Staten Island, NY - The Wagner College men's basketball team will travel to Northeast Conference (NEC) rival FDU for a 1:00 pm tip at the Bogota Savings Bank Center on Saturday, February 8.
 

Last Time Out

The Seahawks fell to the LIU Sharks by a score of 60-47 on Saturday. Senior Zaire Williams led the Green & White with 13 points, six rebounds, and three steals as junior Keyontae Lewis added eight points and eight rebounds. Senior Tyje Kelton added nine points on three three-point field goals. LIU shot 15.1% better than Wagner, led by redshirt junior Malachi Davis who scored 13 points with nine rebounds and 10 assists.  
 

Among The NEC 

Since the new year, Williams is tenth in scoring with 14.8 points, third in steals with 2 per game, fifth in three-pointers made per game with 2, and seventh in minutes played with 34.3. Graduate student Zae Blake ranks first in the NEC in three-point percentage, shooting 17-33 (51.5%) from beyond-the-arc since January 3. Blake is ninth in the conference in three-pointers made per game at 1.7. Senior Javier Ezquerra ranks in third in assists per game with 4.5 assists across his ten conference appearances this season. Ezquerra is first in assist-to-turnover ratio with a mark of 2.5 in the category, and 31st nationally with a season-average of 2.74. The San Juan, Puerto Rico native also is tied-for-fifteenth in three-pointers made per game since the start of the new year with 1.7 successful attempts per game. Junior Keyontae Lewis is seventh in the NEC in offensive rebounds per game, grabbing 2.2 per outing, and twelfth overall with 5.8 total rebounds per game. Since January 3, the Seahawks are first in the conference in three-point percentage with a success rate of 36.2% on a 72-199 clip, as well as second in free throw percentage at 123-165 from the field for a success rate of 74.5%.
 

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 0.9 points per game. The Seahawks rank 91st nationally and first in the NEC in turnovers forced per game at 13.36 and 102nd in turnover margin with +1.5. Wagner is 103rd in steals per game and second in the conference with 7.6 swipes per contest. The Green & White sit atop the NEC in three-point defensive percentage, holding opponents to 35.5% success rate from beyond-the-arc. Wagner ranks 88th in the country in the category. Williams is 67th in the nation in steals per game with 1.89 steals per game.
 

It Takes A Village

Wagner is 63rd 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 offensive rebounds per game, grabbing 10.5 per contest. At a margin of +5.0, Wagner ranks 47th nationally in rebounding margin.
 

The Series

The Seahawks and Knights are an even 61-61 all-time against one another, dating back to December 19, 1955 in the first matchup between the two programs where Wagner took home the victory on Grymes Hill, 83-68. These two teams are an even 5-5 against one another in their last 10 games. In the most recent matchup, the Knights went into the Spiro Sports Center on January 5 and took down the Seahawks by a score of 71-59. Sophomore Terrence Brown scored 28 points and had 10 rebounds with two assists, two blocks, and two steals. 
 

Scouting The Knights

FDU comes into Saturday's game with a 9-15 overall record and a 5-4 mark in NEC play. Two days ago, the Knights were defeated by the CCSU Blue Devils in New Britain, CT by a score of 87-66. Terrence Brown ranks first in the conference in points per game, scoring 21.4 per contest since January 3. Brown is first in the nation in field goals made with 179 coming into the game. On the year, Brown is averaging 21.2 points per game, good for sixth in the nation.
 

Next Up

After its matchup with FDU, Wagner will travel to Syracuse, NY for a matchup with Le Moyne on Thursday, February 13. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm.