Dec. 3, 2005

Box Score

New Haven, CT - The Wagner College Seahawks improved to 4-1 on the season after escaping Yale with a 73-69 win at historic John J. Amphitheater earlier this afternoon. The victory puts Wagner off to the first 4-1 start for the program since the 1980-81 season, while Yale dips to 3-3 on the year.

Sophomore James Ulrich (Mt. Laurel, NJ / Camden Catholic), with 12 points to go along with a team high seven rebounds, led a well balanced Seahawk attack as five players were in double figures.

Junior Durell Vinson (Vineland, NJ / St. Augustine's Prep) made a two-foot jump hook to break a 69-69 tie with 49 seconds remaining then helped keep the advantage with a huge block on a 3-on-2 fast break with 10 seconds left. The Wagner defense would force another Yale miss and sophomore Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ / St. Augustine's Prep) grabbed the rebound and then iced the game in the closing seconds with a pair of free throws.

In the first half, an 11-0 run by the Bulldogs helped them build up a 19-9 advantage. The Seahawks then responded with an 11-0 run of their own, strengthened by a pair of three-pointers from red-shirt junior Matt Vitale (Brooklyn, NY / St. Augustine's Prep), which gave them a 20-19 lead. The remainder of the period would continue to be tight as the half ended with 10 lead changes and five ties to account for the 37-37 halftime score.

The second half featured more of the same closely played basketball. Junior Jamal Webb (Tuckahoe, NY / Tuckahoe) tied the score for the forth time in the half with his second three of the game to even the count at 47-47 with 13:43 to play. The Bulldogs would then gradually build up their margin and held a 61-53 lead at the 7:57 mark. Senior DeEarnest McLemore (Cary, NC / Cary) answered with a short jumper, followed by a pair of free throws from Ulrich, and back-to-back three's by red-shirt freshman Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS / Olathe East) to boost a 10-2 run and tie the game once more at 65-65 with just under five minutes left. The teams would then trade scoring opportunities over the next four minutes to set up Vinson's go ahead score.

Red-shirt freshman Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD / Towson Catholic) had 11 points, while Vinson, Porter and Vitale all chipped in 10 a piece. Porter, in addition added four assists, three steals, and was a perfect 5-5 from the foul line to extend his streak to 24 straight, while Vinson supplied six rebounds and three blocks.

For Yale, Casey Hughes produced a double-double with a career best 22 points and 11 rebounds. Just a career 41 percent free throw shooter, Hughes was an astounding 11-11 from the line. Sam Kaplan (14) and Ross Morin (11) were also in double figures for the Bulldogs.

Each team pulled in 35 rebounds in the contest, but Yale held a huge advantage at the foul line connecting on 21-26 (.808) compared to 10-15 (.667) for Wagner. The Seahawks would fair much better from downtown with 7-16 (.438) from three.

The Seahawks are back in action at home on Tuesday when they face Columbia at 7:00 pm ~ wagnerathletics.com ~