Jan. 4, 2008

FAIRFIELD, CT - Setting The Scene: The Sacred Heart men's basketball returns to Northeast Conference play on Saturday when they host the Wagner College Seahawks at 4 p.m. in the second game of a doubleheader with the women's team. The Pioneers are coming off a 61-58 win over Holy Cross and looking for their sixth win in the last eight games.

Series: Wagner leads the all-time series between these two schools, 10-8, but the Pioneers have won four of the last five meetings. The two teams split a pair of games in the regular season last year, but the Pioneers defeated the Seahawks handily in the Northeast Conference Tournament last year, 100-68.

Upcoming Games: The Pioneers will hit the road to play at Long Island University on Monday night at 7 pm. The team then returns to the Pitt Center for a home date with St. Francis (NY) on Thursday.

Scouting the Opponent: Wagner College comes into the game with a 9-4 record and winners of four of the last five. The Seahawks are coming off a 68-60 win at Central Connecticut on Thursday.

The Seahawks rely heavily on their starting five, four of them averaging over 30 minutes per game. Senior Durell Vinson is a force inside for Wagner, averaging a double-double at 13.8 points and 11 rebounds per game. Senior guard Mark Porter is the leading scorer for the Seahawks at 15.1 points per game, and also averages a team-best 6.2 assists per game.

Junior guard Joey Mundweiler is also scoring in double figures at 12.2 per game and is the leading three-point shooter for the Seahawks with 36. Junior forward Jamal Smith is averaging an even ten points per game.

The achilles heal for the Seahawks is at the free throw line, where they convert just 58 percent of their tries (158-274).

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