WATCH | Live Stats | Game Notes
Staten Island, NY - The Wagner College men's basketball team will host Northeast Conference (NEC) rival LIU at the Spiro Sports Center for a 7:00 pm tip on Thursday, February 6.
 

Last Time Out

The Seahawks earned a 73-61 victory over the Le Moyne Dolphins at the Spiro Sports Center on February 1. In the second half alone, Wagner shot 13-16 from the floor (81.3%) compared to a 7-21 success rate (33.3%) for the Dolphins. To start the second half, Wagner found itself down 32-27 after four minutes of game time. From 16:40 to 3:59 in the second half the Seahawks would respond with their own 35-17 run, punctuated by Blake hitting his fourth three-pointer of the game. In the end, the Seahawks prevailed by a score of 73-61 over the Dolphins, thanks in part to a 45-29 advantage in the second half. Along with 16 points, Williams added five rebounds and five assists to his stat line. Ezquerra finished with four rebounds and five assists to go along with his 10 points.

Zae's Big Second Half

Against the Dolphins, graduate student Zae Blake scored 11 points in the final 11 minutes of Saturday's matchup, going 4-5 from the floor including 3-3 from three. Blake had 14 points total in the game.

Among The NEC 

Since the new year, Zaire Williams is ninth in scoring with 15 points, fourth in steals with 1.9 per game, sixth in three-pointers made per game with 2, and ninth in free throw percentage at 80.5%. Graduate student Zae Blake ranks first in the NEC in three-point percentage, shooting 16-28 (57.1%) from beyond-the-arc since January 3. Blake is eighth in the conference in three-pointers made per game at 1.8 and ranks 19th in points per game with 11, including a 20-point showing on January 5 against FDU. Senior Javier Ezquerra ranks in third in assists per game with 4.4 assists across his nine conference appearances this season. Ezquerra is first in assist-to-turnover ratio with a mark of 2.9 in the category, and 30th nationally with a season-average of 2.74. The San Juan, Puerto Rico native also is tied-for-seventh in three-point percentage since the start of the new year, shooting a 14-38 (36.8%) clip from downtown. Junior Keyontae Lewis is sixth in the NEC in offensive rebounds per game, grabbing 2.2 per outing. Since January 3, the Seahawks are first in the conference in three-point percentage with a success rate of 37.5% on a 66-176 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 60.7 points per game, trailing ACC member Duke by 0.7 points per game. The Seahawks rank 96th nationally and first in the NEC in turnovers forced per game at 13.36 and turnover margin with a mark of 1.5. Williams is 67th in the nation in steals per game at 1.89 swipes per game.
 

It Takes A Village

Wagner is 61st in the nation in bench points per game, averaging 25.7 points from non-starters on any given night.

Crashing The Glass

The Seahawks lead the NEC in defense rebounding percentage, grabbing a defensive rebound on 77.4% of their shots attempted. The Seahawks give up a conference-low 28.7 rebounds to NEC opponents this season. At a margin of +5.0, Wagner ranks 47th nationally in rebounding margin.
 

The Series

The Seahawks trail the all-time series with the Sharks by a tally of 56-64. Thursday's game marks the 121st meeting between the two programs dating back to the 1928-29 season. The last loss the Seahawks suffered at the hands of the Sharks on Grymes Hill dates back to January 14, 2021 - Wagner has won five straight games at home against LIU. 
 

Scouting The Sharks

LIU comes into Thursday's game with a 10-15 overall record and a mark of 6-4 in NEC play. LIU began conference action 6-0, but have dropped its last four games. Most recently, Chicago State defeated LIU by a score of 73-67 in Chicago. Individually, redshirt junior guard Malachi Davis leads LIU's offensive averaging 17 points per game followed by senior Jamal Fuller who scores 11.7 per game while grabbing 6.2 rebounds per contest. Freshman forward Shadrak Lasu leads LIU with 7.1 rebounds per game. The Sharks sit atop the conference in field goal defense, holding opponents to 39.3% from the floor throughout their last 10 games.
 

Next Up

Wagner will travel to FDU for a matchup with the Knights on Saturday, February 8. Tip-off is set for 1:00 pm on the banks of the Hackensack.