Pictured Above: Junior guard
Devin Liggeons (photo by Dave Saffran)
Staten Island, NY – After splitting its two-game road trip at NJIT and Missouri, the Wagner College men's basketball team returns home to the friendly confines of the Spiro Sports Center as the Seahawks host the American University Eagles this afternoon.
Seahawk Three-Pointers:
- This marks the third straight season that the Seahawks and the Eagles are squaring up, with Wagner winning both meetings by an average of 7.5 points (128-113).
- The Green and White holds an all-time mark of 43-39 against members of the current Patriot League and is 2-2 all-time under sixth-year head coach Bashir Mason.
- The Seahawks are 4-1 in home openers under Coach Mason and outscoring their opposition by a +11.2 margin (71.4-60.2 [357-301]).
All-Time Series:
- Wagner leads the all-time head-to-head series, 7-6
- The Seahawks have won the last two meetings, including last season's matchup at Bender Arena, 73-65.
- Three Seahawks finished in double-figures led by Michael Carey, who scored a team-best 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Backcourt teammate JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord) notched a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the victory.
- American's Sa'eed Nelson led all scorers with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor while connecting on 80.0 percent (8-of-10) from the free-throw line.
The Coaches:
- Wagner's Bashir Mason is in his sixth year on the sidelines and holds an 88-70 overall record. Coach Mason is 2-0 against the American University Eagles and 2-2 lifetime against members of the Patriot League.
- American's Mike Brennan, a 1994 graduate of Princeton University, is in his fifth season at the helm and holds a 57-72 overall record. Lifetime, Coach Brennan is 0-2 against the Seahawks.
Scouting The American University Eagles:
- The Eagles are in search of their first win of the season after traveling to a pair of Big 12 opponents in Kansas State (November 10, 2017 || Lost, 83-45) and #24 West Virginia (November 15, 2017 || Lost, 98-64).
- After scoring five points in the season-opener at Kansas State, Nelson finished with 17 points and six assists against the Mountaineers.
- All-time, American is 64-55 against members of the Northeast Conference. This season, the Eagles will play Wagner, Mount St. Mary's and Saint Francis U within a month span.
Last Time Out: @ University of Missouri (November 13, 2017):
- The Wagner men's basketball team fell to the University of Missouri Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on Monday evening, 99-55, at Mizzou Arena.
- Kassius Robertson led all scorers with 23 points for the Tigers, Jordan Barnett added 13 while Kevin Puryear and Terrence Phillips chipped in with 12 points apiece. Jontay Porter contributed 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Missouri shot 68 percent from the field overall and 55 percent from three-point range.
- Sophomore guard Blake Francis (Herndon, VA/Westfield) led the Seahawks for the second-straight game as he finished with a team-best 17 points. After netting a career-high 22 point in the Seahawks victory over the Highlanders, Francis converted on 5-of-9 from the outside, setting a new career milestone for made three-pointers in his young Seahawk career.
- Francis' backcourt mate, senior JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE / Concord), finished with 11 points on the evening while redshirt junior forward AJ Sumbry (East Windsor, NJ / St. Benedict's Prep [Quinnipiac]) and junior guard Devin Liggeons (Philadelphia, PA / Imhotep Charter) added eight points apiece for the Seahawks.
- Liggeons, who shot 4-of-7 from the field, was also Wagner's top rebounder on the night with eight.
- In the later stages of the contest, freshman guard Chase Freeman (Gallatin, TN/Station Camp) recorded his first two collegiate points after drilling a pair of free-throws.
Homecourt Advantage:
- Opened in 1999 as part of a $13-million-dollar campus-wide improvement, the Spiro Sports Center is a 93,000 square foot student-oriented multi-purpose athletic and recreational facility.
- The first game in the Spiro Sports Center came on February 20, 1999 in which the Seahawks defeated NEC-rival, Fairleigh Dickinson, 78-56.
- The first basket came at the 19:45 mark as Wagner College Hall of Famer, Frantz Pierre Louis threw down a monstrous dunk.
- From that point, Wagner has played, including postseason, 248 home games at the Spiro Sports Center, compiling a 161-87 record in those contests (.649 winning percentage).
- Under Coach Mason, the Seahawks are 50-22 at home under his tutelage (.694 winning percentage).
- Coach Mason recorded his 50th home victory back on March 1, 2017 in the NEC Quarterfinals against Fairleigh Dickinson.
Three-Ball Galore:
- The men's basketball team has connected on at least one made three-pointer in 400 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 that contest, Wagner was held to 0-of-13 from long range.
Next Up For Wagner:
- Wagner closes out its two-game homestand on Tuesday, November 21 as the Seahawks welcome the College of Staten Island Dolphins to the Spiro Sports Center for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.
Follow us: #CHAOSonthehill
Wagner Athletics
Men's Basketball:
Head Coach
Bashir Mason:
Wagner Gameday:
