Jan. 21, 2006

Box Score

STATEN ISLAND, NY - The Wagner Seahawks used an overpowering second-half surge to erase an early 20-point deficit while avenging their previous loss to Robert Morris 75-69 earlier tonight at the Spiro Sports Center. With the win the Seahawks snap their three-game losing streak and improve to 9-6 overall and 2-4 in the NEC while the Colonials fall to 9-7 and 5-2 in the NEC.

Junior forward Durell Vinson (Vineland, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) led the Wagner surge with another dominating double-double performance, pouring in a career highs of 23 points, on 9-13 shooting, and 16 rebounds for his sixth double-double in the last seven games.

Down 42-25 to begin the second half, the Seahawks went on a game-changing 25-8 run over the next 7:49, including a 10-0 spurt that tied the score at 50, capped off by an old-fashioned three-point play by senior guard DeEarnest McLemore (Cary, NC / Cary). In the run, Wagner shot .769 from the floor (10-13).

However, Robert Morris rattled off the next nine points and looked to be in control at 59-50 with 10:05 to go. The Seahawks would respond one more time with a 16-4 run to go up by an insurmountable score of 66-63 with 3:54 remaining.

A pair of Vinson free throws, followed by a McLemore jumper to cut the lead to five. After a RMU free throw, Vinson had a lay-up and then freshman guard Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD / Towson Catholic) had a lay-up of his own to cut it to two. Following a Colonial three pointer, Wagner would cut it to one on a pair of jumpers from sophomore Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ / St. Augustine's Prep) and McLemore. Sophomore James Ulrich (Mt. Laurel, NJ / Camden Catholic) then put them up for good with a lay-up followed by a pair of free throws for the three point lead.

The Seahawks would ice the game from the free-throw line as they shot 9-10 from the charity stripe in the last 3:54 to win going away 75-69 while handing the first-place Colonials their second-straight loss.

The Colonials came out of the gates red-hot sprinting out to an early 32-12 lead in which Robert Morris knocked down .667 percent of their shots (12-18), in addition to hitting .778 percent (7-9) of their shots from downtown. Up 21-12 with 9:55 to go, Robert Morris ran off 11-straight points over the next 2:35 to go up by 20 points, their largest lead of the game. During the run A.J. Jackson knocked home five points on his way to 19 first-half points on the strength of four three's to go along with nine rebounds. However Jackson was plagued by foul trouble in the second half playing only 10 minutes, scoring just a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left. Tony Lee also scored 21 points while Jeremy Chappell added 13 points.

In the decisive second half the Seahawks shot 63.0 percent (17-27) from the field while holding Robert Morris to just 34.6 percent shooting (9-26), including 1-10 from three. Wagner also dominated the glass, outrebounding the Colonials 41-29.

Porter added 17 points for Wagner, including 15 in the second half, while shooting a perfect 8-8 from the foul line for the game. McLemore added 12 points and a season high eight assists against just one turnover.

Wagner returns to action at the Spiro Sports Center Monday, Jan. 23 at 7 pm when they host crosstown rival St. Francis (NY) at 7:30 pm. ~SEAHAWKS~