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Staten Island, NY - Junior Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Science Park / Southern Mississippi) scored eight of his game-high 23 points in overtime while classmate Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) added 15 points off the bench in lifting Wagner to a 68-63 victory over Penn in non-conference action at the Spiro Sports Center. Ortiz also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in recording his second career double-double as the Seahawks improve to 6-5 with their third-straight overtime victory while the Quakers fall to 2-9.

In four overtime games this season, the Green & White has outscored the opposition by a combined 40-21 count, including 37-14 over the last three - all victories. Today's match-up also marks the first time since the 1975-1976 season that the first three Wagner games played on Staten Island have gone into overtime.

Ortiz had a hand in 12 of the Seahawks' 14 overtime points, starting when he found sophomore Mario Moody (East Orange, NJ / East Orange Campus) for an easy dunk to break a 54-54 stalemate. Then, following a turnover he set up senior Josh Thompson's (Bridgeton, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) fast break layup that extended the lead out to 58-54 with 4:11 to play.

Penn quickly answered before Rivers sank a jumper to again make it a four-point game at 60-56 with 2:42 remaining. Ortiz again made it a four-point game at 62-58 with 1:36 to play with a tip-in. The Quakers then cut it to two, before getting the ball back with a chance to either tie or take the lead. Following a timeout, the stifling Wagner defense forced Steve Rennard into a contested triple attempt that was corralled by Ortiz for his 10th rebound of the game. The Garden State native then put the game on ice, converting all six of his free throws over the final 20 seconds in leading the Seahawks to their third-straight home victory.

Ortiz also added six assists while converting 6-of-11 from the floor and 11-of-13 from the line over 32 minutes. Rivers, who was playing in his first game in over a month, was 3-for-5 from long range in notching 15 points over 28 minutes off the bench. The Second Team All-Northeast Conference (NEC) selection a year ago now has 898 points for his career while notching double-figures in scoring 48 times over his 64-game career.

Penn was led by Miles Cartwright, who scored a team-best 19 points with five rebounds, four assists and three steals over 42 minutes. Jamal Lewis (16 points) and Henry Brooks (12 points) also notched double-figures for the Quakers.

Thanks to Rivers' return, Wagner converted more three pointers than the opposition for the first time this year while winning the battle of the boards for the ninth time in 11 games by a 39-32 count, including posting a 12-8 differential on the offensive end that led to a 12-2 advantage in second chance points. The Seahawks shot just 38.9 percent (21-for-54) from the floor, but made good on 41.2 percent (5-for-12) from long range. Penn shot a solid 40.0 percent (22-for-50), but converted just 23.1 percent (3-for-13) from long range, including misfiring on all five attempts after halftime.

The Quakers' slim 31-29 halftime lead was quickly erased with a 10-3 Green & White run to start the second. Freshman Eric Fanning (Trenton, NJ / Perkiomen (PA)) opened the scoring with a free throw, before junior Naofall Folahan (Cotonou, Republic of Benin / Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA)) gave Wagner its first lead of the game at 32-31 with a layup. Penn quickly reclaimed the lead with a pair from the line, before the Seahawks ripped off seven-straight points in opening up a 39-34 lead with 13:31 to play in the second. Ortiz fueled the run before Moody found Rivers for his third three of the game. 

With the Green & White still up five with 12:10 to play following a pair of Moody free throws, Miles Cartwright and Darien Nelson-Henry combined for three-straight layups to reclaim the lead for the Quakers at 44-43 with 8:24 to play. Neither team could establish any momentum over the final eight-plus minutes of action as the schools combined for seven lead changes and four ties. With the Penn up one, junior Orlando Parker (Orlando, FL / Orlando Christian Prep) split a pair from the line to tie it up for the sixth time at 54-54 with 37 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, the Quakers were unable to answer on as the teams would need an extra five minutes to determine the outcome.

Penn opened up the game with an 11-2 run, before extending its lead to a game-high 10 at 24-14 with just over five minutes before halftime following a Tony Hicks layup. Rivers answered with a three pointer while sparking an 8-0 run that got Wagner back in the game. Following a Folahan dunk, Rivers capped the spurt with a long triple that made it 24-22 at the 3:51 mark of the first half. The deficit would stay at two for halftime, as the Quakers took a slim 31-29 advantage thanks to 13 first-half points for Lewis.

Wagner returns to action on Thursday, January 3 at 7:00 pm against Monmouth in the NEC opener for both teams.

Notes:
* Today's game was played without the leading scorers and rebounders for both teams as Jonathon Williams (Richmond, CA / Kennedy / City College of San Francisco) and Fran Dougherty each were forced to sit out due to injury/illness.

* Wagner improves to a perfect 3-0 at home this season and is 15-3 at the Spiro Sports Center since the start of last season with all three losses coming to teams that qualified for the postseason.

* The Seahawks also moved to 5-0 when leading with five minutes to play and 30-1 over the last two years.

* Wagner won the three-point battle for the first this season by a 5-3 count.

* Nine of the Seahawks' 11 games have been decided by 10 points or less or in overtime this year.

* Wagner also improved to 4-1 this season following a loss and is 8-1 over the last two seasons.

* Folahan moved past 2008 All-NEC First Team selection Durell Vinson into fourth place on the all-time Seahawk blocked shot list and has 120 blocks. Next up for Folahan is 2003 NEC Player of the Year Jermaine Hall, who has 124 rejections. Folahan and Moody continue to lead the conference in blocks with 2.1 and 2.0 blocks per game, respectively.

* The Green & White finished up the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 6-5 record, marking the second-straight season and the fifth in the last eight that Wagner has posted a winning record before NEC play.

* The Seahawks were 10-for-11 from the line over the last five minutes of the second half and in overtime.

* Due to Williams' absence, the Green & White were forced to employ their sixth different starting line-up this season as Moody earned his first collegiate start.

* Wagner moved to a perfect 2-0, all-time, against Penn.

* The Seahawks have won four-straight games against the Ivy League over the last two seasons thanks to sweeping both Penn and Princeton during that time.

* For the Quakers, it was just their third-ever loss to the NEC as they fall to 15-3, all-time, against the 12-team league.

* Bashir Mason improves to 2-3, all-time, against Penn as a player or coach with the victory.

* The Green & White now has victories over teams from six different states (MD, NC, NJ, NY, PA, TX) this year.

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 Dave Saffran