BOX SCORE

Hempstead, NY – Freshman Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) scored a career-high 28 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc and a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe but it was not enough as Hofstra (2-3) erased a 10 point second-half deficit en route to a 67-63 win over Wagner (2-2) at the Mack Sports Complex.

After the teams exchanged three pointers to start the game, the Seahawks ripped off an 8-0 run over the next 4:45 to take an early 11-3 run. Fueling the spurt was freshman Naofall Folahan (Benin Republic (West Africa) / Wilbraham and Monson Academy), who notched his first two collegiate buckets while Rivers and junior Tyler Murray (Toronto, Ontario / Eastern Commerce) each converted two free throws.

Hofstra's Mike Moore briefly quelled the Wagner offense with his second three pointer of the game, only to see sophomore forwards Josh Thompson (Richland, NJ / St. Augustin Prep) and Ryan Schrotenboer (Fort Myers, FL / Bishop Verot) hit a pair of jumpers, pushing the Green & White lead out to 15-6 with 12:53 to go until halftime. The Pride would answer with seven-straight points, drawing to within two at 15-13 with 11:13 until intermission.

Rivers stopped the Hofstra momentum with a pair of free throws before Folahan hit a lay-up, pushing the lead back out to six at 19-13 with just over eight minutes to go in the first. The teams would trade punches for the rest of the half before Rivers drilled a three pointer with five seconds remaining, giving the Seahawks a 35-28 lead at intermission.

In the opening stanza, Rivers led all scorers with 13 points, on 3-of-3 shooting from three point range and 6-of-6 from the foul line, in 19 minutes of action. Folahan, who had not scored in the previous three games, notched eight points, on a 4-of-4 shooting, with six rebounds, while Murray added seven points in 18 minutes. As a unit, Wagner shot 44.0 perfect (11-25), including 66.7 percent (4-6) from long range, and 69.2 percent (9-13) from the charity stripe. The Seahawk defense limited Hofstra to just 32.0 percent (8-25), while holding reigning CAA Player of the Year Charles Jenkins without a field goal (0-6 FG). David Imes kept the Pride in the game with six points and 11 rebounds.

After Hofstra opened the second half with a pair of free throws, River drained another three pointer and Folohan hit his first two collegiate free throws, extending the Wagner lead out to a game-high 10 at 40-30 with 17:54 to play.

Hofstra responded with an 11-2 run, cutting the deficit to one at 42-41 with 11:17 to play before Rivers answered with another big three pointer. Jenkins then showed the Green & White why he is so highly regarded, as the two-time Haggerty Award winner ripped off the next nine Pride points jumping in front 50-47 with 8:06 to play.

Wagner would fight back to tie the game at 52-52 at the 6:11 mark on a Murray three pointer only to see Hofstra score the next four points from the line, while taking a 56-52 lead with 5:19 to play before extending the lead out to six with just over four minutes to play.

The ever-resillient Seahawks would cut the lead to one on three more occasions only to have the Pride answer each time. Down three with 52 seconds remaining, Rivers stole the ball and found Murray down the left side and the Canadian native drilled what appeared to be a game-tying three pointer, only to have the referee say his foot was on the line, making it a one-point game at 64-63 with just 18 seconds remaining. Jenkins then drilled a pair at the line and Rivers three-point attempt rattled in and out before Stephen Nwaukoni split a pair, giving the Pride the come-from-behind 67-63 win.

After being held to just two points in the first half, Jenkins scored 17 of his team-best 19 points in the second half, while converting six of his last seven field goals to finish 6-of-14 after missing his first seven attempts thanks to a swarming Wagner defense. The Seahawks managed to hold Jenkins to four points under his 23.0 scoring average and just one rebound, one assist and one steal as the senior had been averaging 4.0 rpg, 4.5 apg and 3.0 spg.

Hofstra shot 52.0 percent (13-25) in the pivotal half of action, including 80.0 percent (12-15) from the free throw line, while using a 16-2 advantage in points in the paint and 9-0 advantage in second chance points. The last six points in the paint for the Pride came on their final three field goals of the game after Folahan, who narrowly missed his first career double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds, fouled out at the 5:43 mark.

Wagner, meanwhile, shot just 26.9 percent (7-26) in the second, including 30.8 percent (4-13) from beyond the arc, but managed to hang tough thanks to converting all 10 of its free throws.

Joining Rivers and Folahan in double-digits was Murray, who notched 14 points.

Also standing out for Hofstra besides Jenkins was Imes, who scored 14 points with a game-high 17 rebounds, and Nwaukoni, who had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

For the game, Wagner hit at a 35.3 percent clip (18-51), highlighted by 42.1 percent (8-19) shooting from beyond the arc and 82.6 percent (19-23) shooting from the charity stripe. Hofstra, meanwhile, was good on 42.0 percent (21-50) from the floor, 50.0 percent (4-8) from beyond the arc and 67.7 percent (21-31) from the charity stripe, after missing their first seven attempts.

The Seahawks next in action at Bucknell on Monday, November 29 at 7:00 pm.



NOTES: Rivers' 28 points are the most by a freshman since Courtney Pritchard hit for 30 in a 91-75 loss at St. Francis (NY) on February 15, 2001 and the most in a game by a Wagner player since Martin notched 28 points on six triples in a 74-73 win over Sacred Heart on January 30, 2010 ... Folahan entered the game with zero points, on 0-of-5 shooting, and six rebounds in 33 minutes over the first three games ... He finished with 10 points, on 4-of-5 shooting, with nine rebounds in 22 minutes of action ... The nine rebounds are the most by a Seahawk this season ... Folahan also had Wagner's first dunk since the Lafayette game ... Freshmen Rivers and Folahan combined to score 38 points while the other eight Seahawks, who played, scored 23 points ... Murray played a game-high 38 minutes leading all players for the fourth-straight game to open the season ... He is leading the team with 17.8 points per game while shooting 46.3 percent from the floor, including 52.4 percent from beyond the arc ... Both teams had nine assists and nine turnovers ... Wagner's nine turnovers were a season-low as were the Seahawks' three second-half miscues ... In games decided by five points or less, Wagner is 29-of-33 (87.9 %) from the charity stripe, including a perfect 14-of-14 (100.0 %) in the last five minutes ... Senior #T.J. Czeski# (Amsterdam, NY / Amsterdam), who joined the basketball team on Monday after finishing up the football season played two minutes in the first half ... The game was the first between the two schools since January 4, 1992 ... Doing the game for Verizon Fios1 was former Duke standout Alaa Abdelnaby, who played for the Blue Devils from 1986-1990 and was teammates with current Wagner assistant coach Bobby Hurley during the 1989-1990 season ... The pair helped Duke advance to the National Championship Game ... The game will be broadcast on tape delay, Wednesday, December 1 at 7:30 pm.