BOX SCORE

Loretto, PA - Saint Francis (PA) parlayed a 10-4 edge on the offensive glass in the second half into a 16-4 advantage in second chance points en route to an 84-78 victory at DeGol Arena. With the loss the Seahawks fall to 13-15 and 9-8 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Red Flash improve to 8-19 and 6-10 in the league while clinching a playoff berth in next week's NEC Tournament.

Coupled with Robert Morris' win over Mount St. Mary's and St. Francis (NY)'s victory over Central Connecticut State, the Green & White fall into a tie with the Terriers for fifth place in the league. Wagner could garner as high as a No. 5 seed in the annual tournament, but must win its last game at Robert Morris and have Terriers lose. A Seahawk loss or a SFNY win gives the Green & White the sixth seed.

Wagner shot a blistering 50.8 percent (30-59) from the floor, but was just 35.0 percent (7-20) from beyond the arc and 55.0 percent (11-20) from the line while being outrebounded 40-32, including 26-12 in the decisive second half. The Seahawks, however, committed only a season-low seven turnovers - including two after halftime - while handing out 14 assists. Leading the way on offense was junior Tyler Murray (Toronto, Ontario / Eastern Commerce), who scored 13 of his team-best 17 points after halftime while pulling down eight rebounds. The Canadian native has now paced the team in scoring 15 times and rebounding on seven occasions.

Will Felder led Saint Francis (PA) with a career-best 30 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year and was 12-of-19 from the floor. The Red Flash shot 45.6 percent (26-57) for the game, including 41.2 percent (7-17) from beyond the arc, and 71.4 percent (25-35) from the line.

After St. Francis (PA) scored the final eight points of the first half to tie the game up at 32-32 heading into the break, the Red Flash methodically built up their lead in the beginning of the second half but could not shake Wagner. 

Down eight midway through the half, sophomore Danny Mundweiler (Overland Park, KS / Olathe East) hit a three to cut the SFPA lead to 55-50 with 9:04 to play before the Red Flash scored six-straight points in opening up a 61-50 lead with 7:57 to play.

The Seahawks would immediately answer as freshman Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) hit a pair of free throws and a pull up three-pointer, drawing the Green & Whit to within six at 61-55 with 6:37 to play. However, as would be theme of the second half, the Wagner defense forced an errant shot only to have Felder slap the ball off the backboard and into the bucket on the ensuing possession, stopping the Seahawk momentum while pushing the lead back out to eight.

Wagner would continue to fight and had the ball down seven with just 2:55 to play but came up short on its next five shots before Umar Shannon converted a three-point play with 1:33 to play, extending the Saint Francis (PA) lead out to 73-63 with 1:33 to play. The Seahawks would cut the lead to six on two more occasions before falling 84-78.

Martin added 16 points, on 6-of-13 shooting, including going 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, with four assists while scoring in double-figures for a season-best fourth straight timer. Rounding out the double-figure scorers for the Green & White was Rivers, who scored all 12 of his points in the second half while handing out three assists.

The Wagner reserves had another strong game, with 21 points, on 9-of-12 shooting, and 12 rebounds. Senior Cliff Spiller (Pleasantville, NJ / Holy Spirit) led the second unit with a season-best eight rebounds and seven points while going 3-of-3 from the floor. Sophomore Josh Thompson (Richland, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) had a solid game, scoring eight points, on 4-of-5 shooting, including two ferocious dunks and has now converted nine of his last 11 shots while averaging 9.0 ppg in those two games. Mundweiler also gave the Green & White a lift off the bench with six points and two assists in 19 minutes.

Joining Felder in double-digits for the Red Flash were Anthony Ervin (14 points), Chris Johnson (13 points, 6 assists) and Shannon (12 points).

The first half was a see-saw affair until Wagner ripped off a 13-4 run midway through the second half while opening up its largest lead of the game at 28-20 with 3:08 to play until halftime. Mundweiler got things rolling with a three pointer before Martin followed with a jumper from the top of the key, extending the Seahawk lead out to 20-16 with 7:27 to play. After the Red Flash cut the lead to two at 22-20 with a pair of buckets sandwiched between a Spiller lay-up, the Green & White ripped off six-straight points –highlighted by a Thompson put-back dunk that gave Wagner its aforementioned eight-point lead.

With the Green & White still up eight at 32-24 with 1:40 to play following an Orlando Parker (Orlando, FL / Orlando Christian Prep) lay-up, Saint Francis (PA) put something together for the first time on the night with eight-straight points, capped by a Felder put-back at the buzzer that sent the Red Flash into halftime tied at 32-32.

Wagner shot well in the first half, converting on a blistering 51.9 percent (14-27) from the floor but was just 33.3 percent from beyond the arc (2-6) and the line (2-6). The Seahawks also owned the glass by a 20-14 count, leading to a 22-10 advantage in points in the paint.

The Green & White were paced in the opening half by Martin, who notched a team-best eight points and Spiller, who recorded seven points and five rebounds in just seven minutes off the bench.

Felder led all scorers in the first half with 14 points, on 7-of-10 shooting, as the rest of the Red Flash converted on just 25.0 percent (5-20).

Wagner will look to garner a split on its Western Pennsylvania road trip when the Seahawks travel to Robert Morris for a 7:00 pm match-up on Saturday, February 28.