FINAL STATS
Brooklyn, NY – Despite 21 points from fifth-year senior forward
Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD/ Towson Catholic), Wagner dropped a hard-fought 65-62 NEC decision at St. Francis (NY).
With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 10-8 on the season, 3-5 in the NEC while the Terriers improved to 5-13, 3-5 in the conference. The game featured 12 lead changes and nine ties.
After falling behind 16-4 at the outset of the game, the Seahawks fought back with a 12-0 run to tie the game at 16-16 on a Smith layup with 8:38 left in the half.
A pair of free throws by fifth-year senior guard
Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS/ Olathe East) drew Wagner to within one point at 28-27 before the Terriers closed the half with a 10-4 spurt to take a 38-31 lead into halftime.
Wagner came out hot in the second half, reeling off 10 consecutive points, capped by a three-pointer by fifth-year senior guard
Justin Drummond (Baltimore, MD/ McDonogh) with 15:51 left to play that gave the Seahawks a 41-38 lead. From that point forward, the lead changed hands five times and there was one tie as the momentum continually shifted back and forth.
A three-point Mundweiler jumper with 3:56 left to play gave Wagner its last lead of the game at 60-58. A pair of free throws by St. Francis (NY) freshman guard Justin Newton put the Terriers back on top 61-60 with 1:51 left. After Wagner turned the ball over back to St. Francis (NY), Ricky Cadell nailed a jumper with one second left on the shot clock from just inside the three-point arc to give the Terriers a 63-60 edge with 54 seconds left. A 10-foot bank shot by Smith cut it to 63-62 with 38 seconds to go. Two free throws by Cadell with 29 seconds left built the lead back to three at 65-62.
With three seconds left to play, Wagner designed a play for Mundweiler but his well-contested three-pointer from the deep right corner bounded away as the Terriers held on for the victory.
St. Francis (NY) outshot Wagner 49%-43%, including 9-of-19 from three-point range while the Seahawks won the battle of the boards 32-29.
