Game 33 No. 8 Wagner College Seahawks (22-10; 13-5 NEC) vs.  No. 1 St. Bonaventure Bonnies (22-8; 14-4 A10)
Game Details	Wednesday, March 16, 2016 | Olean, NY 7:00 p.m. | Reilly Center (5,480)
Game Coverage	TV: None Radio: None Internet Stream: ESPN3 (Watch Here) Play-by-Play: Doug Sherman Color: Julianne Viani Live Stats: Click Here Twitter: @WagnerAthletics  Twitter: @Wagner_MBB Twitter Hashtag: #CHAOSonthehill
Wagner Links	Media Guide | Game Notes | Roster | Schedule | Staten Island Advance Preview (Cormac Gordon)
St. Bonaventure Links	Game Notes | Roster | Schedule

Postseason NIT Website | NIT Bracket (PDF) | NIT Official Release | Official NIT Program

Olean, NY - The Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season champion Seahawks will face St. Bonaventure on Wednesday evening in the first round of the 2016 National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

Making its first appearance in the NIT since 2002, Wagner is looking to rebound from its NEC title game loss to Fairleigh Dickinson (87-79) in what will be the fifth all-time meeting between the schools.

St. Bonaventure suffered a 90-86 overtime loss in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament to Davidson on March 11 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Wagner is one of 16 regular season champions in the 32-team bracket. The winner of the Wagner-St. Bonaventure contest will next face #4 Creighton/#5 Alabama winner.  

Wednesday's first round contest marks Wagner's third all-time trip to the NIT and fourth post-season appearance. The Seahawks are 0-2 in the NIT (1979: Wagner 81, Old Dominion 83) (2002: Wagner 67, Richmond 74) and 0-1 in the NCAA Tournament (2003: Pittsburgh 87, Wagner 61).

For St. Bonaventure, tonight marks the 16th all-time appearance in the NIT, as the Bonnies hold a 17-16 record. The Bonnies were last in the NIT in 2002 when they fell to Syracuse, 76-66. St. Bonaventure has one NIT crown in its history, when they won the 1977 Tournament, defeating the University of Houston, 94-91. 

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ON THE CALL:

• The Reilly Center will be jammed packed for Wednesday's tonight's NIT First Round contest featuring a pair of regular season champions in the Seahawks and the Bonnies.
• Wednesday's contest will be streamed exclusively on ESPN3 on the Watch ESPN app as Doug Sherman and Julianne Viani call all the action from courtside.

A WIN OVER ST. BONAVENTURE MEANS:

• Wagner will record its first-ever NIT win
• The Seahawks improve to 1-2 all-time in the NIT. 
• The Green & White will up its sixth all-time victory against current Atlantic 10 members. 
• Wagner will tie for the second-most single-season wins in program history as the 2015-16 Seahawks would improve to 23-10 and tie the mark set by the 2007-08 Seahawk squad, which finished with a 23-8 record under head coach Mike Deane. 

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St. Bonaventure Bonnies	Category	Wagner College Seahawks
Lost 1	Current Streak	Lost, 1
4-1	Last Five Games	4-1
8-2	Last Ten Games	8-2
77.8	Scoring Average	70.5
72.8	Scoring Defense	64.0
+5.0	Scoring Margin	+6.5
.446	FG Percentage Offense	.427
.434	FG Percentage Defense	.407
.377	3FG Percentage Offense	.329
.319	3FG Percentage Defense	.325
8.2	3FG Made Per Game	5.9
.772	FT Percentage	.712
17.2	FT Attempts Per Game	14.0
15.3	FT Attempts Per Game (Opp)	15.7
35.7	Rebounding Avg	40.1
36.6	Rebounding Against Avg	32.6
-0.9	Rebounding Margin	+7.6
13.6	Assists Per Game	13.3
11.5	Turnovers Per Game	13.4
13.2	Turnover Forced Per Game	14.3
+1.7	Turnover Margin	+1.0
5.9	Steals Per Game	6.0
4.3	Blocks Per Game	4.1

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CAREY, HENSON NAMED TO NEC All-TOURNAMENT TEAM:

• At the conclusion of the NEC finals on March 8, it was announced that Michael Carey and Corey Henson were named to the 2016 All-NEC Tournament team.
• Carey and Henson were among four Seahawks to average double-figures over the three-game tournament, with Carey averaging 18.3 ppg and 11.7 rpg. Additionally, Carey shot 55.3 percent from the field and dished out a team-best nine assists.
• Henson averaged 15.3 ppg in the NEC tournament while logging 32.3 minutes of action and shooting 45.9 percent from the field and dishing out seven helpers.

