Video Highlights / Final Seconds Of Wagner's Win
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Staten Island Advance Article

Staten Island, NY - Wagner used a 21-5 run midway through the first half to break open a close game while building an insurmountable 17-point halftime lead en route to an easy 85-62 victory over Delaware State at the Spiro Sports Center. 

The Seahawks have now won four-straight games while capping a season-opening six-game, 15-day stretch that has seen the Green & White post its first 5-1 start since the 2005-2006 season. In defeat, the Hornets fall to 2-3.

Wagner now breaks from non-conference play with a game at defending Northeast Conference (NEC) Champion Long Island on Thursday, December 1 at 7:00 pm.

Junior Jonathon Williams (Richmond, CA / Kennedy / C.C. of San Francisco) notched 19 points, on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor, and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds for his first Wagner double-double. The Junior College transfer capped his outstanding performance with this fastbreak dunk. Sophomore Latif Rivers (So., Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) added 16, on 5-of-11 shooting, from long range while senior Tyler Murray (Toronto, Ontario / Eastern Commerce) (14 points) and junior Josh Thompson (Richland, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) (11 points) also notched double-figures.

The Seahawks jumped out of the gates with five-straight points on this Williams layup, resulted in a three-point play, and this Rivers jumper from the corner en route to assuming an early 7-3 lead, following this impressive dunk from Williams.

Delaware State rallied to take the lead at 10-9 following a pair of Jay Threatt free throws before the Green & White rallied to reclaim the lead at 15-12 with 13:48 to go in the half on this Murray three from and this one from Rivers.

The Hornets would continue to fight before clawing their way to a 19-17 lead with 11:17 to go until halftime. However, that would be the last time Delaware State would be in front on the night. Sophomore Orlando Parker (Orlando, FL / Orlando Christian Prep) quickly tied the game with this dunk, off a nifty pass from freshman Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC / David W. Butler), sparking a 9-1 run. Thompson capped the spurt with this jumper that gave Wagner a 26-20 lead with 8:56 to go.

Again, the Hornets continued to attack and answered with five-straight points that cut the deficit to one at 26-25 with 7:45 to play in the first. The Seahawks then took complete control of the game with a 21-5 run that spanned 6:46 and for all intents and purposes ended any chance of a Delaware State rally. Murray got things rolling with a pair of free throws before Williams drained a three pointer. Marques Oliver briefly stopped the Green & White momentum with a pair from the line before Rivers hit a layup and two from the line. Murray then notched an old-fashioned three-point play, highlighted by this crafty lay-up, while extending the lead to 38-27 at the fourth media timeout (3:26) of the half.

With a 10-point lead to boot, Wagner capped their game-changing spurt with another seven-point surge. Burton sank four free throws sandwiched between a Murray three pointer to give the Seahawks 47-30 lead with just over a minute to play until intermission.

Rivers capped an impressive offense performance with a pair from the line as the Green & White assumed a 49-32 at the break. The 49-point effort was the most scored by a Wagner team since the Seahawks scored 55 in the first half of a 105-86 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on December 15, 2007.

In the decisive half, the Green & White shot a solid 15-of-31 from the floor, including going 5-of-8 from long range and a perfect 14-of-14 from the line while pressuring seven Delaware State turnovers that led to a 13-2 advantage in points off turnovers.

Rivers (13), Murray (11) and Williams (10) accounted for 34 of Wagner's 49 points as the Seahawks would not be seriously threatened after intermission.

In the second half, Delaware State cut the lead to 13 at 59-46 with 12:22 to play, only to have Wagner respond with an 18-3 run that pushed the lead out to a season-high 28 at 77-49 with 4:22 to go.

In the game, the Seahawks notched five runs of at least six-straight points and held the Hornets without a field goal for 7:15 (0-10 FG) in the field half.

For the game, Wagner shot 45.3 percent (29-64) from the floor and 42.4 percent (14-33) from beyond the arc while converting its first 18 free throws of the game en route to making good on 20-of-21 (.952) for the game. On defense, the Seahawks turned in a season-best effort by pressuring Delaware State into 36.2 percent (21-58) shooting from the floor, including just 29.2 percent (14-44) over the last 27:45 of the game, including 1-of-10 from long range.

