WATCH
North Andover, MA - Coming off a thrilling overtime victory over LIU, the Wagner men's basketball team will travel to Merrimack on Sunday, January 23, with tip-off set for 3:00 pm.
Fast Start To Conference Play
On Friday, Wagner earned a thrilling 92-85 overtime victory at LIU. With the victory, the Seahawks improved to 11-2 on the season, 7-0 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play, and extended their win streak to eight games. Additionally, Wagner is still undefeated at the Spiro Sports Center with a 6-0 mark at home after earning a win over FDU on Monday.
Last season, the Seahawks won 10 consecutive games on their way to an NEC regular season title.
Seahawks Flying High In The Rankings
The Seahawks sit at #20 in the latest Mid-Major Top-25 Poll, released by collegeinsider.com.
After entering the poll at #25 last week, the Seahawks jumped up five spots this week to improve to #20.
Wagner remains the lone Northeast Conference (NEC) team to be ranked in the poll. The Seahawks are also the only undefeated team in NEC play.
In the national rankings, Wagner came into the week ranked 116
th in the KenPom rankings while also sitting 83
rd in the NET rankings.
Last Time Out
Graduate student
Elijah Ford'sthree at the buzzer sent the game to overtime and classmate
Alex Morales scored 12 of his career-high 35 points in the extra period to give the Seahawks a thrilling 92-85 road victory at LIU on Friday night.
Trailing 72-69 with 20 seconds remaining, redshirt-senior
Raekwon Rogers tied the game on a three with 10 seconds to play. On the ensuing possession, LIU's Ty Flowers knocked down a three to put the Sharks back up by three, before Ford's tough buzzer-beater tied the game at 75-75 and sent the game to overtime.
Morales Continues To Dominate
Alex Morales continues to dominate. Against LIU, Morales finished with 35 points, 12 rebounds, four steals, and three assists, becoming the first Division I player since 2018 and just the fourth over the last decade with at least 35 points, 12 boards, 3 assists, and 4 steals in a game.
Last week, Morales was named to the 2022 Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch List.
The award, which is presented annually to the top mid-major player in division I college basketball, honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons. Morales is the only Northeast Conference (NEC) player featured on the list.
The reigning NEC Player of the Year is the only player in the conference to have earned three NEC Player of the Week awards so far this season after picking up the honor once more last week.
The Series
Wagner leads the series against the Warriors 2-1 after earning the sweep last season at the Spiro Sports Center.
In game two of last year's series against Merrimack, Wagner earned the Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season title with a 64-59 victory.
Scouting The Warrirors
Merrimack enters Sunday's game with an 8-11 overall record and 4-3 mark in NEC play. The Warriors have lost three straight games against Bryant, Mount St. Mary's, and Saint Francis U.
Toughness Wins
Wagner's style of play has been rewarded many times this season and reflects well by the numbers.
Entering the week, Wagner ranked 21
st nationally in field goal percentage (48.3%), 27
th in scoring defense (61.7ppg), 25
th in scoring margin (13.5ppg), and 32
nd in three-point field goal percentage defense (29.1%).
Mason's Milestone Victories
Wagner's win over Fairleigh Dickinson marked the 100
th career victory in conference play for head coach
Bashir Mason, who became the 11
th coach in NEC history to reach the century mark.
Earlier this season, Mason earned his 150
th overall victory against Fairfield. 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.
The Schedule
Following Sunday's game at Merrimack, the Seahawks will play host to Saint Francis U on Thursday, January 27, at 7:00 pm.
