut (2/20).
• So far, the Seahawks are 2-1 on this lengthy road trip after posting a dominating 94-74 victory at Fairleigh Dickinson on 2/18/16. 
• The first four-game road has this season had the Seahawks face three straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) schools in Rider (W, 65-64 on Dwaun Anderson's game-winning jam), Monmouth (L, 73-54 in the Hawks only non-conference home game), Fairfield (76-64, snapping the Stags home win streak) and concluding in Fairfax, VA against Atlantic-10 member, George Mason (Lost, 71-60).
• Away from the SSC (Spiro Sports Center), Wagner is 8-6 this year, but in NEC-only road games, the Seahawks are 6-2. 
• In those contests, sophomore guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Potomac [Mt. Zion Prep]) is averaging 16.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, in 26.8 minutes. Saunders converted on 61.4 percent from the floor and 62.1 percent from beyond the arc.
• Michael Carey is tallying 13.3 ppg while grabbing 7.8 rpg in these eight games, five of which he has started in. Carey has shot 56.9 percent in these contests while converting on 93.3 percent from the free-throw line (28-of-30) while adding seven rejections.
• Mike Aaman has chipped in 13.0 ppg and 6.1 rpg over the seven road NEC contest, which includes shooting 65.2 percent from the field.
• Lastly, Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) has added 11.1 ppg while converting on 46.9 percent from the outside in 27.8 minutes. 

 

IF IT'S FREE, IT HAS TO BE GOOD:

• Against Fairleigh Dickinson on February 18, the Wagner men's basketball team converted on 34-of-37 from the free-throw line, a line season. 
• Six players of the 11 players that saw action in the game were perfect from the charity stripe as sophomore guard Corey Henson went 8-for-8 at the line. Junior guard Michael Carey went 7-7 while redshirt senior guard Dwaun Anderson went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. 
• The Seahawks are statistically the best free-throw shooting team, as they lead the NEC at 73.0 percent. 

 
 
THREE-BALL GALORE:

• The men's basketball team have connected on at least one made three-pointer in 330 straight contests. 
• The last time the Seahawks didn't convert a three-pointer was back on February 28, 2004, at home against NEC-foe, Mount St. Mary's in which the Green & White was held to 0-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc. 

 
 
CONTROLLING THE GLASS:

• Wagner has done a tremendous job on the boards this season, leading the Northeast Conference in Rebounding Offense, Rebounding Defense, and Rebounding Margin.
• The Seahawks have outrebounded its opponents in 19 of 26 games this season.
• The Green & White had an impressive nine-game stretch  (December 30-to-January 24) in which they were outrebounding their opposition before falling one carom short of its nine consecutive games against Sacred Heart back on January 24. 
• The Green & White, so far, has outmuscled the opposition by at least 20 caroms in three games this season, most recently at Fairleigh Dickinson on February 18 (43-20). The two previous times were at Robert Morris on January 4 (44-24) and at home against College of Staten Island (50-29), back on November 28. 

 
 
PAINTING A PICTURE:

• The Seahawks have tallied 813 of its 1,823 from inside the paint.
• The Green & White have allowed its opponents to score 693 points inside the painted area. 
• Wagner has allowed 20-points or fewer from inside the paint in six games this season (at St. John's [14], vs. Morgan State [18], vs. American [16]), vs. Central Connecticut [16], vs. Mount St. Mary's [14]) and at Bryant [16].
• The most points the Seahawks have allowed inside the paint this season is 40 at Saint Francis U back on January 2.

OVER THE LAST TEN GAMES:

• Wagner is 7-3 in its last ten games, 3-2 at home and 4-1 away from the Spiro Sports Center.
• The Seahawks are outscoring its opponents by 9.9 points (74.1-64.2).
• Wagner holds a +6.4 on the glass (38.9-32.5). 
• The Seahawks are shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 37.4 from beyond-the-arc over its last ten games.
• Michael Carey is pouring in 14.8 ppg to go along with 9.4 rpg in 30.4 minutes a contest over his last ten games. Carey has converted on 54.5 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line.
• Corey Henson has chipped in 14.5 points per game while dishing out 2.5 apg and shooting 42.2 from the floor and 37.5 from three-point range.