BOX SCORE

Bethlehem, PA - In a game marred by 52 combined fouls, Wagner dropped a 73-57 decision to Lehigh at Stabler Arena. Junior Tyler Murray (Toronto, Ontario / Eastern Commerce) led the way for the Seahawks, scoring 18 points for the second-straight game to start the season.

The Mountain Hawks took a 40-35 lead at intermission thanks to converting 19-of-28 from the charity stripe as the officials called 19 fouls on the Green & White. In comparison, Wagner was just 7-for-9 on free-throw attempts while drawing eight fouls. The Seahawks managed to stay in the game by shooting 44.0 percent from the floor, including a scorching 50.0 percent (6-12) from beyond the arc.

Lehigh, the defending Patriot League Champions, came out the gates firing on all cylinders in scoring the first six points of the game en route to an 8-2 lead just over a minute into the game. Wagner immediately responded as Murray hit a pair of three pointers, just 42 seconds apart from one another, tying the game at 8-8.

The Mountain Hawks reclaimed the lead at 12-8 before the Seahawks busted off a 7-0 run over the next 1:31 on a jumper from Chris Martin (Jr., Sicklerville, NJ / Apex Academies), a pair of free throws from Josh Thompson (R-So., Richland, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) and another three pointer from Murray, making it 15-12 Wagner at the 14:44 mark of the first. The Seahawks would extend their lead out to a game-high six at 26-20 with 9:11 to go in the first period on a Danny Mundweiler (So., Overland Park, KS / Olathe East) three pointer.

The Green & White offense then went into a funk, missing its next six shots while allowing Lehigh to convert eight-straight free throws and a pair of jumpers as the Mountain Hawks ripped off 12-straight points in buidling a 32-26 lead with 4:41 remaining in the half. Wagner would finally end the 5:37 scoring drought when Murray hit a jumper at the 3:34 mark. The Seahawks would trim the deficit to three points on two occasions before heading into intermission down 40-35.

Wagner started the game by hitting seven of its first 11 shots (63.6 %), including 4-for-5 (80.0 %) from beyond the arc, before finishing the half 4-for-14 (28.6 %) from the field and 2-for-7 (28.6 %) from long range.

Besides the glaring differential in free throw attempts and makes, Lehigh was able to take the halftime lead in large part to a 16-2 advantage on points in the paint. The Seahawks managed to stay in the game, thanks to shooting 50.0 percent (6-12) from long range while limiting the Mountain Hawks to just one make and two attempts.

Lehigh began the second half with three-straight baskets only to see Wagner answer with a 6-1 run. After a pair of Mountain Hawk free throws extended the lead back out to eight, Murray knocked down his fourth three pointer of the game to cut the lead to five at 49-44 at the 14:10 mark. Unfortunately, Lehigh answered with six-straight points, to make it an 11-point game at 55-44 with just over 11 minutes remaining. Wagner sliced the deficit to nine on three more occasions but get no closer as the Mountain Hawks picked up their first win of the season 73-57.

In the second half, the Seahawks connected on just 28.0 percent (7-25) from the floor, including 30.0 percent (3-10) from beyond the arc. Wagner shot 36.0 percent (18-50) for the game and 40.9 percent (9-22) from outside the arc. Lehigh hit on 50.0 percent (21-42) from the floor and 68.2 percent (30-44) from the free throw line while controlling the glass by a 43-22 margin en route to a 34-10 advantage on points in the paint.

The Seahawks defense, though, was able to limit the Mountain Hawk shooters to just 1-for-6 from beyond the arc.

Murray scored his 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-5 from long range, in a game-high 38 minutes of action. Mundweiler was the only other Wagner player in double-figures, notching 13 points while hitting on 4-of-8 shots, including 3-of-6 from three point range in 23 minutes off the bench.

Reigning Patriot League Player and Rookie of the Year C.J. McCollum paced all players with 20 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and was 6-of-15 from the floor and 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. Gabe Knutson added 13 points and nine rebounds while Rob Keefer rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

NOTES: Both teams are now 1-1 ... The game was the first of seven straight on the road for the Green & White … Murray has now notched 18 points in each of his first two games and is shooting 44.4 percent (12-27) from the floor and 50.0 percent (6-12) from long range … Thompson pulled down a team-best six rebounds while notching four assists and two steals … Wagner has now played both Patriot League Championship Game representatives from a year ago and will match up with fellow league representative Bucknell later in the month … The Seahawks are shooting 45.5 percent (20-44) from three point range while limiting the opposition to just 14.3 percent (2-14) … On the flip side, Wagner is hitting on just 31.0 percent (18-58) from inside the arc while the opposition is making good on 49.3 percent (37-75) … Wagner has four players that are recording double-figures in scoring, all of whom are guards … In the first half this season, the Green & White are outscoring the opposition by an average 4.5 points per game while shooting 40.7 percent from the floor and holding the opposition to just 36.6 percent … In the second half, Wagner is being outscored by an average of 10.0 points per game while hitting on just 33.0 percent from the floor as the opposition is knocking down 50.0 percent of its shots … The Seahawks are next in action on Sunday, November 21 at 2:00 pm when they travel to Stony Brook to take on the reigning American East Conference regular season champion Seawolves ... The game will be televised by MSG+.