The Seahawks improve to 12-11 and 8-4 in the NEC with the victory and are now 5-1 when Rivers leads the team in scoring and hits for at least 20 points. The Green & White also improve to a league-best 9-4 in games decided by five points or less, including 6-2 during NEC affairs. The Hawks, meanwhile, fall to 6-18 and 2-10 NEC and are 5-11 in games decided by five points or less, including 1-7 during NEC games.
Monmouth scored four of the first six points after halftime, drawing to within one at 33-32 with 18:22 to play. Wagner then ripped off a 12-2 run, highlighted by a
three pointer from Rivers and
this one from sophomore
Danny Mundweiler (Overland Park, KS / Olathe East), staking the Seahawks to a 45-34 lead with 15:00 on the clock.
From that point, the game was a see-saw affair as the Hawks meticulously fought back cutting the deficit to two points with 8:35 to play. However, the Seahawks responded with free throws from Thompson and Murray, extending the lead back out to six with 6:41 to play..
Still down six with just 1:03 to play, Marcus Ware hit a pair from the line to draw, making it a 61-57 game. After forcing a Green & White turnover, Mike Myers Keitt cut the lead to two with two freebies of his own. After the Monmouth defense forced a stop, Myers Keitt drove hard to the basket while drawing a foul with just over 10 seconds on the clock. The junior forward hit the first free throw - improving to 8-of-9 from the line for the game - before missing the second one as Murray corralled the rebound. The Canadian native promptly sank two free throws, giving Wagner what would prove to be an insurmountable 63-60 lead.
Following a timeout, Staten Island native James Hett fired a hurried three-point attempt that was way off the mark and senior #T.J. Czeski# (Amsterdam, NY / Amsterdam) escaped with the rebound, allowing the Seahawks to collect their second straight win while moving back over the .500 mark. After opening the second stanza with three field goals in their first four attempts and five in their first nine, the Green & White went cold, connecting on just 2-of-15 over the final 13:26 of the game.
The game was marred by 47 combined fouls and three technical fouls, as the second half featured more free throw attempts (45) then field goal attempts (40).
Rivers hit 10-of-19 from the floor, including eight of his first 10, en route to 27 points while falling just three shy of his career-high of 30 set on January, 20 against Quinnipiac. The first-year guard also was one of three Wagner players to grab a team-best five rebounds over 38 minutes of action. Murray scored seven of his 12 points after halftime while notching double-figures for the 22nd time (out of 23) this season, despite going just 3-of-14 from the floor, including misfiring on all nine three-point attempts. However, the Canadian native hit on all six of his free throw attempts - including four in the final seven minutes - while matching Rivers with five caroms.
Rounding out the double-figure scorers for the Seahawks was sophomore
Josh Thompson (Richland, NJ / St. Augustine Prep), who scored 11 points, on a career-best 9-of-11 from the line, with five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Wagner shot a season-low 33.3 percent (19-57) from the floor, including posting their second-lowest three-point percentage (.233) (7-30) of the year, but managed to hit on 85.7 percent (18-21) from the line, including 88.2 percent (15-17) after halftime. The Seahawks also won the battle of the glass by a 34-33 count, including 9-5 on the offensive end, while parlaying 17 Monmouth turnovers into a 24-11 advantage.
Monmouth converted 76.9 percent (30-39) from the charity stripe, inlcluding 75.0 percent (21-28) in the second half, and attempted just 37 field goal attempts, making 14 (.378).
The Hawks were led by Ware, who had 20 points and seven rebounds, while Myers Keitt chipped in with 13 and seven.
In the game's formative stages, Monmouth held the early advantage at 14-11with 14:10 to play in the half. Wagner responded with seven-straight points, capped by a
Chris Martin (Jr., Sicklerville, NJ / Apex Academies) three pointer at the 8:22 mark, giving the Seahawks an 18-14 lead.
With the Green & White still up four at 23-19 with 5:39 to play until halftime following a Rivers jumper, the Hawks ripped off a 9-2 run while assuming a 28-25 lead with 3:01 to go in the first. Martin and Rivers ended the half with three pointers, staking Wagner to a 31-28 lead. Rivers led all scorers in the first period with 14 points, on 6-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-4 from long range. The rest of the Seahawk shooters hit on just 6-of-24 (25.0 %) from the floor and 2-of-11 (.181) from long range.
Wagner returns to action on Wednesday, February 9 at Mount St. Mary's with tip time slated for 7:00 pm at Knott Arena.
