Game 12 - January 3, 2018 | 7:00 PM
Wagner College Seahawks (5-6, 0-0 NEC) at
Central Connecticut University Blue Devils (6-7, 0-0 NEC)
New Britain, CT | Detrick Gymnasium (2,654) |
| Gameday Info |
 : 
Watch
Play-by-Play: Bruce Biel
Color Analyst: Marc Robbins
 : Live Stats |
| Wagner Links |
Roster | Schedule I Stats | News |
| Central Connecticut Links |
Roster | Schedule I Stats | News |
| Game Notes |
Wagner | CCSU |
New Britain, CT - After battling the Saint Joseph's Hawks of the Atlantic 10 Conference to the wire in a tough 59-57 decision on the road last Saturday, the Wagner men's basketball team kicks off the New Year and Northeast Conference (NEC) play at Central Connecticut on Thursday.
All-Time vs. Central Connecticut
*Defending NEC regular season champion Wagner holds a 28-19 lead in the all-time head-to-head series which began in 1939.
*The Seahawks have won the last eight meetings between the schools and 13 of the last 14, with the lone CCSU win in this stretch coming on January 24, 2015 when Central eked out a 53-50 win in New Britain.
*During Wagner's eight-game winning streak over CCSU, the Seahawks have won by an average score of 73.5-56.0.
*Seahawk seventh-year head coach Head Coach
Bashir Mason is 12-3 all-time against Central Connecticut.
*Wagner won all three meetings between the teams last season, sweeping the two regular season games by scores of 72-59 and 64-62, before the top-seeded Seahawks earned a 73-61 NEC Tournament quarterfinal win at the Spiro Sports Center.
Northeast Conference Launches New Branding Initiative
*The NEC launched its "All In, Ball Out" branding campaign at the league's "Social" Media Day in Brooklyn on Oct. 24, 2018.
*The campaign is meant to capture the essence and attitude of the NEC's basketball-centric nature, and convey a host of traits common to its student-athletes, teams and the Conference itself.
*A series of hoops theme nights were announced to take place during league play and enhance the fan experience through coordinated marketing efforts within the conference. The theme nights are NECNewYear (Jan. 3 & 5), MLK Day (Jan. 21) and Love & NEC Basketball (Feb. 14 & 16).
About the Seahawks
*The Green & White are guided by two-time and reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Coach of the Year
Bashir Mason (115-85, .575), the fastest coach to win 100 games in Seahawk history, who has developed 12 All-NEC selections during his tenure,
*Now 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. At age 34, he remains one of the nation's youngest head coaches, checking in as the sixth-most youthful head coach heading into the 2018-19 campaign.
*Defense and rebounding have been at the forefront of Wagner's success throughout Mason's tenure and the 2018-19 season has been no different. Heading into NEC play, the Seahawks top the league in both field goal percentage defense (.432) and rebounding margin (+8.2).
*The Green and White, who were picked fourth in the 2018-19 NEC Preseason Poll, are paced in scoring by redshirt senior guard, and captain,
Romone Saunders who checks in with a 17.4 points per game average, a figure that ranks fourth in the NEC. Saunders is also tied for first on the team, along with redshirt senior forward Aj Sumbry, at 7.1 rebounds per game, which ties for sixth in league play. The 6-3 Saunders also ranks No. 2 in the NEC in free throw percentage (.877).
*Sumbry, a physical 6-8, 230 inside force, in addition to quarterbacking the Wagner defense, is averaging career-best numbers with 10.7 ppg. and a team-high 7.1 rpg. (T-6th in NEC). Sumbry is also tied for 6
th in the league at 1.18 blocks per game.
About the CCSU Blue Devils
Central Connecticut went 6-7 in non-conference play with the Blue Devils' most game being an 80-59 loss at Pac-12 member Oregon State on Saturday.
*CCSU is paced by 6-5 senior swingman Tyler Kohl, a versatile all-around talent who led Kohl led CCSU in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals last season,and is on pace to do the same this season which puts him in rarefied air in NEC annals.
*The Allentown, PA native currently averages 18.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.9 apg and 1.4 spg. The last NEC player prior to Kohl to lead his team in all four categories was RMU's Jeremy Chappell, who averaged 16.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.2 apg and 2.5 spg back in 2008-09 en route to NEC Player of the Year honors.
*Only seven NEC players have turned the trick over the last 20 years and none more than once. All were named to the All-Conference first team at season's end aside from Kohl, who earned second team honors a year ago. Monmouth's Rahsaan Johnson was voted the NEC Player of the Year back in 2000-01.
