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Fairfield, CT -The Wagner College men's basketball team will take on #3 Sacred Heart in the Northeast Conference (NEC) quarterfinal round on Wednesday at 7:00 pm.
 
Wagner In The NEC Tournament
 
Wagner is 25-34 all-time in the NEC Tournament. This marks Wagner's 33^rd NEC Tournament appearance.

The Seahawks are 0-3 all-time against Sacred Heart in the NEC Tournament, meeting in consecutive years in 2007 and 2008 before facing off in last year's NEC quarterfinal round. In 2007, #2 Sacred Heart earned a 100-68 victory in Fairfield. One year later, the Pioneers and Seahawks met in the NEC semifinals, with Sacred Heart winning 55-49 at the Spiro Sports Center. Last season, Sacred Heart advanced with a 56-55 victory at the Pitt Center.
 
The Seahawks hold a 5-9 record overall as the #6 seed, but haven't entered the postseason ranked sixth since 2011. Wednesday's game will tie the #2 seed for the most games Wagner has played at a certain seeding.  Wagner's last win as the #6 seed came in 2005, a 63-60 win over #1 Monmouth. On Wednesday, the Seahawks will look to snap a two-game skid as the #6 seed.
 
The Seahawks are 17-15 all-time in NEC quarterfinal games and have advanced to the semis in eight of the last 12 seasons.  Wagner is 7-21 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), 2018 (losing to LIU), and 2022 (losing to Bryant).
 
The Season Series
 
Both regular season matchups between the Seahawks and Pioneers were tightly contested. In Fairfield, Wagner led 28-21 at the half, but it wasn't enough, as the Seahawks fell 66-61.
 
The rematch on Staten featured five lead changes and six ties, with the Pioneers ultimately coming out on top, 63-53

Tied at 29-29 at the half, both teams went back and forth for a majority of the second half. A three-pointer from junior Tyje Kelton cut the deficit to five with 4:48 to spare, but Sacred Heart ended the contest on a 9-4 run to come away with the victory.
 
Wednesday's matchup marks the first time all season the Seahawks and Pioneers meet on even rest, as Sacred Heart enjoyed a bye in the NEC schedule prior to both regular season meetings with Wagner.
 
The NEC quarterfinal marks the 50th all-time meeting between the schools, with Wagner holding a 28-21 edge in the head-to-head series. In the last 14 meetings, Wagner is 9-7 against Sacred Heart.
 
Council Earns All-NEC Honors
 
Junior Melvin Council Jr. was named a First Team All-NEC selection, the league announced on Tuesday.
 
Voted on by the league's head coaches, Council becomes the first Seahawk to earn First Team All-NEC honors since Alex Morales in 2022.
 
The league-leader with 35.82 minutes per game, Council enters the NEC Tournament ranked fourth in the circuit in scoring (15.3 ppg), eighth in rebounding (5.8), sixth in assists (3.61), and third in assist/turnover ratio (2.02).
 
Council has scored 20 or more points on six occasions, including two of the last three regular season games, and scored in double figures in 15 of 16 conference games. The Rochester native recorded four double-doubles throughout the regular season.
 
The first-year Seahawk led the Green and White to a road victory at Saint Francis U on February 15 with the game-winner in overtime as part of a 20-point night.
 
Merrimack's Jordan Derkack earned Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors, while the Warriors' Adam "Budd" Clark was voted Rookie of the Year. CCSU's Patrick Sellers took home Jim Phelan Coach of the Year honors.
 
Joining Council on the NEC First Team are Derkack, CCSU's Allan Jeanne-Rose, FDU's Ansley Almonor, and Le Moyne's Kaiyem Cleary.
 
Scouting The Pioneers
 
Sacred Heart enters the NEC Tournament as the #3 seed. The Pioneers are coming off their biggest win of the regular season, and 89-85 victory over Merrimack at home. Sacred Heart is 16-15 overall with a 10-6 mark in NEC action.
 
The Wagner DNA
 
At 63.0 points per game, Wagner is 10th in the country in scoring defense while also leading the Northeast Conference (NEC).
 
Downtown Staten Island

Defensively, the Seahawks hold teams to 30.1% shooting from long range, good for 18^th in the country.

Offensively, Wagner is 5-2 when connecting on nine or more threes per game.
 
Ezquerra Closing In On Milestone

Junior Javier Ezquerra is closing in on 250 career assists. The NEC's active leader has 122 assists on the year and 238 for his career.
 
The Key
 
Sophomore forward Keyontae Lewis has scored in double figures in five of Wagner's last six games. He has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 13-of-16 NEC games this season and ranks first in the league in field goal accuracy in conference play at 60.9 percent.
 
Taking Care Of The Ball

Wagner's 10.1 turnovers per game are 37th in the country and first in the NEC. As a team Wagner's assist/turnover ratio of 1.30 leads the NEC. Individually, the Seahawks have two of the top three players in the NEC in assist/turnover ratio in junior Javier Ezquerra (2nd / 2.10) and Council (3rd / 2.02).
 
Next Up
 
The winner of Wednesday's matchup advances to the NEC semifinal round on Thursday.