BOX SCORE

Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 62-60 decision to Central Connecticut St. despite a career-high 19-point outing by sophomore guard Tyler Murray (Toronto, ON/Eastern Commerce). 

In dropping their sixth straight game, the Seahawks fall to 4-25 on the season, 2-14 in the Northeast Conference while the Blue Devils keep their hopes alive for making the NEC Tournament while improving to 10-17 overall, 7-9 in league play. 

Trailing 62-56 with 1:41 left to play in the game, sophomore guard Chris Martin (Sicklerville, NJ/Apex Academies) made a pair of free throws to make it 62-58. Following a CCSU turnover, Murray drilled a jumper with 52 seconds to go to draw the Seahawks to within two at 62-60 with 52 seconds left. A tremendous defensive stand by Wagner on the ensuing possession led to a shot-clock violation with 14.8 seconds to go. 

Wagner then called timeout to set up a final play but the Seahawks were unable to get off a shot as Martin lost possession of the ball in traffic as the Blue Devils held on for the victory. 

This was a close, defensive-minded affair from the outset. The biggest lead held by either team in the second half was when CCSU opened a seven-point advntage at 52-45 with 9:31 left following a pair of free throws by Markeys Deans. 

Robby Ptacek led a balanced Blue Devil effort with 17 points, while Deans and Shemik Thompson added 15 and 14 points, respectively. 

Senior center Michael Orock (Hoboken, NJ/Hoboken) added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Seahawks while senior forward Doug Elwell (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) chipped in with nine points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks. 

Statistically, the game was as close as the final score would indicate as Wagner outshot CCSU 39 percent to 38 percent while the Blue Devils held a slim 39-37 edge in the rebounding department. 

In the first half, Central Connecticut St. raced out to an 18-9 lead, its biggest lead of the game, before the Seahawks responded with an 18-7 run of their own to close the half in front by a 27-25 margin. Wagner took its first lead of the game on a jumper by Elwell with 3:18 left in the opening stanza, which made it 24-23. 

Elwell, Orock and Murray scored five points apiece in the first half while Ptacek paced CCSU with nine first-half points. 

Wagner is next in action on Thursday, Feb. 25 when the Seahawks host Robert Morris at 7:00 pm.