Jan. 31, 2008
Final Stats
Staten Island, NY - Senior guard Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ/ St. Augustine Prep) delivered a gutsy performance, shaking off the effects of a sore achilles heel to score 24 points and dish out five assists as Wagner avenged its only NEC loss of the season, outlasting LIU 68-65 in front of a spirited crowd of 1,414 at the Spiro Sports Center.
Wagner has now won three straight games and seven of its last eight, in improving to 15-5 on the season, matching the best 20-game start by a Seahawk team since 1968-69. In improving to 8-1 in the NEC, and keeping its stranglehold on first place, the Seahawks matched the NCAA Tournament team of 2002-03 for their best nine-game start ever in the NEC.
Back on Jan. 17 in Brooklyn, Wagner found itself on the short end of an 85-65 decision to these same Blackbirds. Tonight's contest, however, was a feisty, nip-and-tuck affair throughout as the game featured 10 ties and a whopping 16 lead changes.
Wagner survived on a night when several of its post players, including senior center Durell Vinson (Vineland, NJ/ Atlantic City, NJ,) were in foul trouble throughout. Vinson, the only player averaging a double-double in the NEC, (13.6 points/10.6 rebounds) scored a season-low two points and grabbed four rebounds in just 20 minutes of action, due in large part to his foul trouble.
There to pick Vinson's scoring slack was junior guard Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS/ Olathe East), who broke out of his shooting slump in a big way, tallying 13 of his 18 points in the first half while finishing the night 4-9 from three-point range. Junior swingman Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD/ Towson Catholic) also played a huge role in the victory, turning in a gallant effort which went far beyond his 14-point, eight-rebound stat line.
With Wagner leading 66-62 and less than a minute to play following a pair of Porter free throws, Smith turned in the defensive play of the game. Chasing speedy LIU guard Jaytornah Wisseh from behind, Smith soared majestically through the air and, timing his leap perfectly, swatted Wisseh's attempt away with 52 seconds left.
The block ignited the crowd, however, on LIU's ensuing possession, Smith injured his left ankle in a scramble for the loose ball, leaving the game for good. After Wagner missed the front end of two consecutive one-and-one opportunities at the line, Wisseh drilled a three-pointer with 10 seconds left to make it 66-65. Valuable junior forward and sixth man Llewchean Radford (Newport News, VA) drained a pair of free throws with nine seconds left to make it 68-65.
LIU's Eugene Kotorobai then missed a three-point jumper which was corralled by Vinson, who missed the front end of a one-and-one but the Blackbirds' Hail Mary heave at the buzzer fell harmlessly short. The lighting-quick Wisseh poured in a game-high 28 points on 11-15 shooting, including a 4-4 effort from beyond the arc. Low post threat Kellen Allen added 21 points and nine rebounds for the Blackbirds.
Porter was a perfect 7-7 from the line as Wagner, the worst free throw shooting team in the NEC at 59.7%, shot 73.3% (11-15) in pulling out the exciting win. Vinson entered the game needing eight points to become the 34th player in Wagner history to score 1,000 career points and, following his two-point night, now stands at 994 points.
Wagner took a 34-33 lead into intermission following a first half was that played at a frenetic pace. Junior guard Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS/ Olathe East) scored 13 points on 5-7 shooting as Mundweiler was 3-5 from beyond the arc in the opening half while Porter had eight points and five assists in the first half.
LIU jumped out to a 13-7 lead with forward Kellen Allen scored five points during this stretch. Wagner then countered with a 9-2 run to take a 16-15 lead on a jumper by junior swingman Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD/ Towson Catholic). The lead would change hands several times before Smith drained a three-pointer with 1:01 left which gave the Seahawks a 34-31 lead before LIU's Kyle Johnson hit a lay-up with 30 seconds left to draw the Blackbirds to within 34-33 at halftime.
Wagner travels to Central Connecticut on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m., following the 2:00 pm Wagner-Central Connecticut women's game.
NOTES - The veteran Seahawks have made a habit all season of pulling out close games as nine of their 15 wins have come by five points or less. In fact, Wagner;s last four wins have come by four points or less, with the wins. In addition, Wagner is a perfect 9-0 in games decided by 4-10 points and the Seahawks are now 14-1 in games when they lead at the half, with a loss to Manhattan on Nov. 14 the lone exception.