SWEEPSTAKES: 

• Wagner took the season series from five of the ten teams in the conference this season, which includes winning three straight over the 2015 NEC champions, Robert Morris
• This marks the first season in which the Seahawks had swept more than three teams since the 2013-14 when the Green & White took two victories over four different teams. 

BACK-TO-BACK LOSSES ARE RARE FOR WAGNER:

• The Wagner Seahawks have not lost back-to-back games since November 13-15 when the Green & White dropped 66-57 and 69-59 decisions to Big East members, St. John's and Seton Hall, respectively, to open the 2015-16.

CLOSE CALL:

• The Seahawks claimed two one-point wins in the same season for the first time this year since the 2009-10 campaign when they also had a pair of one-point wins (vs. Saint Peter's, 59-58) and (vs. Sacred Heart, 74-73).
• Wagner prevailed 62-61 over Morgan State thanks to a game-winning free-throw by sophomore guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Potomac [Mt. Zion Prep]).
• The Seahawks needed an emphatic put-back slam to get past Rider back on December 8 as redshirt senior guard Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI/Suttons Bay [Michigan State]) was able to give the Seahawks a 65-64 thrilling win in Lawrenceville, NJ.

BATTLE OF COACHES OF THE YEAR

• When Wagner and St. Bonaventure tip off tonight in Olean, it will pit two programs which feature coach's who won their conference's Coach of the Year Award.
• For Wagner, head coach Bashir Mason became the third Seahawk head coach to garner the Jim Phelan NEC Coach of the Year award.
• Mark Schmidt of the Bonnies earned A-10 Coach of the Year honors in leading St. Bonaventure to its school record 14-4 conference mark.  

NIT HAS A NEC FEEL TO IT:

• When the Seahawks and Bonnies square off, it will have an NEC feel to it.
• St. Bonaventure is coached by Mark Schmidt, who is in his ninth season with the Bonnies. Before coming to Olean, NY, Schmidt was the head man at Robert Morris in Moon Township, PA, where he compiled an 82-90 overall record in six seasons as the Colonials coach.
• Additionally, former Central Connecticut guard Matt Mobley transferred after his sophomore season to the Bonnies, but will not be eligible for tonight's contest due to NCAA Transfer Regulations.

NEC VS. ST. BONAVENTURE, ATLANTIC 10:

• This marks the first matchup of a Northeast Conference team against St. Bonaventure this season. 
• The NEC posted a 0-7 record against Atlantic 10 opponents in 2015-16.

NEC, WAGNER VS. POSTSEASON NIT FIELD

• Wagner played one NIT qualifier in the non-conference season, falling at Monmouth on December 13.  
• The NEC went 1-8 against the 2016 Postseason NIT field.
• Mount St. Mary's knocked off Bucknell, 81-73, back on December 8 in Emmitsburg, MD. 

SCOUTING ST. BONAVENTURE:

• The Bonnies finished 22-8 and 14-4 in conference play en route to a three-way tie in the final regular season standings. 
• Dayton received the No. 1 seed in the A-10 tournament due to posting a 2-1 record over VCU and the Bonnies while VCU earned the No. 2 seed by going 1-1 vs. Dayton and St. Bonaventure.
• The Bonnies were pitted against No. 6 seed Davidson but feel in the first round, 90-86, in overtime.  
• Dion Wright and Marcus Posley each had 32 points to pace the Bonnies, with Wright grabbing 15 rebounds in the contest.
• Posley dished out a team-leading five assists in the contest. 
• For the game, St. Bonaventure shot 46.7 percent from the floor while being limited to just 29.2 percent from beyond-the-arc.
• On the season, Posley led the team at 19.7 ppg while shooting 42.3 percent from the field and 81.0 percent from the free-throw line.  
• Jaylen Adams tallied 17.7 ppg while connecting on 87.3 percent from the charity stripe in 37.4 minutes per contest.
• Wright averaged 16.9 ppg and a team-leading 9.0 rebounds per game. 

