WATCH | Live Stats | Game Notes
Loretto, PA - The Wagner College men's basketball team opens Northeast Conference (NEC) Play on Wednesday, when the Seahawks travel to Saint Francis U, with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 pm.
Last Time Out
Wagner earned a tough 63-50 victory over Fairfield to close out its non-conference schedule last Thursday.
Both teams battled throughout a tightly contested game, as Wagner took the lead with six minutes to play on three free throws by graduate student
Alex Morales, which made it 47-44.
Two minutes later, the deciding play of the game came on an athletic finish by graduate student
Will Martinez, who gave the Seahawks a 54-48 advantage with 3:59 to play.
From there, Wagner went 9-10 at the free throw line and only allowed one additional field goal by the Stags to earn the victory.
Successful Non-Conference Slate
Wagner concluded its non-conference season with a 6-2 record.
The Seahawks, who posted double-digit road wins at VCU, Stony Brook and Fairfield, and fell only at Seton Hall and Penn St., tied Monmouth for the fifth-highest win percentage in NEC history.
Wagner has accounted for three of the top-five non-conference campaigns in NEC annals, highlighted by a 9-2 mark in 2011-12.
Morales And Williams Sweep NEC Weekly Awards
Graduate student
Alex Morales and freshman
Zaire Williams swept the Northeast Conference's (NEC) weekly awards on Monday.
Morales was named the NEC's Player of the Week for the second time this season, while Williams was named the league's Rookie of the Week, earning his first-ever weekly honor.
Morales, the reigning NEC Player of the Year, scored 15 points apiece in the two victories, while recording 6.5 rebounds per game, three assists per game, and 2.5 steals across the two wins. Against Fairfield, Morales delivered in the clutch, going 9-9 from the free throw line throughout the contest.
Morales leads Wagner with 15.9 points per game as he continues to build on his stellar campaign last year.
Williams, one of three Seahawks to start every game this season, scored a career-high 14 points in the victory over Delaware State, hitting a career-best four field goals and three shots from long range in the win.
Earlier this season, Williams only became the fifth freshman under
Bashir Mason to start in the season-opener and follows the footsteps of sophomore
DeLonnie Hunt, who is the reigning NEC Rookie of the Year.
Throughout the season, Williams is averaging 6.1 points and 1.75 assists per game.
Sharp Shooters
As a team, Wagner is converting on 47.5% of field goal attempts, which leads the Northeast Conference and is good for 48th in the country.
Program DNA
Through seven games, the Seahawks are playing true to their program DNA. Wagner ranks first in the NEC in field goal percentage defense at 38.3%, which ranks 25
th nationally, and rebounding margin at 9.8, which ranks 14th in the nation. The Seahawks are also first in the conference in scoring defense at 57.2 points per game, which is good for 11
th nationally.
Calm At The Line
As a team, the Seahawks' free throw percentage of 78.5% is not only first in the Northeast Conference, but also good for 13
th in the nation.
Sharing The Basketball
The Seahawks average 16.1 assists per game, which is first in the NEC and 45th nationally. In freshman
Javier Ezquerra, Morales, graduate student
Will Martinez, freshman
Zaire Williams, sophomore
DeLonnie Hunt, and junior
Ashton Miller, six Seahawks have double digit assists on the season.
It's Miller Time
Junior
Ashton Miller scored his first points in a Seahawk uniform against Stony Brook. Against Immaculata, Miller scored a career-high 10 points while grabbing a game-high seven rebounds, giving the Seahawks another athletic option off the bench.
Mason's Milestone Victory
The victory over Fairfield marked the 150
th win of head coach
Bashir Mason's coaching career. Mason is already Wagner's winningest coach in the Division I era and reached the milestone in 276 games, winning more than 54% of his games
Mason was named to the Athletic's "40 Under 40 – Rising Stars In Men's College Basketball" list.
According to the article, which features Mason at #15, Mason "has established himself as one of the top mid-major coaches in America."
Last season, Mason entered elite territory, becoming just the second coach in the conference's 40-year history to win three Jim Phelan Coach of the Year honors, joining NEC Hall of Fame coach Howie Dickenman, who earned the distinction four times in his storied career at CCSU.
Following the 2020-21 season, Mason was also a finalist for the 2020-21 Hugh Durham Award, which is presented annually to the top Division I mid-major coach in college basketball.
Wagner's head coach was also a finalist for the Ben Jobe award, which is presented annually to the top Division I minority coach.
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 is the fastest coach to win 100 games in Seahawk history.
