Bulldogs and Seahawks match up in Staten Island, Thursday at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES
Thursday's game marks the 11th all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and the Seahawks. Although Wagner holds a 6-4 advantage in the all-time series, Bryant won both meetings in the 2014-15 campaign. The Black and Gold won the most recent contest in Staten Island, 66-65, on Feb. 19, 2015, but the Seahawks hold a 3-2 edge on their home court.  

SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
The Seahawks are led by a triad of guards that have propelled the team to the top of eight statistical categories in the NEC. Sophomore Corey Henson leads Wagner with 14.2 points per game with a .458 clip from three to sit him second in the league and rank 23rd nationally. Senior Dwuan Anderson nets 12.0 points and 5.2 boards per effort while leading Wagner's conference-best scoring defense (65.5 ppg) in steals and blocks. Junior Michael Carey adds 9.5 ppg and heads the team with 8.5 rpg to rank him second in the NEC. The Seahawks shoot just 39.3 percent from the floor, but lead the league in field goal percentage defense (.430 clip against).

CURRENT BULLDOGS vs. WAGNER
Seven current Bulldogs have faced the Seahawks in their careers, with six seeing time on the floor in multiple games. No current member of Bryant's squad has averaged double-figure points against Wagner, as junior forward Dan Garvin has come closest, averaging 9.7 points on a .519 clip from the field (14-27) to pair with 7.3 rebounds in three career matchups with the conference foe from Staten Island. The third-year bigman generated 11.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in both of the Bulldogs' wins over the Seahawks last season while recording a total of eight blocks. Senior captains Shane McLaughlin and Curtis Oakley Jr. have squared off against Wagner five times in their careers, while sophomores Bosko Kostur and Hunter Ware along with junior Andrew Scocca have seen the Seahawks twice. Collectively, current Black and Gold players shoot 40.9 percent from the floor (20-69) and 70.9 percent from the charity stripe (22-31) against the Seahawks.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE  
The Bulldogs are 2-0 against Northeast Conference competition in 2015-16 with an overall record of 45-62 (.420) against current NEC members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 59-79 (.427). Bryant finished 2014-15 NEC play with a 12-6 league record, earning the No. 3 seed in the 2015 NEC Tournament, and won its first postseason game at the DI level by defeating Sacred Heart, 91-85, in the Quartefinals.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs attained a 15-point halftime advantage, and ballooned the margin to as many as 18 in the second half, but were forced to fend off Fairleigh Dickinson towards the end, holding onto a 85-80 victory on Monday night in Stratis Arena. Freshman forward Marcel Pettway continued his outstanding play, mathcing his career-high 26 points on a 9-for-10 effort from the field while picking up his third double-double of the year thanks to a team-leading 11 caroms. Five Black and Gold players scored in double-digits for a second-consecutive game, as Hunter Ware poured in 17 first-half points en route to 19 for the game, and frosh Nisre Zouzoua dropped 13 points. Senior captain Curtis Oakley Jr. netted season-highs of 14 points and five boards, while fellow captain Shane McLaughlin added 10 points and a contest-best eight dimes. Darian Anderson led the Knights with 23 points and five assists, followed by 18 points and six boards from Earl Potts Jr., as Stephan Jiggetts charted 17 points. The Knights shot just 25 percent from distance (8-32) and 40 percent from the floor (29-71), as the Bulldogs drained 58 percent of their shots from the field (25-43) and 57 percent of their 3-point attempts (8-14).  

QUICK HITS  
» Hoard the Boards: For the first time since Jan. 8, 2015 vs. Saint Francis University, the Bulldogs outrebounded an opponent by double-digits, bettering the Knights, 40-27, on the glass in Monday's win. Since the 2013-14 campaign, the Bulldogs have won the battle on the boards by double-digits just one other time (Dec. 14, 2013 vs. Navy).

» Double-Figure It Out: After not having five double-digit scorers in a game since Dec. 9, 2014 against Army, the Bulldogs have produced five double-figure scorers in consecutive games. It is the first time five Bryant performers have netted double-figure points in consecutive games since Jan. 18 (at FDU) and Jan. 23 (vs. LIU Brooklyn) of the 2013-14 campaign.

» Shooting Range: The Bulldogs shot 58.1 percent against the Knights on Monday to mark the first time they have shot over 55 percent from the floor since Jan. 8, 2015 against Saint Francis University (56.9%). The last time the Bulldogs shot over 58 percent from the field was also against FDU (58.9%) on Jan. 18, 2014.

