BOX SCORE

Brooklyn, NY - All five Long Island starters notched double-figures en route to an 84-54 win over Wagner in Northeast Conference (NEC) action at the Wellness Center. The Blackbirds improve to 13-4 and 5-1 in the NEC with their seventh-straight win while the Seahawks fall to 8-9 and 4-2 in the league.

Despite the loss, the Green & White are still in second place while holding the tiebreaker over Quinnipiac (4-2 NEC) and Robert Morris (4-2 NEC) thanks to a pair of wins over their conference rivals last week.

The first half was a see-saw affair, featuring six ties and four lead changes. LIU took the early lead at 10-6 at the 12:17 mark of the first. Wagner rallied to tie the game up at 10-10 on a Cliff Spiller (Sr., Pleasantville, NJ / Holy Spirit) lay-up and a pair of Tyler Murray (Jr., Toronto, Ontario / Eastern Commerce) free throws with 11:57 to play until halftime. Kyle Johnson broke the deadlock with a three pointer at the 10:22 mark only to have the Seahawks answer with a 5-0 run while assuming their first lead of the game at 15-13. Senior #T.J. Czeski# (Amsterdam, NY / Amsterdam) hit a jumper before Murray added a free throw and a jumper, giving the Green & White a two-point advantage with just 8:53 to play until halftime.

Johnson allowed LIU to reclaim the lead at 17-15 at the 7:49 mark of the first half with a pair of lay-ups. Sophomore Ryan Schrotenboer (Fort Myers, FL / Bishop Verot) tied it up a jumper on the next possession before freshman Orlando Parker (Orlando, FL / Orlando Christian Prep) hit a jumper to again give Wagner a two-point lead at 19-17 with just under seven minutes to go until halftime. Unfortunately, that would be the last Seahawk lead of the night as Michael Culpo bookended a 9-0 Blackbird run with a pair of three pointers, extending the LIU's advantage to seven at 26-19 with 4:44 to go until halftime. Sophomore Josh Thompson (Richland, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) quelled the spurt with a jumper as Wagner closed the half on a 6-2 run and went into intermission down just 28-25.

Wagner shot a solid 45.5 percent (10-22) in the first half, led by Murray (10 points, 3-4 FG) and Parker (6 points, 7 rebounds), while allowing the league's top shooting team to convert just 31.4 percent (11-35) from the floor. The Blackbirds took the halftime lead thanks to a 10-0 advantage in second chance points.

LIU began the second half on an 18-7 run while converting 8-of-11 from the floor and scoring on each of their first nine possessions while assuming an insurmountable 46-32 lead with 14:46 to play.

After Parker briefly stopped the Blackbird momentum with a jumper, CJ Parker scored five-straight points while pushing the lead out 51-34 with 12:43 to go. The Seahawks would trim the lead to 12 with a Thompson jumper and a Murray three pointer only to have LIU rip off 10-straight points, fueling a 15-2 run that extended the lead out to 66-41 at the 8:28 mark of the second half that for all intents and purposes put he game on ice. The Blackbirds' lead would grow to 32 en route to an 84-54 win.

LIU doubled their shooting percentage from the first half, hitting on 63.3 percent (19-30) in the decisive second half, including 50.0 percent (4-8) from beyond the arc, and was led by sophomore Jamal Olasewere, who scored 12 of his team-best 14 points after halftime.

Murray fell just short of hitting 20 points for the fifth-straight game, finishing up with a game-high 19 markers on 6-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, with four assists over a game-high 40 minutes. Parker recorded his second double-double of the year with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds while notching double-figures for the second-straight game and the third time in the last four outings.

For the game, Wagner hit on 43.1 percent (22-51), but just 25.0 percent (2-8) from long range and 66.7 percent (8-12) from the line. The Seahawks were also outrebounded by a 42-32 margin, including 19-8 on the offensive end, leading to 27-10 advantage in second chance points.

LIU shot 46.2 percent (30-65) from the floor, including 38.9 percent (7-18) from three-point range. Joining Olasewere in double-figures were Julian Boyd (12 points), Michael Culpo (10 points), C.J. Garner (10 points), David Hicks (10 points) and Kyle Johnson (10 points).

Wagner will lock horns with Quinnipiac on Thursday, January 20 at 7:00 pm in the Spiro Sports Center.