Feb. 12, 2008

FAIRFIELD, CT - Setting The Scene: The Sacred Heart men's basketball extended its winning streak to eight games, and clinched a playoff spot, with a win over Monmouth last Thursday and now heads for a showdown with second-place Wagner College on Staten Island Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Series: Wagner leads the all-time series between these two schools, 11-8, but the Pioneers have won four of the last six meetings. Wagner won an earlier game this season in Fairfield, 70-63. 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 return home to host St. Francis- PA on Saturday the 16th. They will play the final regular-season road game of the season on the 23rd at Quinnipiac.

TV/Radio/Internet: This game is being broadcast live on WICC 600 AM and on the Internet through the Sacred Heart University website, SacredHeartPioneers.com. Jeff Holtz will call the play-by-play action, while Gene Gumbs, Assistant AD for Communications will provide color commentary. The Pioneers will offer every men's basketball game live this season on the Internet, with 18 games also being broadcast on WICC 600 AM in Bridgeport. The game is also being televised live on MSG.

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 30 minutes per game or more. Senior Durell Vinson is a force inside for Wagner, averaging a double-double at 13.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Senior guard Mark Porter is the leading scorer for the Seahawks at 15.8 points per game, and also averages a team-best 5.5 assists per game.

Junior guard Joey Mundweiler is also scoring in double figures at 10.7 per game and is the leading three-point shooter for the Seahawks with 59. Junior forward Jamal Smith is averaging 11.3 points per game.

The achilles heal for the Seahawks is at the free throw line, where they convert just 59 percent of their tries (282-476).

The Coaches: Dave Bike (Sacred Heart '69) is in his 30th year as the head coach of Sacred Heart. He has a career record of 460-410 and guided the Pioneers in their transition from a Division II program to Division I. His 450 victories ranks him 21st among active coaches. He led the Pioneers to eight NCAA Division II tournaments, and his 1985-86 team won the national championship while finishing 30-4. Bike was named the national Coach of the Year by the NABC following the title game. Prior to joining the SHU coaching staff, he worked as an assistant at Seattle University for four seasons. Drafted as a baseball player by Detroit, he spent five seasons as a catcher in the Tiger farm system.

Mike Dean (Potsdam `74) is in his fifth season at Wagner College and 20th overall. He notched his 400th career victory this season and has a career mark of 411-291. Dean is well travelled as a head coach, having most recently spent four seasons at Lamar University in Texas. He also coached for five seasons at Marquette, eight seasons at Siena College and two years at Oswego State.

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