Live Stats | Game Notes
Staten Island, NY - The Wagner College men's basketball team will compete in its final game of its 2024-25 regular season against Northeast Conference (NEC) rival CCSU on Saturday, March 1. Tip-off is set for 6:00 pm on ESPNU.
Last Time Out
Wagner and LIU went back-and-forth for a majority of the first half, as there were six lead changes and five different times the game was tied in the first 20 minutes of game action. The Seahawks and Sharks were tied, 15-15, after 5:22 left in the period. LIU would finish the first on a 13-7 run to lead 28-22 at the break. Senior Tyje Kelton and graduate student Zae Blake led the Seahawks offense with seven points each. Junior R.J. Greene scored four points while graduate student Ja'Kair Sanchez and freshman Zavier Fitch scored two points apiece. In the second half, LIU jumped out to a double-digit point lead midway through the period, leading by 18 with 7:31 remaining in the game. The Seahawks would bring the game within 12 on two separate occasions, including a Kelton three-pointer that forced an LIU timeout with 2:19 on the game clock. In the end, LIU would prevail over Wagner, 60-47.
Back-To-Back
The Seahawks defeated Stonehill at the Spiro Sports Center on February 20 before traveling to Chicago State on February 22 and earning their second win in as many games. For Wagner, these two wins counted as the first consecutive victories in NEC play in the 2024-25 season. Blake led the Seahawks with 17 points while Greene added 15 against the Skyhawks. Williams then scored 20 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against Chicago State to earn the Seahawks' sixth conference win of the year. The wins against Stonehill and Chicago State marked the only back-to-back wins for Wagner during the conference campaign.
Among The NEC
Since the new year, Williams is 11th in scoring with 13.9 points, fourth in steals with 1.8 per game, fifth in three-pointers made per game with 2.1,tenth in minutes played with 33.6, and 11th in defensive rebounds with 4.3 rebounds in NEC play. Blake ranks first in the NEC in three-point percentage, shooting 25-53 (47.2%) from beyond-the-arc since January 3. Blake is 16th in points per game since the start of the new year with 11.5 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 4.1 assists across his first 14 conference appearances this season. Ezquerra is third in assist-to-turnover ratio with a mark of 2.0 in the category, and 63rd nationally with a season-average of 2.37. Junior Keyontae Lewis is sixth in the NEC in offensive rebounds per game, grabbing 2.2 per outing, and tenth overall with 5.7 total rebounds per game. Sanchez ranks fourth in the NEC in free throw percentage with a success rate of 86.8% on 33-38 shooting. In their first 14 conference games, the Seahawks are first in the conference in three-point percentage with a success rate of 34.7% on a 103-296 clip.
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 sixth least points per game in the country at a tune of 60.9 points per game, tied with Conference USA member Liberty in the category. Williams is 79th in the nation in steals per game with 1.83 steals per game.
It Takes A Village
Wagner is 55th in the nation in bench points per game, averaging 25.7 points from non-starters on any given night. Recently, Greene and Blake have provided Coach Copeland valuable production off of the bench, Greene has averaged 14.3 points in his last four appearances while Blake scored a team-high 17 points on 7-9 from the floor in Wagner's win over Stonehill. Blake has scored double-digits in five out of his last six games.
Class Cleaners
The Seahawks lead the NEC in offensive rebounds per game, grabbing 10.8 per contest. The Seahawks also lead the conference in offensive rebound percentage, grabbing an offensive rebound on 32.6% of shot attempts, and second in defensive rebound percentage, grabbing a defensive rebound on 75.8% of shot attempts. At a margin of +4.5, Wagner ranks 54th nationally in rebound margin. The Green & White lead the NEC in defensive rebounds allowed, giving up 29.5 defensive rebounds to opponents.
The Series
Wagner holds a 36-24 all-time lead over CCSU. Wagner competed against CCSU when CCSU was named 'New Britain Tech' once a year in the 1939-40 and 1940-41 seasons, the two programs split going 1-1 with New Britain Tech winning the 1939-40 game and Wagner earning the win in 1940-1941. Wagner and CCSU's first matchup was on December 8, 1988 in a game where the Blue Devils emerged victorious, 71-54. The Seahawks boast a 17-5 record against CCSU at the Spiro Sports Center.
Scouting The Blue Devils
CCSU comes into the game with a 22-6 overall record and a 13-2 mark in NEC play. For the second consecutive season, the Blue Devils have earned the NEC's regular season champion honor, as the Blue Devils went 13-3 in conference action last year. CCSU is currently riding an 11-game win streak, an eight-game road win streak, and have won a conference-high 11 road games this season. CCSU is led by Jordan Jones and Devin Haid who average 16.3 points per game and 14.7 points per game in conference play respectively.
Next Up
The quarterfinal round of the NEC's postseason tournament begins on Wednesday, March 5.
