Loretto, PA - The Wagner men's basketball team will look to return to its winning ways on Thursday when the Seahawks travel to Northeast Conference (NEC) preseason favorite Saint Francis U to meet the Red Flash for the first time this season in a 7:00 p.m. tip at DeGol Arena.
*The Wagner-SFU game is the first of the annual two-game western Pennsylvania swing with the Seahawks set to meet NEC-leading Robert Morris on Saturday, January 26 at 5:00 p.m.
Seahawks and Red Flash Both 3-3 in NEC Play
*Through six conference games, Wagner and SFU sport identical 3-3 NEC records which puts them in a four-way tie for fourth place in what appears to be shaping up as another close, nip-and-tuck conference race.
*At the moment, 5-1 Robert Morris sits atop the league standings, followed by St. Francis Brooklyn and Sacred Heart who are tied for second place with matching 4-2 marks.
Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week
*During Suits And Sneakers Week is January 21-27 this year, a week where college and high school coaches across the nation will wear sneakers with their suits during games to raise awareness for Coaches vs. Cancer and the fight against cancer.
*National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) teamed with the American Cancer Society over 25 years ago to form Coaches vs. Cancer. Since its inception, Coaches vs. Cancer has raised over $115 million to support the American Cancer Society and save lives.
*The fight against cancer is working. From 1991-2016, the cancer death rate fell 27%. That means more than 2.6 million deaths were avoided from 1991-2016.
*With a presence in more than 5,000 communities, the American Cancer Society is structured to fight cancer on all fronts.
All-Time Series vs. the Saint Francis U Red Flash
*The Seahawks and the Red Flash are meeting for the 73
rd time and the series is tied at 36-36.
*In 2017, 18, Wagner recorded its first season sweep of the Red Flash since the 2013-2014 season (Jan. 18, 2018 @Wagner, Wagner 73, SFU 64) | (Jan. 16, 2018, @SFU, Wagner 91, SFU 61)
*All-time, Wagner is 12-21 against the Red Flash in Loretto, PA
*Seahawk seventh-year head coach
Bashir Mason holds a career record of 8-4 against Saint Francis U and is 4-2 when facing the Red Flash at DeGol Arena.
About the Seahawks
*After opening NEC play with a 3-1 record, Wagner is looking to break a two-game losing streak, having dropped a 70-56 home decision to Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, followed by a 62-38 loss at Sacred Heart on Monday.
*The Green & White are guided by two-time and reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Coach of the Year
Bashir Mason (118-88, .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 as the Seahawks rank second in the NEC in field goal percentage defense (.428) and first in rebounding margin (+5.9).
*Wagner is led by 6-3 redshirt senior guard and captain
Romone Saunders who checks in at 18.4 points (2
nd in the NEC), 7.1 rebounds per game, and 3.6 assists (7
th in NEC). Saunders tops the league with a .880 free throw shooting percentage (88-of-100), a figures that ranks 16
th nationally.
*Senior guard
Elijah Davis is next in scoring at 11.1 ppg. (25
th in the NEC) and has two 20-point plus games to his credit this season, while 6-8 redshirt senior forward
AJ Sumbry and 5-10 sophomore point guard
Chase Freeman are next at 9.1 and 7.3 ppg., respectively.
About the Saint Francis U Red Flash
*SFU features three players who average double-digits per game in Keith Braxton (15.4 ppg.), Jamaal King (14.2 ppg.) and Isaiah Blackmon (10.8 ppg.).
*Redshirt junior
Blackmon followed up one of the worst games of his career with arguable his best. After being held scoreless with two turnovers at CCSU on Saturday, Blackmon responded with a career-high 26 points on 4-of-7 from three-point range in Monday's loss at Bryant.
*Blackmon bested his previous career-high of 25, set vs. Wagner during his sophomore season (1/26/17) and notched his ninth career 20-point game and his second of the season.
*Consistency has been an issue Saint Francis this season as the Red Flash haven't been able to build momentum this season following wins.
*The Red Flash are just 1-6 in games following a win and haven't enjoyed a win streak over two games all year.
*Saint Francis went 11-6 when following wins last season and enjoyed two separate four-game win streaks.
*The Red Flash have won the first of two games in all three weeks during conference play before dropping the second games.
Saunders Climbing in Wagner All-Time Scoring
Romone Saunders has moved up to 27
th-place on Wagner's all-time career scoring list.
23. Bob Mahala, Sr. (1950-52, 1955-57) 1,217
24. Tyler Murray (2008-12) 1,216
25. Tom Miller (1971-74) 1,174
26. Ed Peterson (1953-56) 1,172
27. Romone Saunders (2014-pres.) 1,153
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).
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
The Seahawks conclude their annual western Pennsylvania swing this weekend when Wagner faces Robert Morris on Saturday, January 26 at 5:00 p.m. before returning home to host the Bryant University Bulldogs on Thursday, January 31 in a 7:00 p.m. tip. The Wagner-Bryant matchup will be carried live on ESPN +.
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