Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 7:00 p.m.
It's Rivalry Week in the Northeast Conference, and that means the Mount and Wagner will meet in a home-and-home series this week, beginning at Knott Arena on Wednesday.
Mount St. Mary's is coming off a 67-62 loss to Robert Morris on Saturday. Julian Norfleet paced the Mount with 23 points while Kelvin Parker chipped in 17. The Mount raced to a 32-19 first-half lead before the Colonials rallied. Robert Morris used a 11-0 run in the second half to take a 56-48 advantage, but the Mount countered with an 11-to-3 run of its own to even the score at 59-59. The Colonials, however, snapped the tie with 1:36 left in the game, and then hit 6-of-6 at the line down the stretch to earn the victory.
Parker was named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week on Monday after averaging 18.5 points in the Mount's pair of games last week. Parker is the 17th different Mountaineers to earn NEC Rookie of the Week honors since the Mount joined the league in 1989-90.
Norfleet, who has scored in double figures in 11 of the past 12 games, leads the Mount in scoring at 13.1 points per game. Parker and Raven Barber are tied for second on the team at 8.7 points per game while Josh Castellanos (8.4) and Danny Thompson (8.3) are right behind.
The Mount, which is averaging 59.6 points per game on the season, has been better on the offensive end of late, averaging 68.2 points while hitting 39.7 percent from three-point range over the past four games.
Wagner enters Wednesday's game 19-4 overall and 10-2 in the NEC. The Seahawks have won 12 of their past 13 games, including the past four, and are tied for second in the conference standings, one game behind leader LIU Brooklyn. Latif Rivers leads Wagner in scoring at 15.0 points per game while Jonathon Williams (12.7) and Tyler Murray (12.3) are also in double figures. Wagner is the NEC's top defensive team, allowing 63.3 points per game while holding the opposition to 40.2 percent shooting.
The Mount and Wagner will meet again on Saturday, February 11, at 7:00 p.m. in the second half of the rivalry series.