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Emmitsburg, MD - Mount St. Mary's used a 19-3 run early in the second half to break open what was a two-point game en route to posting an 89-80 victory over Wagner in front of a regionally televised
Fox College Sports (FCS) audience at Knott Arena.
Julian Norfleet scored a game-high 28 points while Rashad Whack chipped in with 27 in helping the Mountaineers improve to 6-10 and 2-1 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) as the Seahawks see their three-game winning streak snapped in falling to 8-8 and 2-1 in the league.
Senior
Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) scored 12 of his team-best 18 points after halftime and junior
Mario Moody (Jersey City, NJ / East Orange Campus) recorded 17 points and 13 rebounds in collecting his second-straight double-double and the third in four games to lead the way for the Green & White.
In the first half, Wagner struck first as junior
Jay Harris (Aurora, IL / Valparaiso) scored the first five points before Moody delivered a ferocious alley-oop pass from sophomore
Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI / Michigan State) in giving the Seahawks an early 7-1 lead. The Mount quickly answered with a 14-0 run that took just under four minutes in taking its first of the game at 15-7.
Later in the half with Mount St. Mary's clinging to a 21-15 lead, Anderson reclaimed the lead for the Seahawks with nine-straight points while helping spark an 11-0 run. The Michigan State transfer slammed home a pair of
Kenneth Ortiz (Sr., Newark, NJ / Southern Mississippi) passes and canned a three pointer off another Ortiz helper to reclaim the lead for the Green & White. Following another defensive stop, Anderson hit a step-back jumper and Ortiz followed with a lay-up to put Wagner in front 26-21 with 4:52 until intermission.
The Seahawk lead would grow to seven at 33-26 with 2:27 to play before halftime following
Marcus Burton's (Jr., Charlotte, NC / David W. Butler) driving layup. Unfortunately, in keeping the game of runs theme, the Mountaineers answered with a Whack three pointer that spurred a half-ending 11-2 spurt in leading to a 37-35 Mount lead at the break.
After halftime, Mount St. Mary's ripped off 12-straight points to stretch the lead to 57-43 with 13:16 to play. Moody briefly quelled the spurt with an old-fashioned three-point play, only to see the Mountaineers score seven more in a row in opening up what would prove to be an insurmountable 64-46 advantage with 12:31 remaining while forcing a Green & White timeout.
After the Mount stretched the lead to a game-high 22 at 80-58 with 7:20 to play, Wagner quickly trimmed nine points off the lead before Byron Ashe make it and 87-71 game with 3:52 to play. Moody answered with a free throw and Ortiz scored four-straight, before Anderson hit a jumper to trim the deficit to 87-78 with 1:51 remaining while forcing a timeout. Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Seahawks would get in seeing their five-game streak against Mount St. Mary's snapped.
The Mount shot 46.2 percent (30-for-65) from the field, including 41.7 percent (10-for-24) from long range, while winning the rebounding battle (38-36) and turning 19 Green & White miscues into a 34-17 advantage in points off turnovers. Wagner, meanwhile, lost for the first time this season with outshooting the opposition, finishing up at 49.2 percent (30-for-61).
Unfortunately, the Seahawks made good on just 27.3 percent (3-for-11) from deep, including misfiring on all five second-half attempts.
Joining Rivers and Moody in double-figures was Burton with 13 points and Anderson, who matched his career-high of 12 for the second-straight game. Ortiz facilitated an offense effort that resulted in a 50-36 Green & White advantage in the paint with a game-high nine assists go along with eight markers.
Wagner returns to action on Saturday, January 18 at Saint Francis University with tip time slated for 2:00 pm.
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.