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Staten Island, NY - In a defensive battle, it was only fitting that a Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC / David W. Butler) steal in the game's waning moments cemented Wagner's 60-56 victory over Monmouth in the Northeast Conference (NEC) opener for both teams at the Spiro Sports Center.

After Burton split a pair at the line on the ensuing possession, the Hawks called time to set up one final play. Burton then rose to the occasions, splitting the gap with eight seconds to play before stealing the ball from Dion Nesmith and drawing a foul. The sophomore guard then capped his team-best 15-point performance with a pair from the line while giving the Seahawks their second-straight hard-earned win. The Hawks, meanwhile, dropped their sixth-straight game in heartbreaking fashion.

Joining Burton in double-figures was sophomore Mario Moody (East Orange, NJ / East Orange Campus), who finished up one rebound shy of a double-double (12 points/9 rebounds). To watch a highlight package of Moody's big plays click HERE. Rounding out the top scorers with 10 points apiece were senior Jonathon Williams (Richmond, CA / Kennedy / City College of San Francisco) and junior Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Science Park / Southern Mississippi).

Monmouth's Andrew Nicholas led all scorers with a game-high 21 points as the sophomore guard shot 7-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-7 from long range. Unfortunately for the Hawks, the rest of team converted on just 12-of-39 (.308), including 4-for-11 (.363) from deep.

Leading 27-24 at the break, Wagner began the second half with a 12-2 run that took just 2:53. Ortiz opened the scoring with a free throw, before Moody flushed his third dunk of the evening. Following a pair of Monmouth free throws, freshman Eric Fanning (Trenton, NJ / Perkiomen (PA)) converted an old-fashioned three-point play off a nifty pass from Ortiz. Ortiz then sank his first collegiate three pointer from the right baseline and Fanning added another three-point play to cap the spurt and give the Seahawks a 39-26 lead with 17:07 to play.

The Hawks responded with six-straight points, before Moody dunked for the fourth time in the game and Ortiz converted a fast break layup. Khalil Brown briefly answered with a jumper as the Seahawks extended their lead to a game-high 15 at 49-34 with 9:28 to play following a Burton three pointer and a Williams' three-point play.

Down but not out, Monmouth got back in the game with a methodical 17-4 run over the 5:07 to make it a one-possession game at 53-51 with 4:00 to play following a Jesse Steele three pointer. During that time, the Green & White turned the ball over four times while attempting just three shots from the floor.

Ortiz made it a two-possession game with a pair from the line just over a minute later, before Nicholas answered with a three-point play to draw Monmouth to within one at 55-54 with just 1:34 left on the clock. Moody then converted a pair on the other end to make it 57-54 with 1:02 to go. The pesky Hawks would again answer with a running layup from Steele with 47 seconds remaining, which would ultimately set the stage for Burton's big finish.

In the opening stanza, Monmouth scored the game's first four points, before Wagner scored 10-straight points, fueled by seven markers from Williams, who was making his first collegiate appearance off the bench. With the lead now at 21-14 with 6:57 remaining in the first half, the Hawks scored seven-straight points in just over a minute to tie the game at 21-21. As would be the storyline for the rest of the evening, the Seahawks would respond. Burton canned a jumper and a layup on back-to-back possessions as the Green & White assumed a 27-24 halftime advantage.

Wagner shot 43.2 percent (19-for-44) from the floor and 78.3 percent (18-for-23) from the line while winning the battle of the boards (32-29) for 10th time in 12 games. The Seahawks also posted advantages in points in the paint (28-16), points off turnovers (22-16), second chance points (10-7), fast break points (15-9) and bench points (30-7).

Monmouth shot just 37.3 percent (19-for-51), but made good on 44.4 percent (8-for-18) from deep, and 71.4 percent (10-for-14) from the line.

Wagner returns to action on Saturday, January 5 against Fairleigh Dickinson with tip time slated for 4:00 pm.

Notes:
* Burton's 15 points are two off his career-high of 17 set in the Seahawks' 77-65 overtime win over Coppin State earlier this season. He has now notched double-figures on four occasions this year and seven times for his career.

* The Green & White improve to a perfect 6-0 when leading with five minutes to play and is 31-1 over the last two seasons.

* Wagner is a perfect 4-0 at home and 16-3 at the Spiro Sports Center over the last two seasons. Additionally, since the renovated building opened on February 20, 1999 the Seahawks are 115-64 (.642).

* Wagner has won four-straight games against Monmouth with each game being decided by 10 points or less.

* The Seahawks are 16-7 over the last two years in games decided by 10 points or less.

* Wagner improved to 19-13, all-time, in conference openers with its third-straight win in such games, as Bashir Mason became just the second coach in school history to win his NEC debut, joining former mentor Dan Hurley.

* Mason has also now defeated two North Carolina graduates over his last four games (Larry Brown - SMU / King Rice - Monmouth). Ironically, all three were point guards at the collegiate level.

* Tonight was the seventh different starting line-up employed by the Seahawks this year.

* Williams returned after missing the last game due to injury and came off the bench after starting the first 40 games he appeared in.

* Spurred by Burton and Williams, the reserves scored 21 of Wagner's 27 points in the first half and 30 of its 60 for the game.

* Ortiz scored all 10 of his points after halftime and is a perfect 10-for-10 at the line over the last five minutes and in overtime over the last two games. He also converted his first career three pointer and blocked a personal-best two shots.

* The Seahawks are now 24-32, all-time, vs the Hawks but hold an impressive 17-11 record at home.

* This was the fourth of six games for the Green & White against teams that will be changing conference affiliations next season.

* Wagner has now won eight-straight games on January 3rd with six coming by 10 points or less.

* Tonight's game was the first of eight that will be played on a Thursday by the Seahawks. Last year, the Green & White went 9-1 on Thursdays.

* Former Green & White standouts Dedrick Dye, Class of 2003, and Nigel Wyatte, Class of 2004, were in attendance. Both were 1,000 point scorers for Wagner and members of the 2003 NEC Championship squad.

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.