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Durham, NC - Wagner jumped out to a 15-point first-half lead en route to posting a 38-36 wire-to-wire win over North Carolina Central (NCCU) at McDougald-McLendon Gym, while giving head coach Bashir Mason his first collegiate head coaching victory.

Senior Jonathon Williams (Richmond, CA / Kennedy / City College of San Francisco) led the Seahawks in scoring in rebounding for the third-straight game, notching a game-high 11 points with six rebounds. Joining the Golden State native in double-figures was sophomore Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC / David W. Butler), who added 10 points and a career-high six rebounds in his first collegiate game in his home state of North Carolina.

The 38 points marked the fewest scored in a Wagner win since the Seahawks bested Brooklyn College 33-31 in February of 1946, while the combined 74 points are also the lowest since that game. Additionally, the 38 markers were the lowest scored by the Green & White since a 57-38 loss to Mount St. Mary's on February 28, 2004.

Since Wagner moved to Division I in the 1976-1977 season, the 36 points allowed are the fewest in school history, while the 38 points scored are tied for the second-lowest. On December 10, 1988 the Seahawks scored just 36 points in a 43-point loss to Clemson.

Playing in front of his friends and family that made the two-hour trek from the Charlotte area, Burton opened the game's scoring with a three-pointer at the 18:47-mark of the first half. After Jay Copeland momentarily answered with a layup, Wagner ripped off a 17-4 run over the next 9:41 in opening up a 20-6 lead with 7:03 to play until halftime. During that time, Williams scored seven of the Seahawks' 17 points, while the defense pressured NCCU into nine-straight missed shots and seven turnovers. Ray Willis' layup  finally stopped the bleeding with 6:26 to play until halftime.

The Green & White lead would grow to a game-high 15 at 24-9 following a pair of Orlando Parker (Jr., Orlando, FL / Orlando Christian Prep) free throws at the 4:13 mark of the first. The Eagles then got back in the game with a half-ending 8-1 run that closed the deficit to 25-17 at intermission.

In the opening stanza, Wagner forced NCCU into just 17.2 percent (5-for-29) shooting while not allowing the Eagles to convert a field goal other than a layup or dunk until Alfonzo Houston's buzzer-beating three pointer from the left wing as time expired.  Despite shooting just 36.4 percent (8-for-22) from the floor and turning the ball over 14 times, the Seahawks were able to corral the first-half advantage by winning the battle of the boards (22-17) and forcing NCCU into field goal droughts of over eight and six minutes.

After halftime the Green & White went stone cold from the floor, misfiring on its first six shots as the Eagles were able to cut the lead to three at 25-22 with 13:39 to play in the game. However, as he has done many times in his short career on Grymes Hill, junior Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Science Park / Southern Mississippi) came up with a big bucket that extended the lead to 27-22 at the 13:07 mark. Undaunted, NCCU used a 6-1 run to tie the game up for the first time since the opening tip at 28-28 with 10:48 remaining. However, on this day Wagner would not be denied as on the next possession, Burton calmly sank a three pointer to give the Seahawks a lead they would not relinquish.

The Green & White would see its lead grow to five on two more occasions, only to have the Eagles answer each time. With Wagner up 37-32 with 1:20 remaining, Staton Kidd hit a jumper, before Copeland converted a layup with 10 seconds to play to draw within one.

Ortiz pushed the lead back out to two at 38-36 with six seconds remaining after splitting a pair from the line. NCCU, however, would have one last chance to win the game. Following Ortiz's free throw, Willis took the inbounds pass, drove to the top of the key and fired a running three pointer that hit the front of the rim before falling senior Josh Thompson (Bridgeton, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) grabbed the game-clinching rebound and allow the Seahawks to leave North Carolina with their first win of the year.

After halftime, the teams combined for just 32 points, on 25.0 percent (10-for-40) shooting, while committing 20 turnovers.

Joining Williams (11) and Burton (10) in double-figures for the game was Jeremy Ingram, who had a team-best 10 points for the Eagles. Jay Copeland led all players with nine rebounds to go along with eight points.

For the game, Wagner converted on just 28.9 percent (11-for-38) from the floor, including 22.2 percent (2-for-9) from long range, and 63.6 percent (14-for-22) from the line. NCCU, meanwhile, shot a chilly 22.6 percent (12-for-53), including 26.7 percent (4-for-15) from deep, and 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from the line.

Parker, who like Burton, had a large contingent of fans from his native Orlando and finished with five points and five rebounds while contributing the highlight of the night. Following a missed shot in the first half, Parker rose above the pack to slam home the rebound with an impressive putback dunk. Junior Naofall Folahan (Cotonou, Republic of Benin / Wilbraham and Monson Academy (MA)) blocked a season-best five shots while moving into fifth place (106) on the all-time Seahawk blocks list. The 6-11 center also grabbed five rebounds and was matched by freshman Eric Fanning (Trenton, NJ / Perkiomen Prep (PA)), who also pulled down five caroms.

Wagner concludes its season-opening four-game road trip with a game at Albany on Wednesday, November 26 at 7:00 pm.

Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department, @WagnerHoops for news and updates on the men's basketball program and @bashirmason to follow the Seahawks' first-year head coach.

Photography by Charles Wainwright