Staten Island, NY - The Wagner men's basketball team will look to reach the .500 mark on the season when the Seahawks host the College of New Rochelle Blue Angels in the first-ever matchup between these schools. The Blue Angels enter Sunday's play with a 4-3 record following an 84-78 win at Brooklyn College on Thursday.

About the Seahawks

*Coming off a gutsy 64-58 comeback win at American on Nov. 30, the Green & White are guided by two-time and reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Coach of the Year Bashir Mason (112-83, .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, the 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.

*The Seahawks, who were picked fourth in the 2018-19 NEC Preseason Poll, are paced in scoring by redshirt senior guard Romone Saunders who checks in with a 16.9 points per game average, a figure that ranks 5th in the NEC.

*The 6-3 Saunders, who is second on the team in rebounding at 6.6 rpg., enters the New Rochelle game with 959 career points scored, just 41 shy of becoming the 45th Seahawk to join the 1,000-point mark.

*Physical 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 10.4 ppg. and a team-high 7.7 rpg. (4th in NEC).

Last Time Out

*Trailing by seven points at the halfway mark, the Wagner College men's basketball team rallied for a hard-fought 64-58 victory at American on November 30. In picking up its second road win of the season, Wagner moves to 3-4 on the young season, while American moves to 4-2 after suffering its first 

*The Seahawks were paced by redshirt senior guard Romone Saunders, who tossed in a team-high 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists.

*Sophomore guard Chase Freeman made an important career-high 12-point contribution in his return from injury, and redshirt-senior forward AJ Sumbry added 10 points and seven rebounds. On the glass, Wagner was led by sophomore forward Nigel Jackson's eight boards.

*Entering the second half facing a 27-20 deficit, the Seahawks took their first lead since the opening minutes of the contest on a Jackson three-pointer that made it 54-52 with three minutes to play. After American's Sam Lorio tied the game at 54-54, Freeman scored six of Wagner's eight points, two coming on an athletic layup in the lane to move the lead to 56-54.

*Freeman and senior guard Elijah Davis stayed calm at the free throw line to close out the game, going 8-8 from the charity stripe in the final pressure-packed minute of the contest to give Wagner a 64-58 win.

*Freeman and Davis' clutch, game-sealing free throws highlighted a night when the Seahawks were 19-of-22 from the line, a sizzling 86.4 percent.

*In outscoring American 44-31 in the second half, Wagner was 13-of-24 (54.2 percent) from the floor to finish the game at 40.8 percent shooting. On the other end, the Seahawks' trademark defense limited the Eagles to 42.1 percent second-half shooting and 42.5 percent accuracy overall.

*Freeman and Davis combined for 20 of Wagner's 30 bench points, with junior forward Chance Anderson providing five points in relief of Sumbry, who was battling foul trouble early on.

*American was led by Sa'eed Nelson's game-high 22 points, while Lorio was the second Eagle in double figures with 10 on the night.

In Leading Wagner Past American, Saunders Nears 1,000-Point Mark

*Redshirt senior guard Romone Saunders tossed in a team-high 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds, to go with three assists and one steal while playing the entire 40 minutes in the win over American. Saunders was 6-of-11 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. 

*With his 17 points. Saunders' march to 1,000 career points continues as the Maryland native is now up to 959, just 41 away from becoming the 45th player in Seahawk history to reach this plateau.

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That's how you close things out... #Attitude pic.twitter.com/jtABAUWNcE

— Wagner Men's Basketball (@Wagner_MBB) December 3, 2018

*In the final minute of Wagner's 64-58 win at American, the Seahawks displayed tremendous poise, going 8-of-8 from the free throw line as sophomore guard Chase Freeman and senior guard Elijah Davis were each 4-of-4.  In the final five minutes of the games this season, Romone Saunders is 13-of-15 (86.7 percent). Freeman (6-of-6) and junior guard Jeff Coulanges (4-of-4) are both perfect from the charity stripe in crunch time, while senior guard Elijah Davis is 6-of-8. As a team, the Seahawks are averaging 78.9 percent from the line in the final five minutes of games. Freeman's free throw shooting accuracy helped in record a career-high 12 points in the win.

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Sumbry Climbing All-Time Blocks List

*Redshirt senior forward is up to sixth all time on the Wagner career blocked shots list.

All-Time Blocks

Up Next
 Following a week off for final exams, the Seahawks are back at it on Sunday, December 16 when they make the short trek to Jamaica, Queens to meet undefeated St. John's. Tip-off between Wagner and the Red Storm is set for 4:00 p.m. and the contest will be seen live by a national audience on FoxSports 1 (FS1). 

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