March 9, 2008

THE MATCHUP

Led by First-Team All-NEC performers Mark Porter and Durell Vinson, Wagner will meet Sacred Heart for the third time this season. The Seahawks won the first two meetings. On Jan. 5, Wagner held off the Pioneers 70-63 in New Britain, CT. In the second meeting on Staten Island, Wagner and Sacred Heart engaged in an epic, two-overtime battle that wound up with the Sehawks emerging with a 100-92 decision in a game that was televised live on MSG.

Against Sacred Heart, the Seahawks will be looking to avenge a 100-68 loss they suffered at the hands of the Pioneers in the quarterfinals of the 2007 NEC Tournament, which marked the first time these schools had ever met in NEC tourney play.

The winner of the Wagner-SHU game will meet the winner of the other NEC semifinal between No. 4 seed Mount St. Mary's and No. 1 seed Robert Morris in the championship game. The NEC title game will be held on Wednesday at 7:00 pm in a game that will be carried to a live national audience on ESPN2.

WAGNER - BY THE NUMBERS

2: Wagner's #2 seed in the NEC Tournament is the highest for the program since claiming the top seed in 2003 en-route to the program's first conference championship.

3: Wagner Head Coach Deane has now guided three different teams to 20-win seasons. Siena posted four 20-win campaigns in his eight years as head coach from 1986-94, while Marquette reached the milestone in four of five seasons from 1994-99.

4: The Seahawks have qualified for the NEC Tournament in four of Mike Deane's five years as coach. In four appearances, the Seahawks are 3-3 in NEC Tournament play under Deane.

11: The Seahawks have won 11 straight at home and finished 9-0 against NEC rivals at the Spiro Center.

13: Wagner is tied for the most in Spiro Center history.

23: Wagner's 23 are a school record. The Seahawks had won 21 games in 1967-68, 1978-79 and 2002-03. At 23-7, the Seahawks boast the best record among all New York City metro area schools.

WAGNER 5-0 IN OVERTIME GAMES THIS SEASON

The five overtime wins recorded by Wagner is tied for the second-most single-season OT wins in NCAA history with 13 other schools. The record for most OT wins in a single season is six, set by Wake Forest in 1984 (6-1) and matched by Chattanooga in 1989 (6-0) and by Lafayette, which is 6-1 in OT this season.

FOURTH 20th-WIN SEASON IN SCHOOL HISTORY

Wagner has achieved its fourth 20-win season in school history, joining the 1967-68 (21-8), 1978-79 (21-7) and the 2002-03 team (21-11) in this exclusive club.

DEANE WINS 20...AGAIN

Mike Deane has secured the ninth 20-win season of his career (four at Siena, four at Marquette and one at Wagner).

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