Feb. 22, 2008
Final Stats
Loretto, PA - They did it again.
The gritty, gutsy Wagner College men's basketball program improved to 5-0 in overtime games and 2-0 in double-overtime affairs with an improbable, come-from-behind 80-72 double-OT win at Saint Francis (PA).
The win was the Seahawk's fifth straight and eighth in their last nine games. The victory improved the Seahawks' record to 20-6 on the season, 13-2 in the Northeast Conference, setting up a showdown with Robert Morris on Saturday at 7:00 pm. The Colonials come into the game with a 22-6 record and are tied with Wagner at 13-2 for first-place in the NEC.
The five overtime wins recorded by Wagner is tied for the second-most single-season OT wins in NCAA history with 13 other schools. The record for most OT wins in a single season is six, set by Wake Forest in 1984 (6-1) and matched by Chattanooga in 1989 (6-0). The victory also gives Wagner its fourth 20-win season in school history, joining the 1967-68 (21-8), 1978-79 (21-7) and the 2002-03 team (21-11) in this exclusive club.
Senior forward James Ulrich (Mt. Laurel, NJ/ Camden Catholic) registered his third double-double of the season and ninth of his career with 20 points (9-12 shooting) and 11 rebounds in a career-long 47-minute stint. Senior guard Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ/ St. Augustine Prep) also tallied 20 points and added nine rebounds, six assists, two blocks and three steals in 45 minutes.
Wagner took a 10-9 lead in this game on a three-point jumper by junior guard Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS/ Olathe East) with 13:50 remaining in the first half and then did not lead again until junior swingman Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD/ Towson Catholic) hit a driving lay-up top open the second overtime period, giving Wagner a 71-69 lead.
The Red Flash was able to play the game at a deliberate, half-court pace most of the way. In the first half, senior center Durell Vinson (Vineland, NJ/ St. Augustine Prep) went to the bench with his second foul at the 12:29 mark and did not return until the second half. Smith then went to the bench for the rest of the half after bruising his right knee in a collision. Both would make huge contributions in the second half comeback, as Vinson finished with nine points and 17 rebounds while Smith added 14 points and nine boards.
Considering the amount of time Vinson and Smith sat out in the first half, Wagner was perhaps fortunate to be trailing by just a 36-30 count at intermission. Things, however, took another negative turn for the Seahawks early in the second half when Vinson was whistled for his third personal foul just 12 seconds into the second stanza.
Saint Francis (PA) gained control of the game at this point, opening its second 11-point lead of the game on a lay-up by Chris Berry (team-high 19 points), which staked the Red Flash to a 43-32 lead 14:54 left in the game. Wagner responded with a 17-8 run, capped by an Ulrich lay-up with 7:00 left that drew Wagner to within one at 49-48.
The Red Flash then re-gained the upper hand, pushing the lead back to five at 62-57 on a Berry lay-up with 3:21 but the never-say-die Seahawks answered with 6-1 spurt, capped by a Porter steal and lay-up with 42 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 63-63. Wagner actually had a chance to win it on the last possession of regulation but Marquis Ford blocked a Porter jumper with one second left.
Saint Francis (PA) got two quick buckets to open the first overtime to take a 67-63 lead but Smith countered with two free throws and a lay-up to knot the game at 67-67 with 1:55 left. Again Wagner had a chance to win it at the end but Mundweiler came up short on a three-point try with nine seconds left. The first overtime ended tied at 69-69 but Wagner jumped out to a 6-0 run to open the second OT on baskets by Ulrich, Smith and Vinson to open a 75-69 lead, and never looked back.
Wagner won the rebounding battle by an overwhelming 55-29 margin and out-shot the Red Flash 42%-39%. The Seahawks, the last-place free throw shooting team in the NEC at 59%, hit 17-22 from the free throw line, a 77% clip.
Notes - With the win, Wagner head coach Mike Deane secured the ninth 20-win season of his career (four at Siena, four at Marquette and one at Wagner) and evened his five-year Seahawk record at 71-71. Porter moved up to 12th on the Wagner all-time scoring list with 1,499 career points.
