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Staten Island, NY - Junior Tyler Murray (Toronto, Ontario / Eastern Commerce) scored seven of his game-high 26 points in overtime while freshman Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) dropped in eight of his 22 points during extra time, lifting Wagner to a thrilling 83-78 come-from-behind win over Robert Morris at the Spiro Sports Center. With the win, the Seahawks are now the only unbeaten team in the Northeast Conference (NEC) at 3-0 while evening their overall record at 7-7.



The two-time defending NEC Champion Colonials fall to 5-9 and 1-2 in the NEC despite a career-high 32 points from last year's NCAA Tournament standout Karon Abraham. The 5'9" sophomore guard went 9-of-20 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from long range, and 9-of-12 from the charity stripe.

Trailing by the same 60-56 count they did on Monday night against Quinnipiac, Wagner looked as though they might not respond. After Rivers missed a jumper, Robert Morris had a chance to extend to the lead but Abraham missed a jumper and Orlando Parker (Orlando, FL / Orlando Christian Prep) corralled one of his game and career-high 12 rebounds. After a timeout, Murray drew a foul on the ensuing inbounds play before splitting a pair from the line. Following another Abraham miss, junior Chris Martin (Sicklerville, NJ / Apex Academies) grabbed the rebound and found Rivers for a fast-break lay-up, cutting the deficit to one at 60-59 with just 1:33 to play. After Abraham split a pair from the line, Martin hit a jumper to tie the game up at 61-61 at the 1:03 mark of the second half.

After Robert Morris took the lead at 63-61 on a Lijah Thompson lay-up with just 36 seconds remaining, Rivers missed a three pointer but sophomore Josh Thompson (Richland, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) grabbed his third and most important offensive rebound while drawing the foul. Following a timeout, Thompson made both free throws to send the game into overtime.

In the extra session, Wagner missed its first two shots before connecting on its final five shots and all eight free throws en route to scoring 20 points after notching just 26 in the second half. Down one at 66-65, sophomore Danny Mundweiler (Overland Park, KS / Olathe East) drilled a three pointer from the corner, giving the Seahawks a 68-66 lead with 2:46 to play. After a pair of Colonial free throws tied it up, Murray put Wagner in front for good at 71-68 on a three pointer from the top of the key with just 2:08 to play. After Abraham missed a lay-up, Rivers extended the lead to five at 73-68 with a jumper from the corner.

The ever-resilient Colonials cut the lead to two with an old-fashioned three-point play before Rivers pushed the lead back out to four at 75-71 with just 48 seconds to play on a nifty lay-up with the shot clock winding down. Robert Morris again cut the deficit back to two at 77-75 with just 19 seconds to play only to have Rivers knock down a pair at the line, making it 79-75 with just 11 seconds to play. Abraham answered with a three pointer from 25 feet away, drawing the Colonials to one before Thompson sunk another pair from the line. Down three, the Seahawk defense forced a turnover before Murray put the game away with his 25th and 26th points of the night from the line.




Murray scored at least 20 points for the second-straight game and the fifth time this season while finishing up with 26 point on 7-of-16 shooting from the floor, 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and 8-of-10 from the line while handing out four assists in a career-best 44 minutes of action. Rivers notched 15 of his 22 points after halftime, going 7-of-17 from the floor and a perfect 6-of-6 from the line while handing out four assists, against just one turnover, in a career-best 42 minutes. He now has 18 assists, against just six turnovers, over the last three games and has hit for at least 20 points four times on the year.

Not to be overlooked was the fine play of Parker, who notched his first career double-double with 13 points, on 6-of-8 shooting, and a career-best 12 rebounds over a career-high 37 minutes. Martin also had a solid game with nine points, a game-high five assists and four rebounds while turning the ball over just once. Rounding out the top performers for the Green & White was Thompson, who went a perfect 6-for-6 from the line, including 4-of-4 in the game's final minute and overtime.

Joining Abraham in double-digits for Robert Morris was Thompson, who notched 10 points while matching Parker with a game-high 12 rebounds and Johnson, who also recorded 10 points.

Wagner shot 44.8 percent (26-58) for the game after converting 51.7 percent (15-29) in the first, 27.3 percent (6-22) in the second and 71.4 percent (5-7) in the extra session. The Seahawks also converted 82.1 percent (23-28) from the line and 36.4 percent (8-22) from beyond the arc while handing out 19 assists and committing just nine turnovers.

The Colonials shot 38.5 percent (25-65) for the game, 43.8 percent (7-16) from beyond the arc and 77.8 percent (21-27) from the line while winning the battle of the boards (42-34), including 15-9 on the offensive glass, leading to a 32-20 advantage in points in the paint.

Wagner assumed a 37-30 lead at halftime, thanks to converting on seven of its final eight shots over the last 5:48 of the first. After Parker connected on a jumper at the 19:16 mark of the second half, the Seahawks went ice cold while misfiring on eight-straight shots as Robert Morris ripped off a 12-1 run to take a 44-40 lead with 15:20 to play. The Colonials extended the lead to five at 48-43 with 11:09 to play until Murray stopped the bleeding with a pair from the line. Rivers then hit a lay-up for the Green & White's first field goal in almost 10 minutes before Murray drilled a three pointer, capping a 7-0 run while making it 50-48 Wagner with just over eight minutes to play.  The teams would go back and forth over the next few minutes before the Colonials used a 7-1 spurt to take the aforementioned 60-56 lead with just 2:59 to go.

Wagner will look to make it four-straight to begin conference play when the Seahawks host Saint Francis (PA) in a game that will be televised by MSG+ on Saturday, January 10 at 7:00 pm.

NOTES: Wagner improves to 6-2 in games decided by five points or less, including a perfect 3-0 during league play, after going just 3-8 a year ago in similar situations ... The Seahawks also matched last year's conference win total of three after going 3-15 a year ago ... Murray and Rivers each hit 20 points in the same game for the second time this year, previously doing so in the five-point overtime win against Sacred Heart ... The duo combined for a season-high 48 points ... The 83 points is the most scored by the Green & White since hitting for 91 points on December 8, 2009 ... In each of Wagner's three NEC wins, the Seahawks trailed by at least four points with under four minutes on the clock ... The Green & White lost both meetings to Robert Morris a year ago and five of six since the 2006-2007 season ... During NEC-play, Murray is averaging 25.7 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 55.3 percent (21-38) from the floor, 63.2 percent (12-19) from beyond the arc and 82.1 percent (23-28) from the charity stripe ... Over the last five minutes and overtime of those games, Murray has scored 24 of Wagner's 67 points (8.0 ppg) while shooting 54.5 percent (6-11) from the floor and 60.0 percent (3-5) from beyond the arc ... The Seahawks last started 3-0 during league play in 2007-2008 when the Green & White began 5-0 ... The upcoming game against Saint Francis (PA) will be Wagner's seventh television game of the year and won their last meeting with the Red Flash 81-76 in last year's finale.