BOX SCORE
Princeton, NJ – Wagner squandered a 12-point second-half lead in losing a gut-wrenching 45-42 decision at Princeton despite a 19-point outing from senior center
Michael Orock (Hoboken, NJ/Hoboken).
The Seahawks, who led most of the game, fall to 2-12 on the season while the Tigers improve to 6-4.
After falling behind by an early 9-2 count, Wagner went on a 16-6 run to forge an 18-15 lead and an eventual 22-22 tie at halftime.
The Seahawks opened the second half with a 14-2 burst to open their biggest lead of the game at 36-24 with 11:31 left in the game on a three-point jumper by senior forward
Doug Elwell (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell).
The Tigers then embarked on a 14-0 run, aided by seven Wagner turnovers, to seize a 38-36 lead on a layup by Dan Mavraides with 4:37 to go. This gave Princeton its first lead since it was 15-14.
Wagner regained the lead 40-38 on a top-in by freshman forward
Josh Thompson (Richland, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) followed by a layup by Orock with 3:21 left. A free throw by Princeton's Kareem Maddox, followed by another Orock layup made the score 42-39 Wagner with 1:56 to go. Mavraides then drilled a long three-point jumper to tie the game at 42-42 with 47 seconds left.
Following another Wagner turnover with 34 seconds to go, Princeton had the ball on the last possession and Maddox got loose on the baseline and dunked home the game-winning shot and was fouled by sophomore guard
Tyler Murray (Toronto, CA/Eastern Commerce). Maddox then made the free throw to make it 45-42 and Wagner was unable to get off a last shot.
The Seahawks committed a season-high 27 turnovers on the game.
Murray finished with 10 points and a career-high seven rebounds along with one assist and three steals. Wagner out-shot Princeton 43 percent to 34 percent, limiting the Tigers to 5-of-27 shooting from three-point range. Wagner also won the battle of the boards, 31-24.
Mavraides led all scorers with 21 points for Princeton while Douglas Davis added eight points.
Wagner is next in action on Monday, Jan.4 when the Seahawks travel to Brown in a 7:00 pm tip-off.
