Feb. 8, 2008

Final Stats

Emmitsburg, MD - Senior guard Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ/ St. Augustine Prep) poured in a game-high 25 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists in an iron-man 44-minute performance as Wagner overcame a 19-point first half deficit en route to an 83-75 NEC win at Mount St. Mary's.

With the victory, the Seahawks remain in a second-place tie in the NEC with Robert Morris and improved to 16-6 overall, 9-2 in NEC play. The Mountaineers fell to 10-13 overall, 5-7 in the NEC. The victory gave Wagner a sweep of the season series as the Seahawks posted a 74-70 victory over the Mount on Jan. 24 on Staten Island.

Senior forward James Ulrich (Mt. Laurel, NJ) came off the bench to score 15 points and grab seven rebounds while senior center Durell Vinson (Vineland, NJ/ St. Augustine Prep) scored 11 points and grab 11 rebounds, his NEC-leading eighth double-double of the season and 22nd of his career.

Down by as many as 19 (33-14), Wagner closed the gap to 11 at intermission, 40-29. With junior guard Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS/ Olathe East) heating up from long range (12 points on 3-7 shooting from beyond the arc) and Ulrich and Vinson controlling the paint on both ends of the floor, Wagner methodically got itself back in the game.

Trailing 48-34, Mundweiler and junor swingman Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD/ Towson Catholic) triggered Wagner's comeback by nailing consecutive three-pointers to make it 48-40 with 14:40 left in regulation. A combination of increased defensive intensity and a relentless effort on the glass played prominent roles the rest of the way.

The Mount was clinging to a 62-59 lead when Mundweiler drilled an NBA-length three-pointer from right in front of the Wagner bench to forge a 62-62 with 1:19 left in regulation, marking the first deadlock of the game. Porter made 1-2 from the line with 53 seconds left to give the Seahawks their first lead of the game at 63-62. Smith then put Wagner up 65-62 with 20 seconds left in regulation, rebounding a missed Porter free throw and converting the put-back.

Holland, who hadn't scored in the second half after tallying 11 first-half points, drained a three-pointer in transition with 16 seconds left to knot the game at 65-65. Porter then misfired on a contested three-pointer with eight seconds left in regulation before blocking a Holland jumper at the buzzer, forcing overtime.

Both teams started slowly at the outset of overtime. Tied at 66-66, Vinson shook loose along the baseline for a reverse lay-up that made it 68-66 awith 2:29 left which ignited a decisive 9-0 run that put Wagner up 75-66 with 53 seconds left. Vinson scored four points in this stretch while Porter drained a three-pointer that was followed by a Mundweiler lay-up.

Smith scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds as five different Seahawks scored in double figures. Goode and fellow guard Chris Vann paced the Mount with 15 points apiece hile Holland and Sam Atupem added 14 and 10 points, respectively.

The Seahawks out-shot the Mount 42%-40% and held a commanding 49-37 edge in the rebounding department.

Wagner held its only first half lead when the Seahawks scored the first bucket of the game on a Vinson lay-up. But the Mountaineers responded with an 18-2 run to seize a commanding 18-4 lead. With speedy guard Jeremy Goode pushing the tempo and dishing out five assists, the Mount ran out to its biggest lead of the game, a 19-point bulge at 33-14 on a three-point jumper by Holland with 6:24 left in the first half.

The Seahawks were able to creep back to within 11, closing the half with a 15-7 burst. Wagner actually had it to within nine at 38-29 on a lay-up by Michael Orrock (Hoboken, NJ/ Hoboken HS) before Jean Cajou pushed the lead back to 11 with a jumper at the buzzer.

Wagner is next in action on Monday when the Seahawks conclude their three-game road swing at Quinnipiac. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm.

NOTES - The 16-6 record marks the Seahawks' best record after 22 games since the 1978-79 team went 17-5 en route to a 21-7 record. With the win, Wagner is now 8-4 on the road this season, the most road wins by a Seahawk team since the 2001-02 team went 9-7.