A season-high 10 student-athletes scored for the Green & White while all 11 players that dressed saw action.

Tahj Tate (17 points), Marques Oliver (15 points) and Jay Threatt (14 points) all recorded double-figures in scoring for the Hornets.

NOTES:
* Last year Wagner won its fifth game of the year on December 30, 2010 against Albany while its 5-1 start is the best since the school started 6-1 in 2005-2006.

* All-time, the Seahawks improve to 2-4 against Delaware State and 10-6 against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).

* This year, the Green & White claimed both meetings against MEAC schools and have won four-straight against the league.

* Wagner made its final 10 free throws at Penn and its first 18 against the Hornets before misfiring with 1:53 to play. All told, the Seahawks connected on 28-straight over 55:18 and are now converting on 74.3 percent for the year. Additionally, the Green & White has knocked down 47-of-52 (.904) since the final 1:29 of the Lafayette game.

* Rivers and Murray each hit for double-figures for the sixth-straight time to start the year and are averaging 15.0 points and 14.2 points per game, respectively.

* Murray also recorded a season-best four assists to go along with four rebounds and was 3-of-4 from long range and is expected to be among the national leaders in three-point percentage (.640) (16-25) when the NCAA Rankings are released for the first time on Monday. Click HERE to see his third and final three pointer of the game.

* Murray ranks first in school history with a 42.8 percent (131-306) conversion rate and has notched double-figures 24 straight times and in 41 of his last 43 games. He is also just 71 points from 1,000 for his career.

* Rivers sank all five free throws and is shooting 87.1 percent (27-31) from the line for the year. Over the last three games, he is averaging 17.7 points per game on while shooting 51.6 percent (16-31) from the floor, 41.2 percent (5-12) from beyond the arc and 94.1 percent (16-17) from the line. He capped his most recent performance an old-fashioned three-point play. Click HERE to see the layup.

* Williams' 19-point, 10-rebound performance comes on the heels of a 28-point outing in his first career home game. Over two games in the Spiro Sports Center, Williams is averaging a team-best 23.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 64.3 percent (18-28) from the floor and 57.1 percent (4-7) from beyond the arc.

* His 19-point performance also marked the first time that a Wagner player has been the leading scorer in six games this season.

* The Seahawks have won the turnover battle in five of its six games and parlayed 15 Hornet miscues into a 21-7 advantage in points off turnovers.

* The Green & White bench recorded a season-best 32 points and is averaging 22.2 points per game, up from just 16.2 a year ago.

* Burton recorded career-highs in points (7), rebounds (4), assists (3) and minutes (15) while going 5-for-5 from the line. The highlight of of Burton's performance was this acrobatic layup ... Click HERE to see the play.

* Sophomore Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Science Park / Southern Mississippi) was the lone member of Wagner to not score, but did manage to dish out six assists, against no turnovers, in 21 foul-plagued minutes.

* Freshman Hugo Naurais (Nimes, France / Elan Chalon) closed out the game's scoring with his first collegiate points ... Click HERE to see the shot ... Junior Ryan Schrotenboer (Fort Myers, FL / Bishop Verot) also recorded his first point of the year.

* Sophomore Naofall Folahan (Cotonou, Republic of Benin / Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA)) had a season-best four blocks and now has seven over the last two games and is averaging 2.0 bpg on the year.

* Thanks to a strong team effort that has seen seven players average between six and 15 points per game, head coach Dan Hurley has evened his career record at 18-18.

* The Seahawks notched a season-high 40 rebounds, 19 assists and 29 field goals and are also averaging 76.3 points per game during non-conference play, up from 62.5 a year ago, and are now 4-0 when scoring at least 70 points.

* The Green & White also recorded a season-best four dunks after entering with just two on the year.

* Delaware State blocked 15 Wagner shots.

* The Hornets shot 50.0 percent (4-8) from long range in the opening stanza and just 14.3 percent (1-7) after halftime. In their five previous games, the Seahawks were allowing the opposition to shoot 50.0 percent (20-40) in the second half.

* The Green & White will now have four-straight days without a game before taking on the Blackbirds. The layoff is the longest break that Wagner has had since the beginning of the season with two being the previous high.