Box Score / Box Score (PDF) / Highlights / Ortiz's Game-Winning Shot

Emmitsburg, MD - Junior Orlando Parker (Orlando, FL / Orlando Christian Prep) scored a game-high 12 points off the bench while classmate Kenneth Ortiz's (Newark, NJ / Science Park / Southern Mississippi) converted this game-winning layup off a steal with 27.4 seconds remaining, lifting Wagner to a 52-50 win at the Mount in Northeast Conference (NEC) action at Knott Arena.

The Seahawks snapped their three-game losing streak while improving to 10-8 and 4-3 in the NEC as the Mountaineers fall to 7-11 and 2-5 in the league.

Leading by eight points with just over 10 minutes to play, Mount St. Mary's missed a pair of three point attempts that would have pushed the lead into double-figures for the first time all night while opening the door for a Wagner comeback. Parker began the comeback with a layup, before junior Naofall Folahan (Cotonou, Republic of Benin / Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA)) sliced the deficit in half with a tip-in. After Parker stole the ball on the ensuing possession, freshman Eric Fanning (Trenton, NJ / Perkiomen (PA)) made it a one-possession game with a layup. Following a pair of stops on the defensive end, Fanning capped the game-changing 8-0 run with a layup to tie the score at 43-43 with 6:11 remaining.

Mount St. Mary's quickly reclaimed the lead with a Kelvin Parker three pointer and built up a 48-44 advantage with just under four minutes remaining. As was the story for the entire game, the Seahawks continued to fight and quickly answered with layups from Latif Rivers (Jr., Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) layup and Williams to again draw even at 48-48 with 3:07 to play.

Sam Prescott missed a three pointer on the other end and Williams converted another layup off a nifty pass from Ortiz to give Wagner its first lead of the game at 50-48 with 2:39 remaining. The Mountaineers would tie the game up at 50-50 on a Sam Prescott jumper with 1:03 to play, before setting the stage for Ortiz's late-game heroics.

After Parker missed the front end from the line with 49 seconds to play, it appeared as though the Mount would have a chance to reclaim the lead. However, Ortiz jumped the passing lane and picked off a Rashad Whack pass, before racing in for the uncontested layup.

Whack missed a three-pointer on the Mountaineers' next possession, and Ortiz was fouled with 12.3 second on the clock. Ortiz, however, missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving the Mountaineers another chance. After a scramble on a loose ball, the Mount had an inbounds pass from near midcourt with 3.3 on the clock. Kristijan Krajina took a long lob pass, but his shot at the buzzer was off the mark as Wagner escaped with the victory.

The Seahawks shot 46.0 percent (23-for-50) from the floor, including 40.0 percent (2-for-5) from long range, and was bolstered by 19 layups that led to a 38-28 advantage in the paint. Wagner also won the battle of the boards for the 14th time this season by a 37-24 count and saw its bench outscore the starters (28-24) for the first time this season.

Conversely, the Mountaineers shot a respectable 39.6 percent (21-for-53), but was just 30.4 percent (7-for-23) from long range thanks to a stout Seahawk zone. The Mount was able to lead for most of the game thanks to forcing 15 turnovers that led to a 23-16 advantage in points off turnovers.

In the first half, the Mountaineers raced out to 13-5 lead in the game's first 10 minutes, before the Green & White woke up on the offense. Fanning stopped the bleeding with a layup and after a missed shot, Wagner converted on its next seven shots and 9-of-11 to close the half as the teams went into intermission knotted up at 25-25.

Fanning led all players with eight of his game-high matching 12 points in the first half, while senior Josh Thompson (Bridgeton, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) added seven and Parker six as the Seahawks shot a blistering 52.2 percent (12-for-23) before halftime.

The Mount quickly reclaimed the lead after halftime and saw the lead again reach eight on three more occasions, only to see Wagner answer each time as the Mountaineers misfired on four triple tries that would have broken the game open.

Fanning added a game-high seven rebounds while Williams chipped in with eight points and seven caroms of his own to round out the top performers for the Seahawks. Prescott was the lone double-figure scorer for the Mount, finishing with 10 points.

Wagner will look to make it two in a row when the Seahawks conclude a four-game road trip at Saint Francis (PA) on Saturday, January 26 with tip time slate for 4:00 pm.

Notes:

* Bashir Mason became the quickest coach in Wagner's Division I history (since 1976-1977) to reach 10 victories, needing just 18 games. Former mentor Dan Hurley reached 10 in 20 games in the 2010-2011 season.

* The Seahawks led for just 2:02 in the game and are now 9-0 this year and 34-1 over the last two years when either leading or tied with five minutes to play.

* Wagner has now won four-straight over the Mount and holds a 30-17 advantage in the all-time series, including posting a 16-9 mark on the road.

* The Seahawks improved to 17-8 in games decided by 10 points or less and 8-4 in games decided by five points or less over the last two years.

* The Green & White is also now 7-0 when limiting teams to 60 points or less.

* None of the 10 starters recorded double-figures in scoring ... Wagner's bench recorded 28 points, on 56.0 percent (13-for-25) shooting while the Mount's second unit notched 24 points on 45.4 percent (10-for-22) shooting.

* Rivers and Williams both failed to record double-figures for the first time in 33 games over the last two years. Williams went over 600 points for his career and now has 601 while Rivers has 956 points and is just 44 away from becoming the 40th member of the school's 1,000-point club.

* Fanning notched double-figures for the third-straight game and is averaging 12.3 points per game and shooting 53.6 percent (15-for-28) during that time.

* Parker also recorded double-digits in scoring for the first this season and his 12 points are his most since the Sunshine State native went for a career-high 16 at Robert Morris in the quarterfinals of the 2011 NEC Tournament .

* Ortiz's game-winning shot was his first of the year and the third of his Wagner career with the last coming almost a year to the day in the Seahawks' 51-50 victory over Quinnipiac on January 28, 2012.

* The Southern Mississippi transfer had four steals for the fourth time this year while accruing six assists with five rebounds.

* Over three career match-ups against the Mountaineers, Ortiz is averaging 6.0 points, 6.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.

* Folahan returned after missing the previous two games and recorded two points, two rebounds and one block.

* Mount St. Mary's head coach Jamion Christian falls to 1-7, all-time, against Wagner as a player and a coach.

* Mason (28) is the nation's youngest coach in America and Christian (30) the fifth-youngest.

* Mason also improves to a perfect 2-0 against first-year NEC Coaches this season, previously besting Jack Perri from LIU Brooklyn.

* The Seahawks improve to 9-3 following a loss since last season and are 11-4 in January games during that time.

* Also since last year, the Green & White is 12-1 on Thursdays.

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