Dec. 1, 2007
Box Score
New Haven, CT - Senior center Durell Vinson (Vineland, NJ/ St. Augustine Prep) led a balanced Wagner attack with 16 points and eight rebounds and senior guard Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ/ St. Augustine Prep) added 15 points and eight assists to power Wagner to a 71-68 victory at Yale.
The win was Wagner's fourth straight and improved the Seahawks' record to 5-2. Yale, meanwhile, fell to 1-5. Wagner shot a season-best 55% from the field in placing four players in double figures while holding the Bulldogs to 43% shooting.
In a tight struggle that featured six lead changes and five ties, Porter drilled a crucial three-point jumper with 2:14 to play to give Wagner a 67-64 lead. Yale answered with a four free throws to make it 68-67 with 1:27 left. Junior swingman Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD/ Towson Catholic) then hit a driving layup with 1:14 left to play to give Wagner the lead for good at 69-68. Fouled on the play, Smith missed his free throw.
On the ensuing possession, Wagner turned up its defensive intensity, as Smith grabbed a rebound off a missed jumper by well-guarded Yale center Matt Kyle with 41 seconds left. Porter, however, was called for a charge with 10 seconds left to play, giving Yale one last possession. The Bulldogs, trailing 68-67, then called a timeout to set up a potential game-winning shot.
In-bounding the ball from under its own basket, Yale worked the ball into the front court where junior guard Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS/ Olathe East) poked the ball away from Yale point guard Eric Flato. Porter picked up the loose ball and raced down the court, hitting an uncontested layup with 0. 8 seconds lift to seal the victory.
Senior forward James Ulrich (Mt. Laurel, NJ/ Camden Catholic) turned in a big effort for the Seahawks, totaling 15 hard-earned points while grabbing nine rebounds.
Yale enjoyed its biggest lead of the game at 26-19 on a three-point jumper by Caleb Holmes with 4:52 left in the first half. Wagner countered with a 12-2 run to regain the lead at 31-28 with 1:40 left as Vinson totaled eight of those points during the stretch. Yale battled back to take a 38-34 halftime lead and had momentum heading into the locker room following a three-point jumper by Alex Zampier at the buzzer.
Wagner went on a 19-8 surge to open the second half, capped by a Mundweiler three-pointer, to take its biggest lead of the game at 53-46 with 11:52 left. The Seahawks held the lead until Ross Morin hit two free throws to put Yale up 68-67. Smith then hit his runner in the lane with 1:14 left and Wagner held on for the win.
Ross led Yale with 14 points. As was the case with Wagner, the Bulldogs also showed nice ball movement in placing five players in double figures.
