NCCU AT Wagner Game Notes (PDF)
THE GAME
After splitting the first two contests, the Eagles of North Carolina Central University hit the road for two this week before returning home for a four-game homestand. The first contest for the visiting Eagles is against the Wagner College Seahawks who hail from the Northeast Conference, a league in which NCCU hasn’t faced a team from since 1989.
THE SERIES
NCCU and Wagner have never met on the hardwood, even though the Eagles are 2-2 against current members of the Northeast Conference. The last NEC opponent NCCU faced was Sacred Heart, a squad that the Eagles beat on the way to the 1989 NCAA Division II National Championship. NCCU beat Sacred Heart 67-64 in the first game of the NCAA "Elite Eight" on March 23, 1989, winning the title two days later.
NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
Tune in beginning at 7:15 p.m. online at this link (http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/nccu.portal) to hear play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network, Chris Hooks, get fans ready for the first-ever meeting between NCCU and Wagner beginning with Eagle Gameday built by Dayeco Construction Co. Followers of @NCCURadio and @NCCUAthletics can follow Wednesday's contest by using this hashtag (#NCCUWAG) to stay up-to-date with the game.
WAGNER COLLEGE ‘SEAHAWKS"
The Wagner College Seahawks enter the contest with a 1-1 record but have played some top notch competition to begin the season. On Thursday, Nov. 12 the Seahawks tipped off the season with a 16-point win over Princeton, and on Monday night Wagner battled toe-to-toe with the defending national champion and fourth ranked Connecticut Huskies dropping a 78-66 decision in Gampel Pavilion. With eight minutes to go in the game, the Seahawks were down just eight points thanks in part to a 10-0 run to get them back in the contest, but the Huskies proved to be too much. Wagner (1-1) held tight despite a 43-17 disparity from the free-throw line. The Seahawks had three players in double figures (Latif Rivers-11 pts, Tyler Murray- 10 pts, and Kenneth Ortiz-10 pts) in the loss. College basketball fans will be very familiar with the names in charge of the Wagner College basketball program as Danny Hurley is in his second year at the helm after posting a 13-17 record last season including a surprising 9-9 mark in Northeast Conference play. Wagner surprised many around around the league as they were predicted to finish 11th in the league and ended up sixth. Many experts consider Danny Hurley as one of the up-and-coming coaches at the Division I Level. Danny’s older brother helped lead Duke to two national championships (1991, 1992) and is revered as one of the best point guards in NCAA History. He sits on the Wagner bench as the assistant coach. Both the Hurley brother’s are taking after their father who has been one of the best high school basketball coaches in the nation at St. Anthony’s High School in Jersey City, New Jersey. The Seahawks are led by 2010-11 First Team All-NEC performer Tyler Murray who leads the squad averaging 12.5 points a game in which he is shooting 4-of-5 (80 percent) from three-point range. The senior guard scored 15 points in the 16-point win over Princeton on Nov. 12. The second leading scorer on the squad is Josh Thompson averaging 11.5 points a game as the team’s sixth man. The 6-5 guard is shooting 10-of-13 from the field (76.9 percent) and has grabbed 11 rebounds in two games. Thompson scored 14 points in the victory over Princeton but managed only nine points against No. 4 Connecticut.
UP NEXT
The Eagles return to the homestead and prepare for a Sunday night showdown down the road against Wake Forest. That contest is set for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff from Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. and will be televised on ESPN3.com.
