BOX SCORE

Brooklyn Heights, NY - Fueled by a 33-15 advantage in free throws St. Francis (NY) handed Wagner its first Northeast Conference (NEC) loss by a 72-56 count at the Pope Center while ending the Seahawks' season-best winning streak at four. The Terriers improve to 8-8 and 3-2 in the NEC while the Green & White fall to 8-8 and 4-1 in the NEC.

Senior Tyler Murray (Toronto, Ontario / Eastern Commerce) hit for at least 20 points for the fourth-straight game and the seventh time this year, scoring 15 of his 20 markers in the second half. Freshman Orlando Parker (Orlando, FL / Orlando Christian Prep) was the only other Green & White student-athlete in double-figures, finishing with 13 points and a team-best seven rebounds in just 21 minutes of action.

After hitting at least 40 percent of its shots in each of the last four games, all wins, Wagner managed to connect on just 35.7 percent (20-56) of its shots. The Seahawks also notched season-lows in three pointers (1) and three-point percentage (.077).

In the first half, it looked as though the game might be a back-and-forth affair that the teams have grown accustomed over the last few years. Wagner assumed the early lead at 10-9 following a Josh Thompson (So., Richland, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) lay-up at the 13:14 mark of the first half. Stefen Perunicic answered with a jumper, kick-starting a 15-3 St. Francis (NY) run over the next 8:10 en route to a 24-13 lead with just 5:20 until halftime.. During that time, the Seahawks managed to hit on just 1-of-6 from the floor while turning the ball over five times. Murray answered with a jumper as the Green & White would rally to cut it to seven before entering halftime down 31-21.

St. Francis (NY) assumed a 10-point halftime advantage thanks to 13 Wagner miscues that led to a 15-2 advantage in points off turnovers. The Terriers also owned the offensive glass by an 11-3 count, leading to an 8-2 advantage in second-chance points. Despite shooting just 28.1 percent (9-32) from the floor, including 16.7 percent (2-12) from beyond the arc, the Terriers led at intermission thanks to turning the ball over just six times and converting 11-of-17 (64.7 %) from the line. The Seahawks, meanwhile, hit on just 36.4 percent (8-22) from the floor while misfiring on all six three-point attempts and going to the line just six times (5-6).

Wagner began the second half with a 5-1 run, cutting the lead to 33-26 with 17:42 to play. However, St. Francis (NY) answered with a 10-2 run over the next 3:27, extending the lead out to 43-28 at the 14:15 mark. The Terriers would push the lead out to 18 on three occasions, but the Seahawks would not go away.

Down 61-46 with 5:15 to play, the Green & White made one last push. Murray hit a jumper before Thompson converted an old-fashioned three-point play, cutting the deficit to 10. Dre Calloway briefly quelled the Wagner momentum with a lay-up before Murray converted a three-point play, drawing the Seahawks to within single digits at 63-54 with just 3:56 to play. However, that would be as close as the Green & White would get as St. Francis (NY) ended the game on a 9-2 run, en route to winning its seventh-straight game by a 72-56 count.

In defeat, Wagner forced the Terriers into just 33.3 percent shooting (17-51), including 27.8 percent (5-18) from beyond the arc. However, the Seahawks could not overcome a season-high 34 fouls, which led to 49 free throws for the opposition, 33 of which were converted (67.3 %). The Green & White, meanwhile, went just 15-of-23 (65.2 %) from the line, marking just the fourth time this year that Wagner hit on fewer then 70.0 percent from the charity stripe.

Ricky Cadell led St. Francis (NY) with a game-high 23 points, on 7-of-17 shooting, while pulling down seven rebounds. Stefan Perunicic added 16 points, highlighted by 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.

The Seahawks tightened it up at halftime, committing just four miscues while forcing eight after intermission but was still outscored 21-4 in points off turnovers for the game.

Wagner now heads to Long Island on Saturday, January 15 for a 4:30 tilt.


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