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Staten Island, NY - The Wagner College men's basketball team will compete in its second-to-last regular season road game of the 2024-25 campaign against Northeast Conference (NEC) newcomer Chicago State on Saturday, February 22. Tip-off is set for 2:00 pm EST.

Last Time Out

Wagner and Stonehill competed on Thursday night, the lead changed hands eight times in the first half alone. The Seahawks held a one-point advantage heading into the intermission, 30-29, despite only leading for 1:12 of the period. Graduate student Zae Blake would lead all Seahawks in the first half scoring with 10 points on a perfect 4-4 from the floor including 2-2 from three-point range. Freshman Zavier Fitch added six first half points as senior Javier Ezquerra and junior R.J. Greene both chipped in five points before the break. As a team, Wagner enjoyed a 6-0 advantage in points off turnovers as well as a 15-8 advantage in bench points compared to that of the Skyhawks. Wagner also shot 7.2% better from three-point range than Stonehill in the first. In the second half, graduate student Ja'Kair Sanchez scored the first seven points of the period for the Green & White. Ezquerra then hit a three-pointer to grant Wagner a 40-34 lead three minutes into the second. The Seahawks would work their lead to a game-high eight points after a Blake three-pointer with 8:26 remaining. However, a 12-4 run over the next seven minutes would tie the game at 55 with 1:40 to go in the contest. Crucial back-to-back baskets from Ezquerra and Blake would put Wagner up 59-55 within the last minute of the game as the Seahawks would hang on to win, 63-57, over the Skyhawks.

Among The NEC 

Since the new year, Williams is 11th in scoring with 14.4 points, fourth in steals with 1.9 per game, fourth in three-pointers made per game with 2.1, and sixth in minutes played with 34.3. Blake ranks first in the NEC in three-point percentage, shooting 22-44 (50%) from beyond-the-arc since January 3. Blake is 17th in points per game since the start of the new year with 11.1 and twelfth in the conference in three-pointers made per game at 1.6. Senior Javier Ezquerra ranks in third in assists per game with 4.3 assists across his first 12 conference appearances this season. Ezquerra is third in assist-to-turnover ratio with a mark of 2.1 in the category, and 62nd nationally with a season-average of 2.39. Junior Keyontae Lewis is sixth in the NEC in offensive rebounds per game, grabbing 2.3 per outing, and tenth overall with six total rebounds per game. Sanchez ranks fourth in the NEC in free throw percentage with a success rate of 85.7% on 30-35 shooting. In their first 12 conference games, the Seahawks are second in the conference in three-point percentage with a success rate of 35% on a 84-240 clip. The Green & White sit atop the NEC in three-point percentage, shooting 35.4% from beyond-the-arc as a team.

Wagner DNA

Since December 4, Wagner has ranked in the top 10 in scoring defensive out of 355 Division I teams. At their peak, the Seahawks were ranked third in the category. Currently, the Green & White allow the seventh least points per game in the country at a tune of 61.3 points per game, trailing ACC member Duke by 0.5 points per game. Williams is 72nd in the nation in steals per game with 1.86 steals per game.

It Takes A Village

Wagner is 62nd in the nation in bench points per game, averaging 25.4 points from non-starters on any given night. Recently, Greene and Blake have provided Coach Copeland valuable production off of the bench, Greene has scored 15 points in both of his last appearances while Blake scored a team-high 17 points on 7-9 from the floor in Wagner's win over Stonehill on Thursday.

Crashing The Glass

The Seahawks lead the NEC in offensive rebounds per game, grabbing 11 per contest. The Seahawks also lead the conference in offensive rebound percentage, grabbing an offensive rebound on 32.5% of shot attempts, and second in defensive rebound percentage, grabbing a defensive rebound on 76.4% of shot attempts. At a margin of +5.1, Wagner ranks 46th nationally in rebound margin.

The Series

Wagner and Chicago State played against one another for the first time in either program's history back on January 3 to begin conference play. The Cougars defeated the Seahawks at the Spiro Sports Center by a score of 64-52 to secure the first win for either team against one another. In their meeting earlier in the season, senior Noble Crawford scored the most points for the Cougars with 15 points while adding five rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. 

Scouting The Cougars

Chicago State comes into Saturday's matchup with a 4-24 overall record and a 4-9 record in NEC play. As a team, the Cougars rank second in the conference in steals per game with 7.8 and third in blocks per contest at 3.6. Chicago State is second in the NEC in turnover margin with +1.8 per game. Junior Jalen Forrest leads the offensive charge for the Cougars, averaging the fourth most points in the NEC since January 3 with 17.4 across his 12 conference appearances this season. Chicago State is currently on a four-game losing streak, most recently dropping its meeting with CCSU, 81-75. Senior Dailliss Cox put up 20 points with 10 rebounds against the Blue Devils.

Next Up

Wagner will compete in its final road game of its 2024-25 campaign at the Steinberg Wellness Center against LIU on Thursday, February 27. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm.