Jan. 10, 2008
Box Score
West Long Branch, NJ - Wagner used an 8-0 run midway through the second half to break open a tight Northeast Conference contest with Monmouth en route to 77-62 victory Thursday night at Boylan Gym. Senior center Durell Vinson (Vineland, NJ/ St. Augustine Prep) led the Seahawks with 18 points and eight rebounds, while senior guard Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ/ St. Augustine Prep) scored 14 of his 16 in the second half.
The win raises the Seahawks' record to 11-4 overall, 4-0 in NEC. Wagner is 4-0 in conference play for the first time since it joined the NEC in 1981-82 (then known as the ECAC Metro). The 11 wins matches the Seahawks' total for all of last season. The 11-4 is Wagner's best 15-game start since the 1968-69 team jumped out to a 12-3 start.
Sophomore guard Jhamar Youngblood led Monmouth (4-12, 1-3) with 25 points.
A three-pointer by Porter with 16:20 remaining broke a 40-40 tie - the 19th lead change of the game - and Wagner never trailed the rest of the way. Sophomore guard Doug Elwell's (Staten Island, NY/ Monsignor Farrell) three-pointer with 12:32 left started an 8-0 run, at the end of which the Seahawks led 56-44 with 9:24 left. Monmouth got within five points when a three-pointer by junior guard Alex Nunner made it 64-59 with 2:52 left. Wagner then put the game away at the free-throw line, hitting 13-14 in the final 2:37, including 6-6 by Porter.
Monmouth, which shot 43.5 percent from the field in the first half, made just 6 of 27 field goal attempts in the second half (22.2 percent) and went almost 10 minutes without a field goal after a short bank shot by Youngblood with 15:08 remaining cut Wagner's lead to 46-43.
The first half was a see-saw battle that featured 15 lead changes and six ties. Youngblood led Monmouth with 15 points, including a perfect 9-for-9 effort from the free-throw line. Youngblood's floater in the lane with 2 seconds left gave the Hawks a 34-33 lead. Vinson, coming off the bench for the second straight game, led Wagner with 13 points.
Wagner used a 10-0 run that included 3-pointers by Elwell and Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD/ Towson Catholic) to build a 27-20 lead with 5:10 left in the half. But Monmouth responded with a 10-2 run capped by four free throws from Youngblood to take a 30-29 lead with 1:35 left. The Seahawks tied it on a free throw by Vinson, but the Hawks retook the lead on a long jumper by Nunner with 58 seconds left. Smith's 3-pointer from the right side with 27.9 seconds put Wagner back on top 33-32.
Senior forward James Ulrich (Mt. Laurel, NJ/ Camden Catholic) turned in a solid floor game with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Smith and junior guard Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS/ Olathe East) chipped in with 11 points apiece.
Wagner will host Saint Francis (PA) on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