» Turn Over For What: The 20 turnovers committed by the Bulldogs on Monday matches the most losses of possession for the squad since Jan. 17, 2013 against Mount St. Mary's. In addition to the previous two 20 turnover outings, Bryant has turned the ball over 20 or more times on 12 occassions in its Division I era.  

» Twenty Six and Stones: In the Bulldogs' last four games (at Michigan, at Dartmouth, vs. CCSU, at FDU), three players have have either reset or matched their career-high point total. Hunter Ware did so at Michigan (Dec. 23), Shane McLaughlin did so at Dartmouth (Dec. 31) and Marcel Pettway set the feat vs. CCSU (Jan. 2), only to match it at FDU (Jan. 4). All three finished their career days scoring 26 points.

DOING THE HONORS
For a fourth time this season and for a second-straight week, bigman Marcel Pettway was named the NEC Rookie of the Week (Jan. 5). The frosh forward had a stellar three-game stretch in which he averaged 19.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals with a shooting percentage of 71.9 against Dartmouth (Dec. 31), CCSU (Jan. 2), and FDU (Jan. 4). The North Providence, R.I., native is averaging 10.4 points per contest with 6.4 rebounds per game, and he currently ranks second in the NEC in field goal percentage (60.6).

FREE THROW WOAH!
It took the Black and Gold quite some time, but it finally made more than 20 free throws in Monday's win over FDU (27), marking the first time the team had made more than 20 freebies since Feb. 28, 2015 against St. Francis Brooklyn (25). The 42 attempts from the line against the Knights are the most for the Bulldogs since they tried 44 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn on Jan. 25, 2014, and it is just the third time at the Division I level that they have shot the rock over 40 times from the charity stripe.   

MILES-TONES PER HOUR
The Jan. 2 win over the Blue Devils produced three new milestones being achieved. For starters, the win gave Bryant 700 victories in program history. In addition to recording his third double-double of the season against CCSU (15p/12r), junior forward Dan Garvin rejected a season-high three shots to put him over 100 denials in his Bulldog career. Garvin is the fifth player in Bryant history to reach 100 career blocks and the first at the Division I level. And last, but certianly not least, senior floor general Shane McLaughlin surpassed 500 career points with his 16-point effort against CCSU.

THE MIGHTY MARCEL AND MAN FROM OLD TAPPAN
In successive games at Dartmouth (Dec. 31) and against CCSU (Jan. 2), senior captain Shane McLaughlin and freshman forward Marcel Pettway put forth career days that were not just historic on personal levels, but were two of the best performances in program history. McLaughlin finished with career highs of 26 points, 10 made field goals, and four made threes, while also dishing out five assists and coralling six boards in the New Year's Eve win over the Big Green. Pettway netted a career-best 26 points on a career-high 11 made shots from the floor against the Blue Devils to go along with five boards and a career-high five assists.

To put both stat lines into perspective, the guard and the bigman are the only Bryant players to hit at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in the program's Division I era (2008-09-present). They are the first Bulldogs to hit/eclipse the mark since Jon Williams ('06) did so back in 2004 (29p, 5r, 5a at Holy Family, Dec. 20, 2004).
 
In Bryant's DI history, only one other player has hit 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in a single game, with Corey Maynard ('14) doing so twice in 2013-14 (22p, 6r, 5a vs. Navy, 12/14/13 and 21p, 5r, 5a vs. Central Connecticut, 2/22/14).

McLaughlin's 10-for-14 effort from the floor against Darmouth makes him the first Bulldog to shoot better than 70 percent since Maynard went 12-for-15 at Fairleigh Dickinson on Jan. 18, 2014. Pettway's 26 points are the most by a Bulldog freshman since Alex Francis ('14) netted 43 points at Long Island on Feb. 24, 2011.

PLANNING THE OFFENSIVE
The Bulldogs offense has set new season-highs and a new Division I standard in their last two wins. In the Jan. 2 triumph over CCSU. Bryant accumulated a season-best 88 points, shot better than 50 percent in both halves for the first time since Feb. 14, 2015, had five players score in double-figures for the first time since Jan. 22, 2015, and shot over 53 percent from the field for the first time since Feb. 14, 2015. The team also drained 38 shot attempts from the floor to set a DI record, previously sinking 37 shots two times (last against Delaware on Dec. 12, 2013). In Monday's win at FDU, five Black and Gold players scored in double-digits once again, the team shot over 50 percent in both halves yet again, and the squad shot a season-best 58.1 percent from the floor.    

