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Staten Island - After opening up a 21-point lead at the break, Wagner (1-1) held off a hard-charging Chestnut Hill (1-1) squad en route to recording its first win of the year by a 75-67 score at the Spiro Sports Center.

Senior Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) recorded his 15th career 20-point game, finishing with a team-best 22, on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor, to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Classmate Naofall Folahan (Cotonou, Republic of Benin / Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA)) dominated the glass to the tune of a career-high 15 rebounds while adding eight points and four blocks over 31 minutes of action.

Head coach Bashir Mason also reached the 20-win plateau for his career in just his 33rd game, matching Chester Sellitto's 47-year school record.

The first nine-plus minutes of the game were back-and-forth with the Seahawks holding a scant 16-14 lead following Filip Sekulic's layup with 10:41 to go in the first half.  The Green & White offense then awoke to the tune of a game-changing 13-0 run that took just 3:12. After sophomore Langston Burnett (Beltsville, MD / St. Vincent Pallotti) canned a free throw, classmate Dwaun Anderson hit a layup before converting an old-fashioned three-point play. Junior Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC / David W. Butler) then hit a three pointer as the Griffin coaching staff was forced to take a timeout. However, the stoppage in play couldn't quell the momentum as following a missed Chestnut Hill shot, Anderson delivered a thunderous dunk off a pass from junior Mario Moody (Jersey City, NJ / East Orange Campus).  Senior Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Southern Mississippi) then stole the ball on the ensuing possession and converted on the other end to make it a 29-14 game with just under seven minutes until halftime.

Wagner continued to attack and used a 12-4 half-ending run to take an insurmountable 43-21 lead into the locker room. In the opening half, the Seahawks used a stifling defense to force 12 turnovers that led to a decisive 16-4 advantage in points off turnovers while also forcing the visitors into just 33.3 percent (8-for-24) shooting from the field.

After regrouping at halftime, the Griffins scored the first 10 points of the half to cut the deficit to 11 at 43-32. Ortiz quickly stopped the bleeding with a layup while sparking an 8-2 spurt that pushed the lead out to 51-34 with 12:55 remaining. However, as would be the story for the entire second half Chestnut Hill would answer and continue to fight.

With the lead still at 17 with 10:08 to play, Sekulic scored four-straight points to spark a 9-2 run that trimed the deficit to 59-49 with just over eight minutes to play. Wagner would recover to extend the lead back out to 13 at 67-54, only to see the Griffins cut the advantage to eight at 67-59 at the 5:16 mark. Chestnut Hill would close to within seven at 72-65 with 35 seconds remaining, but was unable to get any closer. Sophomore Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC / David W. Butler) answered with a pair from the line to for all intents and purposes put the game on ice. Sekulic then capped his game-high 23-point performance with a layup to produce the final 75-67 score.

Burton notched 12 points and four rebounds while Ortiz finished with 12 points, four rebounds and three steals to join Rivers in double-figures.

Wagner shot 43.1 percent (28-for-65) from the floor while outrebounding Chestnut Hill 48-43, which led to a 44-32 advantage on the glass.

The Seahawks return to action at St. John's on Friday, November 15 at 6:00pm in a game that will be televised by Fox Sports 2.

NOTES:
* Wagner improves to 27-11 in home openers since moving to Division I for the 1976-1977 season, including 11-5 in the renovated Spiro Sports Center (since 1999-2000).

* Additionally, the Seahawks are 24-6 (.800) at home since the start of the 2011-2012 season and hold an all-time record of 122-67 (.646) in the building.

* Rivers' 22 points give him 1,162 for his career, vaulting him past Durell Vinson (1,144) and Courtney Pritchard (1,147) into 26th place (17th, D-1) on the Green & White all-time scoring list.

* Wagner is 12-3 when Rivers notches at least 20 points in a game.

* Folahan's 15 rebounds was the second double-digit performance of his career.

* Junior Hugo Naurais (Nimes, France / Elan Chalon) grabbed a career-high five rebounds while freshman Nolan Long (Waterford, CT / South Kent Prep) established career-highs with five points and six rebounds.

* Classmate Greg Senat (Elmont, NY / Marianapolis Prep) saw the first action of his collegiate career and finished with two points and two rebounds.

* Wagner improves to 13-3 following a loss since the start of the 2011-2012 season and is 4-0 on Tuesdays during that time.

* The Seahawks collected their ninth-straight win over non-Division I competition.

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 Bashir Mason">@BashirMason for news on the second-year coach.