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Staten Island, NY - Anthony D'Orazio hit a three pointer from the right corner with eight seconds remaining, lifting Lehigh to a 70-69 come-from-behind victory over Wagner in non-conference play at the Spiro Sports Center. In defeat, the Seahawks fall to 7-3 while the Mountain Hawks improve to 8-3 with the win.

Trailing 58-47 with 7:17 to play, Lehigh scored 14-straight points over the next 3:46 while assuming its first lead of the game at 61-58 at the 3:31 mark of the second half. During that time, the Mountain Hawks converted seven-straight free throws while forcing the Green & White into six-straight missed shots.

Senior Chris Martin (Sicklerville, NJ / Apex Academies) broke the drought with a pair of free throws with 2:51 to go before Jordan Hamilton's three pointer extended the lead out to four at 64-60 with 1:33 to play.

Following a timeout, sophomore Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Apex Academies (CT)) sank this three pointer off a nice feed from senior Tyler Murray (Toronto, Ontario / Eastern Commerce), making it a 64-63 game with 1:12 to play before Martin turned Mackey McKnight over on the ensuing possession. Rivers was then fouled and converted both free throws while reclaiming the lead for Wagner at 65-64 with just 56 seconds to play.

The next time down the court, Murray forced another turnover before calling a timeout after diving to steal the ball with 31 seconds to go. Junior Jonathon Williams (Richmond, CA / Kennedy / CC of San Francisco) then converted a layup on the other end while drawing the foul and sank the subsequent free throw, extending the Seahawk lead out to 68-64 with just 22 seconds to play.

McKnight answered with a quick three on the other end before Rivers was fouled with 12 seconds remaining. The smooth-shooting guard split a pair before D'Orazio hit the aforementioned three pointer to make it 70-69. Lehigh would escape with the win as the Green & White's last attempt fell painfully short .

Wagner began the second half on an 8-2 run in pushing its lead out to 39-29 with 16:53 to play. Rivers got things started with this layup before Ortiz capped the spurt with this jumper. The visitors would rally to get it within six before Williams converted this layup and Rivers this three pointer in extending the Seahawk lead out to a half-high 11 at 46-35 with 11:26 to play.

The Mountain Hawks would draw to within four before the Green & White scored six-straight points in pushing the lead back out to 11 at 58-47 with 7:17 to play. Lehigh would then end the game on a 23-12 run in picking up the come-from-behind victory.

Williams paced Wagner with 18 points and seven rebounds while going 8-for-13 from the floor in 32 minutes. Rivers chipped in with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks while Martin (12 points) and Ortiz (10 points) also notched double-digits. Click HERE to see highlights from Ortiz's performance on the week. Murray had just six points while having his double-figure points steak snapped at 28 games, but did record a team-best six assists and three steals.

C.J. McCollum led all players with 22 points with six rebounds, five assists and three steals over 38 minutes of action while McKnight chipped in with 15 points. The pair shot a combined 12-for-24 from the floor, 5-for-9 from long range and 8-for-10 from the line to lead the way for the Mountain Hawks.

The Green & White took a 31-27 halftime lead thanks to shooting a blistering 63.6 percent (14-22) from the floor. The margin could have been bigger had it not been for nine miscues that led to an 8-2 advantage in points off turnovers for Lehigh.

Wagner began the game out on an 9-2 run, started by this Williams layup before being capped by this dunk from sophomore Naofall Folahan (Cotonou, Republic of Benin / Wilbraham and Monson Academy (MA)) and another Williams layup. The Seahawks would extend the lead out to 13-6 in large part to nine points from Williams.

The Green & White advantage would reach 10 at 24-14 (5:44) on this Folahan putback before the Mountain Hawks closed the gap to two with at 29-27 with seven seconds to go in the half. Ortiz then answered with this layup to send the Seahawks into intermission with a 31-27 lead.

For the game, Wagner shot a 50.9 percent (27-53), but converted a season-low 26.7 percent (4-15) from long range. Lehigh, meanwhile, made good on just 39.0 percent (23-59) of its shots, but sank 36.4 percent (8-22) from deep while winning the rebounding battle 35-29, including 12-4 on the offensive end. Both teams shot well rom the line with the Seahawks checking in at 84.6 percent (11-13) and the Mountain Hawks 80.0 percent (16-20).

Wagner will next be in action on Friday, December 23 at 8:00 pm when the Seahawks travel to No. 15 Pitt in a game that will be televised on ESPNU.