ON THE REBOUND
After losing the battle on the glass 12 times to begin the 2015-16 campaign, the Bulldogs have outrebounded two of the last three opponents (Dartmouth and FDU). This was the first time in the program's Division I history the team had opened a campaign on the short side on the glass in 12-straight outings. The last time the Bulldogs were outboarded in more than seven-straight games at any point in a season was back in 2011-12, when the team lost the battle on the boards in nine-consecutive games from Nov. 27-Jan. 5. To find the last time the squad was outrebounded in 12 or more straight contests, you must look all the way back to the 2009-10 season, when the Bulldogs lost the board battle in 20 in a row from Dec. 3-Feb. 13. Bryant currently ranks 312th in Division I in rebounding margin (-5.3) and 295th in rebounds per game (33.80).

FREE THROW WOES
The Bulldogs have struggled from the charity stripe throughout the 2015-16 season, finishing under 60 percent in seven of the team's 15 contests. Bryant's worst performance of the year came Nov. 28 against Georgetown, when the Black and Gold went just 5-for-15 from the line (.333), converting less than 40 percent of their free throw attempts for the first time since a 4-of-11 (.364) performance against Mount St. Mary's back on Jan. 14, 2012. Bryant has finished at 50 percent or less six times this season (.462 vs. Prairie View A&M, .462 at Yale, .500 at Michigan, .500 at Providence, .500 at Duke) and currently ranks sixth to last in Division I with a 59.9 percent clip on the year.

THE NAME IS ZOUZOUA
Freshman Nisre Zouzoua made a name for himself in the first two games of his collegiate career and has gotten back on track as of late. He scored 16 points in his debut at No. 5 Duke, only to follow that up with a career-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting against Emerson. Zouzoua started 0-for-2 against the Lions but then made his next eight shots from the field on his way to his career day. And after six-consecutive single-digit outings, the Brockton, Mass., native has scored in double-digits in six of the last seven games, averaging 13.0 points per contest since Dec. 5. In a 76-68 loss to Brown, Zouzoua drained four treys en route to a team-high 18 points. He then led the team in scoring for the third time in his young collegiate career with 17 points in a 77-55 loss to Army on Dec. 8 and followed that up with 11 points and a trio of 3-pointers at No. 15/18 Providence on Dec. 12.  After an eight-point output at Michigan on Dec. 23, the rookie scored 13 at Dartmouth on New Year's Eve, 11 vs. CCSU on Jan. 2, and 13 at FDU on Jan. 4.

WARE, OH WARE
Sophomore guard Hunter Ware has emerged as an offensive weapon to be reckoned with in the 2015-16 season. The Georgia native averages a team-high 14.4 points per game, ranking him ninth in the NEC while shooting better than 44 percent from the field (76-170) and over 38 percent (31-81) from long range. Ware opened the season with two of the best offensive performances of his career, logging back-to-back 20-point outings that included a career-high 24 points in the Nov. 14 season opener at No. 5/4 Duke. He reset his season-best with 26 points at Michigan while matching a career-best six triples.

HIGH MILEAGE FOR McLAUGHLIN
Senior point guard Shane McLaughlin is once again proving to be a workhorse for the Bulldogs on the court, playing 34 minutes or more in 14 of the season's first 15 contests. The Old Tappan, N.J., native was third in the NEC last year with an average of 36.68 minutes per game and currently sits second as a senior with an average of 37.20 minutes per outing (13th nationally). As a starter (60 games), McLaughlin has played 37 minutes or more 32 times. He has played the entire game eight times in the span, including all 50 minutes in a double-overtime win against Sacred Heart in last year's NEC Tournament.

LINEUP DANCING
Just 15 games into the 2015-16 campaign, the Bulldogs have unveiled eight variations of their starting lineup. Head coach Tim O'Shea has repeated a starting lineup just twice this year, but has found success in a consistent opening five of late. The cast of senior Shane McLaughlin, sophomore Hunter Ware, freshman Nisre Zouzoua, freshman Marcel Pettway and junior Dan Garvin have earned six-consecutive starting nods from Dec. 8 - Jan. 4. The Bulldogs have not seen eight or more editions of a starting lineup since the 2011-12 season.

UP NEXT
Bryant wraps up its first road swing through the NEC, playing its third game in six days. The Bulldogs will face Mount St. Marys on Saturday afternoon, with tipoff in Emmitsburg, Md, set for 2:00 p.m.