Dec. 8, 2007
Box Score
Staten Island, NY - In front of a raucous, season-high crowd of 1,445 and a television audience watching on MSG Network, Wagner jumped out to a 36-21 halftime lead and survived a frenetic, late run by St. Francis (NY) in earning a 64-59 win in the Seahawks' Northeast Conference (NEC) opener and a game honoring former Wagner and NEC administrator, the late Bob Balut.
With the victory, Wagner improves to 6-3 (1-0 NEC) on the season, while the Terriers fall to 3-6 and 0-2 in the conference.
Senior center Durell Vinson (Vineland, NJ/ St. Augustine) a 36 percent free throw shooter coming into the game who was 0-for-6 when he stepped to the line, drained four consecutive free throws in the final 30 seconds to key the victory.
The second half featured long runs from both teams. St. Francis opened the half with a 12-4 run to cut the deficit to seven at 40-33. Wagner then answered with a 16-2 run of its own to increase the lead to 21 at 56-35 with 11:21 left in the game. The resilient Terriers then countered with a 24-4 run on the strength of six buckets from behind the arc to slice the deficit to 60-59 before Vinson's free throws - which came in a pair of one-and-one situations - sealed it.
Vinson finished with game-highs of 22 points and 14 rebounds, marking his fourth double-double of the season and 18th of his career.
Wagner gained the momentum early in the first half, embarking on a 17-5 run that opened a 25-10 lead with 7:24 left in the opening stanza. Junior swingman Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD/ Towson Catholic) began the run with a jumper off a feed from junior guard Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS/ Olathe East) and added four more in the run. Vinson capped the spurt with an emphatic dunk in transition that gave the Seahawks a 25-10 advantage with 7:12 left in the first half.
Senior guard Marcus Williams, from nearby Jersey City, paced the Terriers with 20 points on the afternoon. He also finished with a team-high nine rebounds.
It was an emotional day on Grymes Hill as former Wagner College Sports Information Director and NEC administrator, Bob Balut, was honored in a pre-game tribute and proceeds from the game went to raise money for a scholarship fund established for his two-and-a-half year old son, Aidan Robert. Balut passed away last March at age 32 following a long battle with cancer.
The Seahawks are off until Saturday, December 15 when they host Maryland-Eastern Shore in a 7:00 pm tip-off.
Donations to the Aidan Robert Balut Scholarship Fund can be made to the following address:
Aidan Robert Balut Scholarship Fund
PNC Bank/Church and Greentree Road
Marlton, NJ 08053
For more information call (732) 469-0440, Ext. 6
