Staten Island, NY - After opening its season with an 89-49 loss at Seton Hall on Tuesday, followed by a  tough 88-84 overtime loss at UMass Lowell on Saturday, the Wagner men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Spiro Sports Center tonight to face Division III member SUNY Cortland.

At the same time that Wagner was engaged in its battle with UM Lowell, a contest that featured eight ties and 14 lead changes, the Red Dragons were in the process of staging a furious 102-94 comeback win over Elmira

About the Seahawks

*The 2018-19 Seahawks feature seven returners from last season's Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season championship team that compiled a 23-10 record and a 14-4 league mark and earned a berth in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

*The Green & White  also welcome six newcomers, which includes a pair of players who sat out the season but will benefit from having competed in practice throughout last season.

*Led by two-time and reigning NEC Coach of the Year, Bashir Mason, the Green & White have earned NEC regular season titles and subsequent NIT berths in two of the last three seasons.

*After falling in the NEC title game in both 2016 and 2018, the Seahawks have established themselves as one of the NEC's marquee teams during Mason's six seasons at the helm, having reached the league tournament in each of Mason's six previous seasons.

Full Season Preview of 2018-19 Seahawks

About SUNY Cortland

*The SUNY Cortland Red Dragons compete in the Division III State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) under 24th-year head coach Tom Spanbauer, who entered the 2018-19 season as Cortland's career leader in men's basketball victories with a 23-year record of 393-238 (.623) at Cortland and a career mark of 405-251.

*Spanbauer has been named SUNYAC "Coach of the Year" six times, most recently during the 2015-16 season when Cortland finished 21-8 and won the SUNYAC tournament title.

*In 2017-18, the Red Dragons compiled an 18-9 overall record, inclduing a 13-5 mark in the SUNYAC before advancing to the the quarterfinals of the league tournament.

Did You Know?
*The last time Wager faced a Division III foe was November 21, 2017 when the Seahawks knocked off the College of State, Island (CSI), 107-64, at the Spiro Center. Cortland St., meanwhile, will be playing its first  regular-season game versus a Division I opponent since the 1993-94 season. Cortland played at Cornell in December 1993 in a game that counted and last season made a trip to Cornell for a November exhibition game.

Wagner Last Time Out
*Redshirt senior guard Romone Saunders paced the Green & White with 20 points to lead five players in double figures at UMass Lowell. Fellow redshirt senior AJ Sumbry, finished with a double-double, tossing in 16 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds.

*Other double-digit scorers for the Seahawks included sophomore Nigel Jackson, who had 15, highlighted by 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range, along with senior guard Devin Liggeons and Elijah Davis who netted 12 and 10 points, respectively.

SUNY Cortland Last Time Out

*Nicky Bonura scored a career-high 31 points and hit five of Cortland's 16 shots from 3-point range as the Red Dragons opened the season with a 102-94 win at Elmira College.

*Cortland trailed 48-32 with 3:36 left in the first half but finished the period on a 9-0 run, starting with a Lydon jumper and ending with a layup by William Lee Moore ), to close to within 48-41.

*The Red Dragons eventually tied the game at 52 on a Bonura layup with 16:02 left and took their first lead since the game's opening basket when Schmadel made a 3-pointer at the 13:41 mark to put the guests up 60-59.

*The game remained tight for the next 10 minutes. Elmira tied the contest at 82 when Kyle Kokoskie hit a layup with 3:44 left. Bonura answered with a jumper 18 seconds later and he hit a trey at the 2:43 mark to make it a five-point lead. Lydon sank two free throws with 2:10 left, and Bonura buried a 3-pointer with 1:24 left to extend Cortland's lead to 92-82 and Dragons never looked back.Three players reached the 20-point mark for Elmira (0-1), led by Henry Cuffee's 24 points.

*Cuffee finished 6-of-7 from the 3-point line. Shawn Backus scored 22 points on 8-of-13 field goal shooting and 6-of-6 free throw accuracy, and Jesse Adelson made 6-of-8 shots from 3-point range and ended with 21 points, three assists and three steals. Justin Porrett led the Soaring Eagles with 14 assists and nine rebounds.

Sumbry Averaging Team-best 14.0 ppg/7.0 rrpg. In First Two Games

*Through two games, the Seahawks are led in scoring by Sumbry who checks in at 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. His 16-point, 10-rebound double-double effort (fifth of his career) at UM Lowell came on the heels of a team-high 12-point effort at Seton Hall, against a Big East front line that rotated no less than eight players who stand 6'8" or more. In 29.0 minutes per game, Sumbry is shooting 52 percent (13-of-25) from the floor while adding two blocks

Newcomers Getting First Taste of Division I

*In Wagner's first two games, five different Seahawks saw the floor for the first time in their respective careers. In the opener at Seton Hall, redshirt junior forward Lonnie Rivera was the first player off the bench and went and the 6-6 transfer from American University, who sat out last season, contributed six points, three rebounds and one assist vs. the Pirates. His 46 minutes played (23 in each game) are the most among Seahawk newcomers.

*The four other Seahawks who saw action in Wagner's first two games include freshmen guards Tyrone Nesby IV and Jonathan Norfleet, with along with a pair of junior college transfers in guard Jeff Coulanges and forward Chance Anderson.

Wagner Picked Fourth in NEC Preseason Poll
*The Northeast Conference (NEC) preseason coaches' poll was announced on October 24 at the league's Social Media Day at Barclays Center, and the defending regular season champion Wagner men's basketball team was predicted to finish fourth by the coaches for the upcoming 2018-19 season. Saint Francis U was tabbed the preseason favorite, securing eight first-place votes. Fairleigh Dickinson was predicted to finish second while defending league champion LIU Brooklyn was picked third, with both the Knights and Blackbirds securing one first-place preseason vote apiece. Wagner checked in at fourth, Robert Morris was chosen fifth, with Central Connecticut and St. Francis Brooklyn taking the sixth and seventh spots, respectively. Bryant (8th), Sacred Heart (9th) and Mount St. Mary's round out the 10-team poll.

2018-19 NEC Men's Basketball
Preseason Poll
1. Saint Francis U (8)
2. Fairleigh Dickinson (1)
3. LIU Brooklyn (1)
4. Wagner
5. Robert Morris
6. Central Connecticut
7. St. Francis Brooklyn
8. Bryant
9. Sacred Heart
10. Mount St. Mary's

Next Up for Wagner
The Seahawks are next in action on Saturday, November 17 when they head back on the road to face the Fairfield University Stags of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in a 1:00 p.m. start.

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