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Staten Island, NY - Junior Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) scored 18 of his 20 points after halftime and Wagner used a game-ending 29-12 run to sprint past Bryant 89-75 in Northeast Conference (NEC) action at the Spiro Sports Center.

With the win, the Seahawks avenge a prior 82-59 loss to the Bulldogs while improving to 15-10 and 9-5 in the NEC as the visitors fall to 16-8 and 9-4 in the league.

In a back-and-forth affair that featured 11 lead changes and nine ties, it appeared as though Bryant was in position to take control of the game after Joe O'Shea hit a three pointer to break a 60-60 tie with 10:05 remaining in the second half. Then on the ensuing possession, junior Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Science Park / Southern Mississippi) was forced to the bench after being whistled for his fourth foul. However instead of wilting under the pressure, a battled-tested Wagner squad had other ideas as junior Naofall Folahan (Cotonou, Republic of Benin / Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA)) immediately answered with a pair from the line, before sophomore Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC / David W. Butler) canned a three pointer to quickly reclaim the lead at 67-63 lead with just over eight minutes remaining.

After the Bulldogs fought back to tie it up at 67-67, the Green & White again responded, this time with an 8-1 run to make it a 75-68 game with just over four minutes to play. Frankie Dobbs briefly answered on the ensuing possession with a deep three pointer as the shot clock was expiring to keep the visitors in the game.

Bryant had a pair of opportunities to further dent the lead, before Rivers delivered a deep three pointer that pushed the lead out to 78-71 while sparking a game-ending 14-4 Wagner run. The Seahawks would win going away by an 89-75 count while avenging a 23-point loss to the Bulldogs from early January.

Rivers, who was limited to just two points in the first half, finished with 18 points after halftime, on 7-of-9 shooting, including going 4-of-6 from long range. With his team-high 20 points, Rivers notched his fourth 20-point game of the year and the 14th of his career.  His performance helped spark another scintillating second-half shooting performance from the Seahawks, as the Green & White made good on 61.5 percent (16-for-26) from the floor, including 55.6 percent (5-for-9) from long range. Ortiz also had a big half, notching nine of his 11 points and six of his seven assists to go along with a game-high eight rebounds. Burton also had a tremendous half with nine of his 14 points and is averaging a team-best 18.5 points per game over his past two games.

Rounding out the double-digits scorers for a Wagner team that shot 54.1 percent (33-for-61) for the game and 47.1 percent (8-for-17) from long range was Jonathon Williams (Sr., Richmond, CA / Kennedy / City College of San Francisco), who finished up with 15 points.

The Seahawks also recorded a season-high 11 blocks as eight of the nine players that saw action notched at least one, headlined by Folahan's three rejections. He now has 133 career blocks and is just two behind Miladin Mutavdzic for second place in the all-time rankings.

Wagner outscored Bryant by a 44-34 margin in the paint also posted a 20-8 advantage on fast break points in sprinting to its second-straight victory.

The Bulldogs shot a solid 46.7 percent (28-for-60) from the field, but was just 34.8 percent (8-for-23) from long range, and were led by Joe O'Shea, who recorded a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Dyami Starks, who entered the game as one of the NEC's top shooters, did not disappoint, finishing with 19 points, on 4-of-9 shooting from long range. Dobbs matched Ortiz with seven assists to go along with 13 points, but was forced into just 4-of-13 shooting and six turnovers over a game-high 39 minutes.

In the first half, the Seahawks took a 37-34 halftime lead thanks a balanced offensive effort that saw nine players score between two and seven points.

The Green & White will look to make it three in a row at St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday, February 21 at 7:00 pm.

NOTES:
* With the win, Wagner (9-5 NEC) is just one game behind NEC co-leaders LIU Brooklyn (10-4 NEC) Robert Morris (10-4 NEC) and a half game behind Bryant (9-4 NEC). Quinnipiac (8-5 NEC) is lurking in fifth as the five teams are separated by just a game and a half.

* The Seahawks also outshot the opposition for the seventh-straight game en route to averaging 95.0 points per game for the week. The two-game total of 190 points are the most scored by the Green & White, since recording 199 over games against Mount St. Mary's and LIU Brooklyn in the 2001-2002 season. Current Mountaineer coach Jamion Christian was a member of that Mount team.

* Rivers has scored three points or less in the first half on each of the last three Saturdays. However, after halftime he has notched at least 18 points in all three of those games.

* During that time, Rivers has scored five points, on 2-of-10 shooting (1-of-4, 3-pt), in the first half, compared with 64 points, on 22-of-31 shooting (12-of-16, 3-pt), in the second half.

* Wagner improves to 11-3, all-time, when Rivers hits for at least 20 points in a game. The Garden State native now has 1,083 points for his career while moving past Arnold Obey into 33rd place on the all-time Seahawk scoring list.

* Thanks to Burton's big week (37 points, 11-of-19 - FG (5-of-10 - 3-pt)), the Green & White reserves scored 70 points, on 58.1 percent (25-for-43) shooting.

* Wagner now leads the all-time series by a 5-2 count, and have won two of the last three meetings at the Spiro Sports Center.

* The Seahawks improved to 9-2 at home this season and are 21-5 the last two seasons.

* All-time at the Spiro Sports Center, Wagner is now 120-66 (.645).

* The Seahawks won for the 31-straight time when leading or tied with five minutes to play and are a perfect 13-0 this season and 38-1 over the last two seasons.

* Wagner will now conclude its regular season with three-of-four on the road, with the final home game coming next Sunday night at 8:00 pm against two-time defending NEC Champion LIU Brooklyn in a game that will be televised by ESPNU.

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