DOUBLE DIGIT DOMINANCE:

• Of the Green & White's 22 wins this season, 14 of those victories came via double-digit triumphs
• The Seahawks rattled off seven wins when outscoring their opponents by at least 20-points, which included a three-game stretch with wins over Bryant (+24), Fairleigh Dickinson (+20), and Central Connecticut (+26).

REBOUNDING KEY TO SEAHAWK SUCCESS:

• Wagner, who ranked 11th in the NCAA in Offensive Rebounds Per Game (14.0), 19th in Rebound Margin (+7.6) and 23rd In Total Rebounds Per Game (40.13), outmuscled its opponents in 24 of 32 games this season. 
• The Seahawks controlled the boards by a double-digit margin in 18 of those contest while compiling a 16-2 record.

ROAD WARRIORS:

• The Wagner Seahawks have won seven of their last eight road games. 
• In 15 road games this season, Wagner is 9-6 but were 7-2 in NEC play.
• Sophomore guard Corey Henson is one of three Seahawks to tally double-figures away from the Spiro Sports Center, as the second-year guard is averaging 12.0 points per contest.  
• Additionally, Henson is shooting 40.5 percent from the field and 46.8 percent from beyond-the-arc in those contests.
• Carey is pouring in 10.7 ppg on the road while converting 91.7 percent from the free-throw line.  
• Anderson has contributed 10.6 ppg and 4.6 rebounds while recording 20 steals and swatting away seven shots on the road. 

CLAMPING DOWN ON THE OFFENSE:

• Wagner held its opponents to under 60 points in 12 games this season en route to a 12-0 record in those contests.
• In two games this season, the Seahawks were able to hold its opponents under 50 points in American (55-48, 12/6/15) and Central Connecticut (70-48, 1/16/16).

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME:

• Wagner finished 13-4 at the Spiro Sports Center this season and ran its record to 54-18 at home over the last five years.
• Sophomore guard Corey Henson is poured in 15.2 ppg in 17 games at the Spiro Sports Center this season while shooting 44.9 percent from the floor and 37.1 percent from three-point range in 31.6 minutes a contest. Henson has also connected at a 83.0 percent clip from the free-throw line. 
• Junior guard Michael Carey has averaged a double-double at home this season, recording 14.2 ppg and 10.9 rpg in 17 games, 13 of which he has started.  The Nassau, Bahamas native is shot 51.5 percent from the field.
• Under fourth-year head coach, Bashir Mason, the Seahawks are 42-15 at the Spiro Sports Center. 
• All-time, Wagner is 153-80 since the Spiro Sports Center opened on February 20, 1999, in which the Seahawks played Fairleigh Dickinson to a 78-56 victory.

TOP-TEN MOST IMPROVED TEAM:

• After a 10-20 season in 2014-15, the Wagner men's basketball had a drastic turnaround, posting a 20-win season for only the sixth time in program history.
• Additionally, this season's squad were ranked seventh in the NCAA's Most Improved Teams department.

NATIONAL STATISTICS:

• Through games 3/14/16, Wagner ranks among the top-50 in the NCAA in six statistical categories.
• The Seahawks are 11th in the NCAA in Offensive Rebounds Per Game, pulling down 14.0 caroms a contest, which leads the conference and trails former-NEC and current Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) member, Quinnipiac, by 2.60 offensive rebounds as the Bobcats are pulling down 16.60. 
• The Green & White are 21st in the nation in Scoring Defense, allowing 64.0 points per game. Wagner, who leads the conference in scoring defense, have only allowed 4.7 more points than the nation's leader, Wichita State, who has yielded just 59.3 ppg.
• The Seahawks rebounding margin is a +7.6, good for 19th in the land. Michigan State is the leader at 11.7.  
• Speaking of rebounding, Wagner is 23rd nationally in total rebounds per game at 40.13 and 45th in total rebounds with 1,284.

Follow Wagner Athletics on Facebook (facebook.com/WagnerAthletics), Twitter (@wagnerathletics), Instagram (@wagnerathletics) and YouTube (@WagnerSeahawks) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department. Follow Wagner MBasketball on Twitter (@Wagner_MBB) for the latest news and updates on the 2015-16 Wagner Men's Basketball team and head coach Bashir Mason (@BashirMason) for news on the fourth-year head coach.