Romone Saunders Named NEC Player of the Week

Photo by Paul Falcone

NEC RELEASE

Staten Island, NY - In leading Wagner to a 2-0 week with gritty, wire-to-wire victories over Sacred Heart and Fairleigh Dickinson, 6-3 redshirt senior guard and captain Romone Saunders has been named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Week, the league office announced today.

After two tremendous performances and two wins, Romone Saunders has been named the @NECsports Co-Player of the Week! #Attitude #ALLINBALLOUT pic.twitter.com/MnIyqyf28E
— Wagner Men's Basketball (@Wagner_MBB) January 14, 2019

In averaging 24.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals in the two wins, the Temple Hills, MD native shares this week's honor with Tyler Kohl of Central Connecticut.

In Thursday's 76-73 win over SHU, Saunders tallied 24 points, to go with five rebounds and four assists, while shooting 8-of-14 from the floor (57.1 percent) and 5-of-9 from deep (55.6 percent) in 39 minutes.

Two days later, in a 66-60 win over Fairleigh Dickinson, Saunders was again in the middle of most of the essential action, hitting for 25 points, with 11 rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes. This effort allowed Saunders to become just the third player in the nation this season to finish with at least 25 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and three steals in a game.

Saunders' 25-point, 11-rebound effort, both game highs, in the win over FDU, marked his third double-double of the season, tying with redshirt senior forward AJ Sumbry for the team high in this category. For his career, Saunders now has seven double-doubles.

For the two games combined, the Temple Hills, MD native shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the floor, even better from three-point range (52.6 percent/10-19), while making 7-of-8 free throws as (87.5 percent).

In helping Wagner jump out to a 3-1 record and in a three-way tie atop the NEC standings, Saunders is the league's second-leading scorer at 23.3 points per game, and ranks No. 1 in the conference in both free throw shooting percentage (95.6 – 21-of-22) and three-pointers made per game (3.5).

Overall, Saunders is the team leader in both scoring (18.9 ppg.) and rebounding (7.3 rpg.).

The Seahawks, who are 8-7 overall on the season, are next in action on Saturday, January 19 when they host Mount St. Mary's in a 4:00 p.m. start at the Spiro Sports Center, before traveling to Sacred Heart on Monday, January 21, in a 3:30 p.m. Martin Luther King Day tip.

Follow Us: #CHAOSonthehill
Wagner Athletics