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Moon Township, PA - After erasing a 20-point second half deficit to force overtime, Wagner fell painstakingly short in the extra period as Robert Morris held on for an 83-79 victory in Northeast Conference (NEC) action at the Sewall Center. Junior Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) scored all of his game-high 22 points after halftime while Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Science Park / Southern Mississippi) matched his classmate with 22 markers.

The Colonials improved to 17-8 and 9-3 in the NEC with their ninth win in 10 games while the Seahawks saw their four-game winning streak in overtime games snapped in falling to 13-10 and 7-5 in the league.

After Lucky Jones hit a pair of free throws and Russell Johnson a three pointer to give RMU a 20-point lead early in the second half, Rivers immediately responded with eight-straight points, highlighted by a four-point play, to cut the deficit to 47-35 at the 16:17 mark. The Robert Morris lead would hover between the 10-16 point range over the next eight-plus minutes, before Wagner made things interesting.
 
With just under eight minutes remaining in the game, Russell Johnson appeared to put the game on ice with a jumper that stretched the Colonial lead out to 62-48, but the Seahawks had other ideas. Over the final 6:53 of the game, the Green & White turned in arguably one of the finest offensive stretches in the Division I (D-1) ranks this season. Rivers got things started with a pair from the line, before Ortiz hit a jumper and Jonathon Williams split a pair from the line to trim to deficit to single-digits at 62-53 with 5:54 to play.

Coron Williams briefly answered with a layup as Jonathon Williams converted an old-fashioned three-point play and Ortiz a layup to make it a six-point game at 64-58 with just over five minutes remaining. The teams would then trade baskets before Johnson hit what appeared to be a back-breaking three pointer with just over four minutes to play. Undaunted, Wagner responded with a long Rivers jumper and a Josh Thompson (Sr., Bridgeton, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) layup off a Williams steal to slice the lead to 69-64 at the final media timeout of the game (3:27).

The brief break did nothing to corral the Seahawk momentum as Velton Jones missed the front end of a one-and-one and after trading possessions, Rivers hit his third triple of the night to make it a 69-67 game with 2:03 remaining. After the teams traded turnovers, Karvel Anderson hit a long three pointer to extend the RMU lead back out to five at 72-67 with 1:05 remaining.

Ortiz answered on the other end with a pair from the line and Wagner forced a miss as Rivers converted a layup to pull the visitors to within one at 72-71 with just 13 seconds to play. Lucky Jones then missed the first of two from the line, before sinking the second to make it a 73-71 game. Ortiz then tied the game up for the first time since the opening tip at 73-73 with a floater with six seconds to play. Robert Morris had one last chance to win the game, but Johnson's last-gasp three pointer failed to drop as the teams would need another five minutes to decide the outcome.

All told, the Seahawks outscored their hosts by a 25-11 margin, highlighted by nine points off five Colonial turnovers, over the final 6:53 while making good on 9-of-10 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the line to force overtime.

In the overtime period, Wagner controlled the tip but could not convert on either of the its first two possessions as Johnson hit a pair from the line and Lucky Jones converted a layup to give the Robert Morris a 77-73 lead with 3:29 to play. The tide appeared to turn when Velton Jones picked up his fifth foul of the game on the offensive end.

On the ensuing trip down the court, Jonathon Williams converted a three-point play to make it a one-point game at 77-76 with 2:47 remaining. The teams would then trade points, before each team failed to score on each of their next three possessions. Karvel Anderson broke the drought with a pair from the line to extend the lead to 81-78 with 12 seconds to play. Jonathan Williams was fouled on the other and after making the first free throw, the Seahawks were whistled for a lane violation that gave the ball back to RMU. Lucky Jones then put the game on ice with a pair from the line while providing the final 83-79 tally.

Wagner shot a blistering 60.9 percent in the second half en route to converting on an even 50.0 percent (25-for-50) for the game, including 44.4 percent (4-for-9) from long range. Robert Morris made good on 58.8 percent in the opening stanza en route to shooting a solid 47.2 percent (25-for-53) from the field, but was able to convert on 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from deep.

The Seahawks won the battle of the glass by a 34-26 margin, leading to a 32-24 scoring advantage in the paint. The visitors also used their full-court press to help fuel a 14-8 advantage in fast break points.

After going scoreless in the opening stanza, Rivers scored all of his game-high 22 points after halftime while finishing up 6-for-11 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from long range, and 6-of-7 from the line en route to recording his 13th career 20-point game. Over his last three games, the Garden State native is averaging a blistering 22.7 points per game while shooting 61.8 percent (21-for-34) shooting from the floor, including 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from long range.

Ortiz, who also finished with 22 points, fell one point short of his career-high while making good on 8-of-11 from the field and 6-of-7 from the line over a game-high 42 minutes. The reigning NEC Defensive Player of the Year also notched his fifth four-steal game of the year while handing out four assists with three rebounds. Jonathon Williams rounded out the Green & White double-figure scorers with 12 points.

Johnson and Lucky Jones each scored 21 points to lead the Colonials. Reigning First Team All-NEC selection Velton Jones also had a solid game with six assists, four steals and five points over 30 minutes.

In the first half, RMU scored the first five points and led 18-4 just over six minutes into the game. After Wagner drew to within 10 at 29-19 at the 5:36 mark of the first half, the Colonials responded with 11-straight points in opening up a 40-19 lead. As would be the case for the rest of the night, the Seahawks answered with an 8-2 half-ending run that was punctuated by a Moody dunk off a lob from Ortiz that made it a 42-25 game at intermission.

The Green & White returns home to host Central Connecticut in a Valentine's Day tilt at 7:00 pm at the Spiro Sports Center.

Notes:
* Wagner had two players score at least 20 points in a game for the first time since defeating North Carolina Central 87-83 on November 16, 2011.

* The Seahawks have now played in a school-record six overtime games, going 4-2 during that time.

* Over six career games against Robert Morris, Rivers is averaging 17.7 points per game and has scored at least 20 points on three occasions.

* Rivers now has 1,048 career points and moved past Charlie Harreus into 36th place on the all-time Seahawk scoring list.

* The Colonials improve to 37-24 in the all-time series, including posting a 24-7 record at home.

* Robert Morris has now won eight-straight games in Moon Township against Wagner, with the Seahawks last winning on March 3, 2005.

* Despite the loss, the Green & White is 12-5 in overtime games since the 2007-2008 season.

* Head coach Bashir Mason coached his final game as a 28-year old ... The youngest head coach in America will turn 29 on February 11th and is the nation's lone D-I head man under the age of 30.

* Wagner outshot the opposition from the field for the sixth-straight game.

* The Seahawks 25 free throws are a season-high and the most since recording 25 against the Colonials in the semifinals of last year's NEC Tournament.

* Wagner will return home to the Spiro Sports Center for three of its next four games and is an impressive 7-2 at the Spiro Sports Center this season and 19-5 over the last two years.

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 CSI Photography (Dave Hahn)