March 8, 2008

FAIRFIELD, CT - Setting The Scene: The Sacred Heart men's basketball team play in the Northeast Conference semifinals at #2 seed Wagner College on Sunday evening at 7:00 pm. The Pioneers reached the semi-final game by defeating Central Connecticut at home on Thursday, 84-71.

Series: Wagner leads the all-time series between these two schools, 12-8, but the Pioneers have won five of the last seven meetings. Wagner won both meetings this season, 70-63 in Fairfield and then 100-92 in double overtime on Staten Island. 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.

Scouting the Opponent: #2 seeded Wagner College comes into the game after defeating #7 Long Island University 71-62 in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

The Seahawks rely heavily on their starting five, four of them averaging 30 minutes per game or more. Senior Durell Vinson, a first-team All-NEC selection, is a force inside for Wagner, averaging a double-double at 13.7 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Senior guard Mark Porter was also named All-NEC and is the leading scorer for the Seahawks at 16.4 points per game, and also averages a team-best 5.7 assists per game.

Junior guard Joey Mundweiler is also scoring in double figures at 10.4 per game and is the leading three-point shooter for the Seahawks with 75. Junior forward Jamal Smith is averaging 11.1 points per game.

The achilles heal for the Seahawks is at the free throw line, where they convert just 60 percent of their tries (389-648).

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 463-413 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 416-292. 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.

SHU in the NEC Tournament: This is the fourth appearance in eight years of eligibility for the NEC Tournament. The previous three appearances were all ended by Central Connecticut State University. CCSU beat the Pioneers 65-54 in 2002 in the first round, on the way to an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Blue Devils did it again in 2006, beating SHU 86-68 in New Britain in the first round. Last season the two teams met in a memorable classic in New Britain in the championship game, a 74-70 CCSU victory and Central's third NCAA Tournament berth.

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