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Staten Island, NY – The Wagner men's basketball team will put its seven-game winning stream on the line on Saturday and Sunday, when the Seahawks welcome Saint Francis U to the Spiro Sports Center. Tip-off for Saturday's matchup is scheduled for 7:00 pm, with Sunday's game set to start at 4:00 pm
Seven Up
With the sweep over Mount St. Mary's, Wagner pushed its win streak to seven games. The previous two times the Seahawks achieved this feat under head coach
Bashir Mason, they went on to a Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season title and NIT berth during the 2015-16 and 2017-18 seasons. Wagner's longest win streak under Mason came in 2013-14, when the Seahawks won nine straight games.
NEC Standings Remain Close
With an 8-4 NEC record, the Seahawks are currently tied for the league lead. If the regular season ended today, Wagner would enter the NEC tournament as the #1-seed. However, seven teams in the conference have at least seven wins coming into the weekend, with only four teams qualifying for this year's NEC postseason tournament.
Double Trouble
At 17.6 points per game, seniors
Alex Morales and
Elijah Ford are tied for the team lead in scoring while also sitting in the top five in the conference.
Morales, the back-to-back NEC Player of the Week, hit the game-winning free throws in game two against the Mountaineers after scoring 15 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out six assists in the first game of the series.
Ford is currently 26th in the nation in field goal percentage, shooting just above 58% from the field on the season.
Signature Victories
Wagner's team identity showed in the two wins over the Mountaineers. In game one, the tough Seahawk defense held Mount St. Mary's to just 15 points in the second half and 27.1% (13-48) shooting from the field throughout the game. Overall, the Seahawks only trailed for 28 seconds during the entire series.
Hunt Rises To The Occasion
Freshman
DeLonnie Hunt is making a name for himself in his first year on Grymes Hill. Hunt has won consecutive NEC Rookie of the Week awards and leads all NEC freshmen in scoring at 10.5 points per game. On the defensive side of the ball, Hunt matched up against back-to-back preseason All-NEC selections in FDU's Jahlil Jenkins and Mount's Damian Chong Qui, holding them to an average of 10.5 points per game. In Tuesday night's game against the Mount, Hunt and the rest of the Wagner defense limited Chong Qui to just three points on 1-6 shooting.
Dominating The Glass
The Seahawks continue to lead the NEC in offensive rebounding percentage, grabbing 33.8 percent of their misses. Wagner also ranks 40th in the country with 12.31 offensive rebounds per contest.
Martinez' Great Season Continues
Coming off the bench, senior
Will Martinez continues to be an important piece to Wagner's success. Coming into the week, Martinez ranked fifth in the NEC in offensive rating (113.8) for players with at least 20 percent of possessions used. Against the Mount, the senior averaged nine points and three rebounds.
Scouting The Red Flash
Saint Francis U enters the weekend with a 6-13 overall record and 5-10 conference mark. SFU has lost four out of its last five games and is coming off a split against St. Francis Brooklyn.
Next Up For Wagner
Following this weekend's series, the Seahawks are scheduled to travel to Central Connecticut on February 25-26.
