Box Score / Box Score (PDF) / Highlights

Smithfield, RI - Wagner won its school-record 24th game behind junior Jonathon Williams' (Richmond, CA / CC of San Francisco) second career double-double, as the junior college transfer powered his way to 27 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, a career-best six assists and two steals - all of which were game-highs - as the Seahawks claimed their ninth-straight victory by an 86-73 score at Bryant. The Green & White also move to 15-2 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while matching the school-record for league wins set by the 2007-2008 squad, as the Bulldogs fall to 2-27 and 1-16 in the league.

Also in victory, Wagner picked up its NCAA-best 12th road win of the season and has now claimed a school-record 10-straight away from the Spiro Sports Center, en route to posting a 13-2 record away from Grymes Hill. The Seahawks will look to match the all-time NEC record of 25 regular season victories, set by Robert Morris during the 2007-2008 season, at Central Connecticut State on Saturday, February 25 at 3:30 pm.

Elsewhere in the league, LIU Brooklyn was victorious and clinched the #1 spot in the upcoming conference tournament while locking Wagner into the #2 position. The Seahawks could still earn a share of the Regular Season title with a win and a Blackbird loss on Saturday.

The Green & White have also now collected 16 double-digit victories, which is one off of the school-record of 17 set during the 1978-1979 season, and have won an incredible 17-of-18 since a one-point loss to Lehigh back on December 10th.

Joining Williams, who 9-of-13 from the floor, in double-figures was sophomore Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Science Park / Southern Mississippi) as the Wagner floor general scored 17 points, on 8-of-14 shooting, while handing out three assists, against just one turnover.

The Seahawks shot 47.2 percent (34-72) from the floor and 76.5 percent (13-17) from the line while dominating the offensive glass to the tune of 17-8, leading to advantages of 44-26 in the paint and 20-12 in second-chance opportunities. Additionally, the Green & White matched a season-low with just nine miscues and conversely forced 18, leading to a 23-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

Bryant opened the game with an 18-8 run, fueled by converting its first four triple attempts of the game and assumed their double-digit lead at the 13:57 mark of the first half.

Later in the first with the lead now at 35-25 with 4:52 to play until halftime, Wagner made its move. Senior Tyler Murray drained a three pointer before junior Josh Thompson (Richland, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) recorded a layup, slicing the deficit in half at five. The Green & White would continue to chip away before making it a single-possession game at the half at 42-40, following a pair of Marcus Burton (Fr., Charlotte, NC / David W. Butler) free throws.

The Bulldogs assumed a slim halftime lead thanks to shooting 54.5 percent (12-22) from the floor, including 50.0 percent (4-8) from long range, but really did their damage from the line in making good on 14-of-16. Wagner was able to stay close, thanks to parlaying 10 miscues into a 15-4 advantage in second chance points. Williams also snared five offensive rebounds while scoring eight of his 13 first-half points on second-chance attempts.

Down at the half for the first time in their now nine-game winning streak, the Seahawks exploded out of halftime by converting seven of their first nine shots - including six streak. The hot stretch helped spur a game-changing 14-2 run that took just 4:11 while giving the Green & White an insurmountable 58-49 advantage with 13:18 to play. Sophomore Naofall Folahan (Cotonou, Republic of Benin / Wilbraham and Monson Academy) got things started with a jumper off a Williams assist before sophomore Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) gave Wagner the lead for good at 49-47 with a three pointer. Williams then made it nine-straight Seahawk points with back-to-back layups. After Alex Francis briefly answered with a jumper, Ortiz and Williams hit jumpers before the latter split a pair from the line, capping the spurt.

The Bulldogs would immediately cut the deficit to five only to have freshman Mario Moody (East Orange, NJ / East Orange Campus) start a 7-2 run with three-point play and a powerful dunk, extending the lead back out the double-digits.

Bryant would make it a two-possession game at 68-62 with 9:13 to play following a Erick Smith tip-in before the Green & White put the game away. Williams started a 14-3 run with a three pointer as Wagner extended the lead out to a game-high 17 before coming away with the 86-73 victory.

After intermission, the Seahawks shot an impressive 50.0 percent (18-36) from the floor, including 68.1 percent (15-22) from inside the arc, while limiting the Bulldogs to just 40.0 percent (10-25), including 1-of-5 from long range.

Francis led the way for Bryant with 21 points and seven rebounds while Frankie Dobbs added 20 points while going 11-for-12 from the line.

NOTES:
* Wagner will play either Quinnipiac, Monmouth or Central Connecticut State in the First Round of the NEC Tournament in the 2-7 game.

* Folahan finished with eight points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor in front of his AAU coach and former Boston Celtics mentor John Carroll.

* The Seahawks have had 12 20-point games this year with Rivers and Williams recording four apiece and Murray three. Williams' 27-point performance comes on the heels of a 20-point outing against FDU.

* Over the last two games, Williams is averaging 23.5 points per game and has recorded 47 points in 47 minutes while shooting 68.0 percent (17-25) from the floor.

* His 27-points comes after scoring just six points against the Bulldogs in the teams' first meeting.

* Williams' 12 rebounds match Ortiz for the most by a member of the Green & White this season.

* Wagner trailed at the half for just the seventh time this season while allowing a season-high 42 first-half points.

* Bryant hit its first four three pointers of the night before going just 1-for-9 the rest of the way.

* Wagner Athletic Director Walt Hameline was in attendance and sat courtside next to Bryant Athletic Director Bill Smith, who served as a football coach under Hameline in the 1990s.

* Bryant's Dan Calandrillo, whose father Dan was the first-ever MVP of the BIG EAST at Seton Hall, scored 13 points.

* The Seahawks improved to 24-1 when leading with five minutes to play and 18-1 when scoring at least 70 points and have guaranteed they will be the only NEC team to finish the regular season without back-to-back losses.

* Head coach Dan Hurley is now 37-21 in this his second year and has posted an 11-win improvement from last season.