*Freshman 6-2 guard Tyson Batiste is CCSU's second-leading scorer, checking in at 13.3 points per game.
*Central has also been receiving fine play from 6-7 junior forward Jamir Coleman, who is averaging 10.8 rebounds per game.
*Coleman was a bright spot for CCSU at Oregon State on Saturday with 16 points, seven rebounds and two steals, all of which were team-highs. He made 6-12 from the floor. Coleman has averaged 16.0 points over his last three games to
boost his season average to 10.8 ppg.
• With six non-league wins, CCSU has won six or more non-league games in consecutive years for the first time since 1998-99 (6-3) & 1999-2000 (7-2). Central was 7-6 last year in non-NEC play.
*Following Thursday's NEC opener vs. Wagner, Central plays the next three games on the road, beginning with contest at Sacred Heart on Saturday.
Wagner All-Time In NEC Openers
*The Seahawks sport a 19-18 record all-time in NEC openers.
*Thursday's contest will mark the third time that the Seahawks have opened a conference season vs. Central and Wagner is 2-0 in the previous league li-lifters between the schools.
January 9, 2014: Wagner 88, CCSU 59 – New Britain, CT
December 29, 2016: Wagner 71, CCSU 46 – Staten Island, NY
Last Time Out
*Redshirt senior guard
Romone Saunders led three players in double figures with 15 points and the Wagner men's basketball team battled Saint Joseph's University of the Atlantic 10 Conference to the wire before the Hawks held on for a 59-57 win on Saturday at Hagan Arena.
*The nip-and-tuck battle came down to the game's final possession was close and competitive throughout, and one that featured 10 ties and six lead changes.
*After Wagner took a 28-25 halftime lead in this defensive-minded affair, the second half featured more of the same give and take.
*A three-pointer by SJU's Taylor Funk forged the game's 10th and final tie, at 46-46, and served to ignite a 13-7 Hawk run that seemingly put the home team in control at 59-52 with 4:58 left. The Seahawks, however, had other ideas as the three by Funk proved to be the final points of the game for Saint Joe's.
*With the crowd at its loudest, Wagner dug in on the defensive end, coming up with two big stops before freshman guard
Jonathan Norfleet came up with a steal at midcourt that led to his own fastbreak layup, which drew Wagner to within 59-55 at the 2:26 mark.
*The Seahawks then came up with another big defensive stop before converting on the other end, as Saunders knocked down a jumper in the lane with 52 seconds remaining to make it a 59-57 game. Following yet another Seahawk stop, Wagner had a chance to tie it but a Sumbry foul line jumper was off the mark with 36 seconds left.
*On its final possession of the game, SJU worked the clock all the way down to three seconds when leading scorer Charlie Brown misfired on a three-pointer. Senior guard
Elijah Davis was able to corral the rebound and push the ball into the front court but the Seahawks were unable to get off one last shot as Saint Joseph's held on for the 59-57 win.
Saunders Climbing In All-Time Scoring
*With his 15 points at Saint Joseph's,
Romone Saunders moved up to 1,031 for his career and into 40th-place all-time, just 19 shy of the 39th spot currently held by Kenneth Ortiz (2011-2014), who tallied 1,050 career points.
| 38 |
Nigel Wyatte (2000-04) |
1,060 |
| 39 |
Kenneth Ortiz (2011-14) |
1,050 |
| 40 |
Romone Saunders (2014-pres) |
1,031 |
Hot From Deep
*Wagner connected on 11 three-pointers vs. Saint Joe's, one shy of the Seahawks' season best of 12 which came vs. Rider back on November 24.
Quoteable
Head Coach
Bashir Mason
"We ran out of time. That's a great college basketball game and we came up just on the short end of it. We were right there, going battle for battle with them, and we came up just a little bit short. But I'm proud of our guys' effort and our fight. These guys are getting better right in front of my eyes. So, that's a positive to walk away with.
"This is a two-point loss to an Atlantic 10 program and it feels like we lost a championship game," said Mason. "We prepared to win this game for us, but more importantly, for (senior guard)
Devin Liggeons here in his home city. He's been the ultimate student-athlete for us for four years, on and off the floor. We really wanted this one for him and I felt really bad that we weren't able to pull it out."
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.
Up Next
*Following Thursday night's NEC opener at CCSU, Wagner is right back at it on Saturday, January 5 when the Seahawks host St. Francis Brooklyn in a 4:00 p.m. tip at the Spiro Sports Center.
Follow Us: #CHAOSonthehill
Wagner Athletics
Men's Basketball:
Head Coach
Bashir Mason:
