Staten Island, NY - The Wagner men's basketball team will face its second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opponent of the season when the Seahawks play host to the Rider University Broncs on Saturday, November 24 in a 2:00 p.m. start at the Spiro Sports Center.
 
*The first MAAC opponent that the Green & White met this season was Fairfield on November 17, with Wagner coming away with a hard-fought 79-73 victory over the Stags.
 
About the Seahawks
Wagner, led by its quartet of four battle-tested veterans, each of whom are looking to end their careers on a high note in their final season of eligibility (Romone Sunders, AJ Sumbry, Devin Liggeons and Elijah Davis), enters Saturday's matchup vs. 1-1 Rider with a record of 2-3 following Tuesday's 71-60 home loss to NJIT.
 
*The Green & White are guided by two-time and reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Coach of the Year Bashir Mason (110-82, .573), the fastest coach to win 100 games in Seahawk history, who has developed 12 All-NEC selections during his tenure,
 
*In his seventh season at the helm of the Seahawk ship, Mason was the youngest head coach at the Division I level when he was named the 18th head men's basketball coach in school history on March 26, 2012 and, at age 34, remains one of the nation's youngest head coaches, checking in as the sixth-most youthful head coach heading into the 2018-19 campaign.
 
*Picked fourth in the 2018-19 NEC  Preseason Poll, The Seahawks, are paced in scoring by redshirt senior guard and captain Romone Saunders, who checks in with a 18.2 points per game average, a figure that ranks sixth in the NEC.
 
*The 6-3 Saunders is also second on the team in rebounding at 7.0 rpg.
 
*Elijah Davis is Wagner's 6-3 senior super-sub as the sixth man averages 11.6 points and 4.0 rpg off the bench.
 
*Rugged 6-8, 230-pound redshirt senior AJ Sumbry mans the post for the Seahawks and, in addition to quarterbacking the Wagner defense, is averaging career-best numbers with 11.0 ppg. and a team-leading  8.2 rpg. (T-3^rdin the NEC).
 
*Rounding out the this productive, experiences foursome is 6-3 senior guard Devin Liggeons, who provides 9.0 ppg., along with 5.2 rpg.
 
About the Broncs
*Rider evened its record at 1-1 with an 87-67 victory on Monday against Coppin State behind 19 points from Dimencio Vaughn and 18 points from Jordan Allen.
 
*Rider was chosen as the MAAC preseason favorite after winning the 2017-18 MAAC Regular Season Championship.

*The Broncs are an experienced group as they return all five starters, their top six scorers, and 95 percent of their scoring from last year's team.

*2017-18 All-MAAC selections Dimencio Vaughn, Stevie Jordan, Frederick Scott and Jordan Allen were all recognized on the Preseason All-MAAC Teams. Vaughn and Jordan were picked to the First Team, Scott to the Second Team and Allen to the Third Team. 
 
Jordan ranks 10th in program history with 354 assists, more than halfway to Deon Hames' program record of 598.
 
*Scott earned 2018 MAAC 6th Player of the Year, while Head Coach Kevin Baggett earned MAAC Coach of the Year.
 
*Rider won 20 games for just the 10th time in the 90-year history of the program last year. The team record is 23 wins (2007-08, 2010-11).
 
Seventh-year Head Coach Kevin Baggett's teams have posted a 108-90 record. Baggett won MAAC Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2018.
 
All-Time Series Against Rider
*Saturday's contest is the 25th all-time meeting between the teams, with Rider holding a 19-5 lead in the head-to-head series.
 
*Today's game marks  the sixth straight season that Wagner and Rider have meet, with the Broncs holding a 5-1 edge in the last five meetings, including a 90-84 overtime win in Lawrenceville, NJ on December 15, 2017.
 
Wagner-Rider: The Last Time
*Free throws down the stretch proved to be the difference as the Wagner men's basketball team saw its six-game winning streak snapped as Rider held on for a 90-84 overtime win at Alumni Gymnasium.
 
*Three Seahawks finished in double figures, led by sophomore guard Blake Francis, who tossed in 25 points.
 
*Senior guard JoJo Cooper notched his fifth career double-double, finishing with 19 points and 11 assists, while redshirt junior forward AJ Sumbry notched the second double-double of his career, finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds, both of which then career highs.
 
*Rider also had three scorers in double digits, led by Frederick Scott, who paved the way with a team-best 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Dimencio Vaughn and Stevie Jordan each had 19 points on a combined 9-of-20 shooting from the field, with the duo tallying 19-of-24 from the free throw line, led by Vaughn's 14-of-18 effort.
 
All-Time vs. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
*Including this season's victory at Fairfield, Wagner is 97-216 all-time vs. current members of the MAAC. The lone MAAC school that the Seahawks have never faced in their history is Canisius.
 
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Head Coach Bashir Mason: