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Smithfield, RI - The Wagner College men's basketball will clash with the top-seeded Bryant Bulldogs in the Northeast Conference (NEC) championship game on Tuesday, March 8, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Last Time Out
In front of a sellout crowd at the Spiro Sports Center, Wagner earned a convincing 82-62 win over LIU on Saturday night to advance to the NEC Championship Game.
Reigning NEC Player of the Year
Alex Morales once again led the Seahawks with 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Sophomore
DeLonnie Hunt contributed 17 points and four steals, while freshman
Zaire Williams was the third Seahawk in double figures with 10 points.
Wagner In The NEC Tournament
The Seahawks are in search of the program's second NEC Tournament championship, having won it all back in 2003.
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).
Tuesday's game will be the third time the Seahawks have reached the NEC Championship game under
Bashir Mason and first time they will play the championship game on the road under Mason.
Tuesday's matchup also marks the first time Wagner and Bryant meet in the postseason.
This marks Wagner's seventh time as the #2 seed in the NEC Tournament, third under head coach
Bashir Mason, and first since 2014.
Wagner is 5-6 in the NEC Tournament in six appearances as the #2 seed. The Seahawks were the #2 seed three straight years from 2012-14, falling in the semifinals on each occasion.
Since 2015, the #2 seed has won three NEC titles, while the #1 seed has only one title during that span. In the history of the conference, the #2 seed has won 10 championships. The last #2 seed to win the NEC title was FDU in 2019.
Making History
In the NEC quarterfinal win over SFU, Wagner earned its 20
th win of the season. This marks the third time under
Bashir Mason and ninth time in program history that Wagner has won 20 or more games in one season.
Wagner's 15 conference wins matches the most in program history. The Seahawks went 15-5 in 2001-02, along with 15-3 in 2007-08 and 2011-12.
Earlier this season, Wagner's 14 consecutive wins set the record for the longest winning streak for a Seahawk team under head coach
Bashir Mason and was the longest winning streak for a Wagner squad since winning 16 straight during the 1978-79 season under P.J. Carlesimo.
Wagner's 13-0 start in NEC play fell two short of the NEC standard set by UMBC, which won 15 in a row in 1998-99 before dropping two of its last three games to settle for a 17-3 record.
The last conference school to rattle off 13 straight NEC wins was LIU. The Sharks won 13 in a row in 2010-11, a stretch that included three NEC Tournament wins.
Five Seahawks Earn Postseason Awards
Alex Morales became the fourth player in Northeast Conference (NEC) history to repeat as NEC Player of the Year while also earning Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-NEC honors, the conference announced last week.
Graduate student
Will Martinez and redshirt-senior
Raekwon Rogers were named to the All-NEC Second Team, while graduate student
Elijah Ford earned Third Team All-NEC honors. Freshman
Zaire Williams rounded out the awards with his selection to the NEC All-Rookie Team.
For the full release, click
here
Morales' Historic Postseason
In last week's quarterfinal win over Saint Francis U,
Alex Morales recorded 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, recording the 12
th triple-double in the NEC since 1997.
The last known triple-double in NEC Tournament action dates back to 1983, when LIU's Carey Scurry recorded 12 points, 13 rebounds, 10 blocks in the ECAC quarterfinals on March 9, 1983.
Three nights later, the reigning NEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year became the 13th player in NEC history to compile 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists while leading Wagner with 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
Hunt Heating Up
Sophomore
DeLonnie Hunt has averaged 20 points per game across the Seahawks' last three games.
Last year's NEC Rookie of the Year delivered 19 points at Bryant in the regular season finale before contributing a team-leading 24 points against SFU and 19 points in the semifinal win over LIU.
The Season Series
Wagner and Bryant split the regular season series. In the first meeting between the two teams on January 6, Wagner earned a thrilling 84-81 overtime victory.
Tied at 71-71 with under a minute to play, the Bulldogs took the lead on a four-point play by Adham Eleeda. Following two free throws by graduate student
Alex Morales on the ensuing possession, graduate student
Elijah Ford came up with a clutch steal and fed freshman
Zaire Williams for a game-tying layup, setting up the overtime period.
Knotted up at 78-78 in overtime, the Seahawks went on a 6-0 run, as Morales and Ford helped Wagner pull out the win with consecutive buckets. The Bulldogs came within three with one minute to play, but it wasn't enough, as the Seahawks earned the victory.
Last week, Wagner led 41-35 at the half, but it wasn't enough, as the Seahawks dropped a 78-70 decision at Bryant in the regular season finale.
Scouting The Bulldogs
After earning the #1 seed in this year's NEC Tournament, Bryant picked up a 73-59 victory CCSU before beating Mount St. Mary's 70-69 in Saturday's semifinal round to earn a spot in the NEC Championship game. The Bulldogs are looking for their first-ever NEC title.
Mason's Milestone Victories
Wagner's win over Fairleigh Dickinson marked the 100th career victory in conference play for head coach
Bashir Mason, who became the 11th coach in NEC history to reach the century mark.
Earlier this season, Mason earned his 150th 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
The winner of Tuesday's championship game will earn the NEC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
