Jan. 6, 2007
Box Score
Hackensack, NJ - The Wagner College basketball team suffered a narrow 96-95 overtime loss at host Fairleigh Dickinson in the Rothman Center earlier this evening. The Seahawks who had five players in double figures, fell to 1-2 in the Northeast Conference and 4-10 overall. FDU now stands at 2-0 in the league and 7-6 overall.
Falling in overtime for the second time in three games, the Seahawks were led by a 24-point performance from sophomore Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD / Towson Catholic), who shot 6-10 from the floor and 11-11 from the foul line to go with five rebounds and four assists. However the Knight's Manny Ubilla would be the difference in the game as he totaled a game high 25 points, including seven in the overtime period.
In the extra session, Wagner built up a five point (91-86) advantage two minutes in scoring on three of their first four possessions. Ubilla would then take over by scoring seven points in a 1:33 span that was part of an 8-2 run. FDU used the streak to take a 94-93 lead with 46 seconds left. Junior forward James Ulrich (Mt. Laurel, NJ / Camden Catholic) quickly put the Seahawks back on top 95-94 scoring inside on Wagner's next possession before a pair of free throws by Michael Peeples with five seconds left gave the Knights the win. Following the free throws, Ulrich attempted an off balanced deep three at the buzzer that skipped off the front of the rim.
Taking a 36-32 lead into the second half, Wagner outscored FDU 15-1 in a four minute stretch that put them on top 53-35 at the 15 minute mark. FDU would comeback with a flurry using a 16-4 stretch of their own the cut the deficit to six (57-51) a little more than four minute later. Smith then answered with six of the Seahawks next 10 points to place Wagner up 67-54 with 8:11 left in regulation.
The Knights continued their defensive pressure forcing Wagner into three straight misses and then three straight turnovers as the lead was whittled all the way down to one (67-66) at 5:52. Going back and forth over the next few minutes the Seahawks finally surrendered the lead after a driving lay-up from Peeples gave FDU a 76-75 advantage at the 2:10 mark. Wagner would then find themselves down by four with 13 seconds left when junior Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ / St. Augustine's Prep) quickly canned a three and then after one of two from the line by Peeples made a pair of foul shots with 2.5 second on the clock to force the extra period.
Fairleigh Dickinson used a 13-0 run early in the first half to grab a 15-6 lead following a Manny Ubilla three at 14:45. Ubilla had seven points during the run and totaled 10 in the first half. Smith scored the next six points to set off a 10-0 Wagner run that regained the lead (16-15) just four minutes later. The Seahawks then found themselves down five (25-20) with just under seven minutes to play in the period before going off on a 16-4 stretch. Senior Matt Vitale (Brooklyn, NY / St. Edmund's) tailed seven points during the stretch that gave Wagner a seven point cushion. Eric Hazzard hit a three just before the buzzard for FDU that left the Seahawks up 36-32 at the half.
After Smith, Ulrich had 19 points and Porter scored 17 with five assists. Vitale and sophomore Llewchean Radford (Newport News, VS / Heritage) each chipped in 13 points for Wagner which scored their second most points of the season. The Seahawks held a 38-36 edge on the glass and shot 53.6 percent for the game, but just 28.6 percent (6-21) from three.
Peeples shot 15-17 from the foul line hitting numerous clutch free throws to end his night with 20 points as six FDU played ended up in double figures. They would shoot 43.9 percent in the game and connected on 28 of 35 free throws (80 percent).
In their next game the Seahawks make their return home to the Spiro Sports Center on Thursday for a 7:00 pm contest vs Quinnipiac. ~ wagnerathletics.com ~
