Moon Township, PA – In a hotly-contested battle that featured 21 lead changes and seven ties, Wagner led defending Northeast Conference (NEC) champion Robert Morris most of the way and battled the Colonials to the wire before Robert Morris escaped with a 73-70 win.

With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 0-6 on the season, 0-2 in the NEC while the Colonials improve to 3-4 overall, 2-0 in the NEC.

Trailing 70-65 with 2:54 left in the game, the Seahawks went on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 70-70. Sophomore guard Tyler Murray (Toronto, Canada/Eastern Commerce) lobbed a pass to senior center Michael Orock (Hoboken, NJ/Hoboken) who converted a layup and was fouled on the play. He completed the old-fashioned three-point play with by hitting the free throw to make it 70-68 with 2:33 left. Freshman forward Josh Thompson (Richland, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) then made two free throws with 2:13 to go to knot the game at 70-70.

Robert Morris point guard Velton Jones made 1-of-2 free throws with 1:42 left to play to make it 71-70 and Wagner had several chances to take the lead. Sophomore guard Chris Martin (Sicklerville, NJ/Apex Academies) missed a three-pointer with 27 seconds to play and Orock corralled the offensive rebound. But Wagner turned the ball over with 17 seconds to go. Wagner was forced to foul and Colonial guard Gary Wallace sank two free throws with 12 seconds left to make it a 73-70 game. With a chance to tie the game on its final possession, Wagner again turned the ball over as Robert Morris held on for the win.

The Seahawks raced out to an early 16-6 lead early on a flurry of three-pointers, two by senior forward Doug Elwell (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell), one by #T.J. Czeski# (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) and one by Murray. Robert Morris then reeled off 11 consecutive points to seize a 17-16 lead. The teams traded baskets the rest of the half and went into intermission tied at 34-34.

Wagner shot a season-best 48% from the field, highlighted by a season-best 46% shooting night from three-point range. After making just 10 of 71 three-point shots over their previous three games, Wagner hit six of its first nine three-point attempts and wound up 13-of-28 from beyond the arc for the game.

Martin paced Wagner with 16 points, Murray had a career-high 14 points and Orock added 11 points for the Seahawks. Elwell, who fouled out for the first time in his career with 12:13 left in the game, added eight points and five rebounds.

Robert Morris also had a balanced attack with Dallas Green, Mezie Nwigwe and Wallace led Robert Morris with 12 points apiece. Wagner won the rebounding battle 39-28 but was victimized by 22 turnovers while the Colonials turned the ball over just nine times.

The Seahawks are next in action on Tuesday, Dec. 8 when they play host to Ivy League member Columbia.

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