*Saturday's contest between Wagner and Fairfield is just the eighth all-time meeting between the schools with the Stags holding a 5-2 edge in the head-to-head series.
*Last season, the Seahawks earned a tight 78-76 win over the Stags on Grymes Hill. Prior to last season, Wagner's lone win against Fairfield came back on December 18, 2015, when the Seahawks traveled to the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT and defeated the Stags, 76-64.
All-Time Against The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC):
*Against the 11 current members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Wagner is 96-216 all time. The lone MAAC school the Seahawks haven't face in their history is Canisius.
About the Seahawks
*Wagner is led by its "core four," a veteran quartet led by redshirt senior guard and team captain
Romone Saunders, who checks in with a 17.7 points per game average.
*Wagner has featured balanced scoring in its first three games as the other three members of the "core four" are also hitting for double figures – senior guard
Elijah Davis (11.7 ppg), redshirt senior forward
AJ Sumbry (11,7 ppg/team-best 8.0 rpg) and senior guard
Devin Liggeons (10.7 ppg.).
*Sophomore forward
Nigel Jackson is another capable scorer who checks in at 8.5 ppg.
*Overall, 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 Seahawks 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.
* In addition to playing its usual brand of intense, physical defense, the 2017-18 Seahawks also produced the highest scoring average in the Mason era, netting 74.2 points per game and again ranked among the top-10 programs in the nation in offensive rebounds per game, as the team averaged 13.5 offensives caroms a contest. This year's squad appears to have the makings of another potent offensive unit, as its 74.3 ppg. average through the first three games would attest. Make no mistake, however, Wagner basketball under
Bashir Mason is defined by its defense, rebounding and overall toughness.
Last Time Out*After opening its season with an 89-49 loss at Seton Hall, followed by a tough 88-84 overtime loss at UMass Lowell, the Seahawks cruised past SUNY-Cortland on Tuesday by a count of 90-58 in their home opener at the Spiro Sports Center.
* Redshirt senior guard
Romone Saunders poured in 26 points to lead four players in double figures in the win over the Red Dragons. The 6'3" Saunders scored 20 of his 26 points in the opening half as the Seahawks cruised to a 54-16 lead at the break. While the second half was played on more even terms, the outcome was never in doubt. Saunders, whose 26 points came on 9-of-17 shooting, added seven rebounds, three assists and one steal.
*Senior guard
Elijah Davis added 17 points on the night, to go with five assists, while senior guard
Devin Liggeons and junior guard
Jeff Coulanges added 14 and 11 points, respectively.
*Liggeons' productive evening came up just one rebound shy of a double-double as the Philadelphia native added nine rebounds to his 14-point offensive game. Redshirt senior forward
AJ Sumbry delivered his third straight efficient outing, tallying seven points to go with a game-high 10 rebounds.
*For Coulanges, a first-year Seahawk who transferred in from Daytona State College, the 11-point outburst is a career high. Several other first-year Seahawks recorded career highs, including junior forward
Chance Anderson (eight points, six rebounds), and freshman guard
Tyrone Nesby IV (five points, four rebounds), the latter of whom made his first career start.
*All told, the four Seahawk newcomers who saw action vs. SUNY-Cortland - Anderson, Nesby, Coulanges, and freshman guard
Jonathan Norfleet - combined for 24 points, 19 rebounds and four assists.
*The Seahawks' held a significant advantage in every major statistical category, holding a distinct edge edge in shooting percentage (53%-31%), rebounding (54-24), assists (16-7), points in the paint (34-10), fast break points (12-2) and bench points (36-22).
*Prior to Tuesday's matchup vs. Cortland, the last time Wagner had faced a Division III foe was on November 21, 2017 when the Seahawks knocked off the College of Staten Island (CSI), 107-64, at the Spiro Center. SUNY Cortland, meanwhile, was playing its first regular-season game versus a Division I opponent since the 1993-94 season when Cortland played at Cornell in December, 1993.
*The 90 points scored by Wagner marked the first time the Seahawks have hit for 90 or more points since February 15, 2018 when the Green & White posted a 99-84 win at Sacred Heart.
Seahawks 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
Wagner returns to Staten Island to host NJIT at the Spiro Sports Center on Tuesday, November, 20. Tip-off between the Seahawks and the Highlanders is set for 7:00 p.m.
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Wagner Athletics
Men's Basketball:
Head Coach
Bashir Mason:
