Staten Island, NY – Wagner, playing without leading scorer Chris Martin (Sicklerville, NJ/Apex Academies) who was out with a leg injury, dropped an 85-61 decision to Bucknell. The Seahawks were already without the services of junior center Clayfell Harris (London, England/Bridgton Academy) who has missed the last three games with a foot injury.

With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 0-4 on the season while the Bison improve to 4-3.

The Seahawks turned in gritty, gutsy effort early before running out of steam. Freshman forward Josh Thompson (Richland, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) scored all nine of his points in the opening half, as the feisty Seahawks trailed by just a 39-35 count at halftime. The 6-4 Thompson nearly would wind up with the first double-double of his young career, totaling nine points to go with a team-high 11 rebounds.

Senior forward Doug Elwell (Staten Island, NY/ Monsignor Farrell) nailed a three-point jumper with 17:49 to play to draw the Seahawks to within 42-40. The Bison then took control of the game by embarking on a 20-0 run over the next 5:34, seizing a commanding 62-42 lead with 12:15 to play in the game.

Senior center Michael Orock (Hoboken, NJ/Hoboken) followed up his career-high 22-point, 14-rebound effort vs. NJIT with a team-high 17-point, 7-rebound affair vs. the Bison. Elwell played a solid floor game, finishing with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

Freshman guard Ryan Conrad (Columbus, NC/Providence Day) added nine points for the Seahawks. #T.J. Czeski# (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam), a defensive back on the Wagner football team, gained the start at guard after practicing with the team for just two days and finished with seven points and four assists.

For the second straight game, Wagner was cold from beyond the arc. After shooting 3-for-22 vs. NJIT, the Seahawks were just 3-of-26 from three-point range vs. Bucknell.

Bucknell was led in scoring by Bryson Johnson who had a game-high 19 points, while Darryl Shazier and Bryan Cohen tallied 17 and 16 points, respectively.

Wagner is next in action on Thursday night when the Seahawks open NEC play with a road tilt at Saint Francis (PA) on Thursday followed by a contest at Robert Morris on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 7:00 pm. 

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