Staten Island, NY – The Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season champion Wagner men's basketball team will take on #4-seed Mount St. Mary's in the NEC semifinal on Saturday at 2:00 pm at the Spiro Sports Center.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and
NECFrontRow. No fans will be allowed in the Spiro Sports Center during the postseason.
The Matchup
The Seahawks and Mountaineers will meet for the third time overall this season and first time at the Spiro Sports Center. In February, Wagner earned a two-game sweep over the Mount, a 61-39 victory in game one followed by a 57-55 victory one day later.
In game one, Wagner 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.
In game two, Senior
Alex Morales hit two game-winning free throws with 5.1 seconds left to lift Wagner to its seventh straight victory at the time.
Saturday's matchup will mark the fourth time the Seahawks and Mountaineers meet in the NEC Tournament, with the Mount winning two of the three previous matchups. The last time these two teams met in the postseason was in 2013-14, with Mount St. Mary's earning a 77-72 semifinal victory at Wagner.
Wagner In The NEC Tournament
Wagner has now qualified for the NEC Tournament in ten of the last 11 years, including eight trips under
Bashir Mason. The Seahawks, who have advanced to the semis in six of the last nine seasons, are in search of the program's second NEC Tournament championship, having won it all back in 2003.
When playing on Staten Island, the Seahawks are 16-12 in NEC Tournament play, including going 12-10 in the Spiro Sports Center (opened February 1999). Wagner is 7-19 in the postseason in road and neutral sites.
The Seahawks won their lone NEC championship in 2003, and reached the NEC final in 1993 (losing to Rider), 2005 (losing to FDU), 2016 (losing to FDU), and 2018 (losing to LIU).
This marks the fourth time Wagner enters the NEC tournament as the top seed. The Seahawks are 5-2 all-time when playing an NEC postseason game as the top seed.
Seahawks Earn Major Awards
The Northeast Conference (NEC) announced its postseason awards on Friday, with three Seahawks earning major awards.
Head Coach
Bashir Mason was named the Jim Phelan Northeast Conference Coach of the Year, senior
Alex Morales earned the league's Player of the Year award, while freshman
DeLonnie Hunt was named the NEC's Rookie of the Year.
Additionally, Morales and senior
Elijah Ford earned First Team All-NEC honors, while Hunt was named to the All-Rookie Team.
Read more
here
Historic Streak
Even though Wagner's 10-game winning streak came to an end last week, the Seahawks re-wrote the record books in the process. The 10-game streak was the longest by an NEC team since LIU reeled off 13 straight victories during the 2010-11 campaign and longest by the Seahawks since a 16-game streak under PJ Carlesimo in 1978-79.
Wagner also became one of just 11 NEC teams over the past 25 years to string together at least 10 consecutive wins.
Regular Season Champions
Wagner earned the Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season title and clinched the top seed in the NEC Tournament with a 64-59 victory over Merrimack on Wednesday afternoon.
The Seahawks will take on #4 Mount St. Mary's at the Spiro Sports Center on Saturday, March 6, at 2:00 PM.
Wagner earned its third NEC regular season title under ninth-year head coach
Bashir Mason, who previously led the Green and White to regular season championships in 2015-16 and 2017-18. The Seahawks enter the NEC tournament as a top-2 seed for the fifth time under Mason and have now qualified for the NEC Tournament in ten of the last 11 years, including eight trips under Mason.
After being picked 8
th in the NEC preseason poll and starting the year with a 1-5 record, the Seahawks have now won 12 of their last 13 games to finish the regular season with a 13-6 overall record.
Dominating The Glass
Saturday's matchup will feature the top two rebounding teams in the conference. Wagner is second in the conference with a rebounding margin of +3.9, with the Mount leading the conference at +5.0. The Seahawks have dominated the offensive glass throughout the season and are currently second in the league at 12.21 offensive rebounds per game.
Scouting the Mountaineers
Mount St. Mary's enters the NEC Tournament as the #4 seed. The Mountaineers have won their last two games, but have not played since February 25, as their season against Bryant was cancelled. Mount's Damian Chong Qui was named to the All-NEC First Team, while Nana Opoku was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year.
Next Up
The winner of Saturday's matchup will advance to Tuesday's NEC Championship game, which will be televised on ESPN2. Tip-off for Tuesday's game is scheduled for 7:00 PM.