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Staten Island, NY - Wagner jumped out to an 11-point halftime lead and never looked back en route to posting a decisive 75-68 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson in Northeast Conference (NEC) action at the Spiro Sports Center.

The Knights trimmed the deficit to seven points on three occasions after halftime but were never able to get any closer as the Seahawks improve to 11-11 and 5-4 in the league while the visitors fall to 8-15 and 4-5 in the NEC.

Senior Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Southern Mississippi) delivered the theatrics with this gravity-defying dunk over a FDU player with 10:47 remaining in the game.

In the first half, Wagner jumped out to what would prove to be an insurmountable 36-25 lead at the break thanks to converting 15-of-20 from the line and using a 7-0 advantage on second chance points. After Kyle Pearson gave FDU a 12-9 lead with 12:33 to play in the half, Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI / Michigan State) answered with a three pointer while triggering a 15-3 run over the next five-plus minutes in staking the Seahawks to a 24-15 advantage with just seven minutes until halftime. The lead would grow to 36-25 thanks to a half-ending 5-0 spurt.

Fairleigh Dickinson continued to fight and trimmed the deficit to 49-42 with 10:51 remaining following a Xavier Harris three-point play and appeared to have momentum on its side. However, after breaking the press, Ortiz converted a three-point play of his own with his aforementioned dunk before hitting the free throw.

Ortiz's slam sparked a 13-4 run over the next 4:11 that extended the Wagner advantage out to a game-high 16 at 62-46 with 5:59 remaining and was punctuated by an Anderson dunk off an Ortiz pass. The Knights would trim it to seven with seven seconds to play before senior Latif Rivers capped his 17th career 20-point game with a pair from the line to end any chance of a FDU rally.

Sidney Sander, Jr. scored a game-high 24 points, on 9-of-16 shooting, with five assists and three steals to lead the way for Fairleigh Dickinson while Malachi Nix added 11 points off the bench.

Rivers was a perfect 10-for-10 from the line and with his 20-point outing he moved past Fred Klittich into 14th place in school history and now has 1,415 points. Harris added 15 points while Anderson matched his career-high with 12 points. Ortiz also hit for double-figures with 11 markers to go along with a game-high eight assists and three steals.

Senior Orlando Parker (Orlando, FL / Orlando Christian Prep) led the defense with a game and career-high 12 rebounds and three blocks while classmate Naofall Folahan (Cotonou, Republic of Benin / Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA)) rejected five shots with six caroms. Folahan's five blocks also give him 201 for his career while ranking him fifth in NEC history.

Wagner shot a solid 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the game, including 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from deep, and 71.4 percent (25-of-35) from the line while controlling the glass by a 42-32 margin.

Fairleigh Dickinson, which entered averaging eight triples per game, was limited to just four by a tenacious Seahawk defense that didn't allow the Knight shooters many open looks. Despite this, FDU was able to convert 41.3 percent (26-of-63) from the floor thanks to a 42-30 advantage in the paints.

The Green & White returns to action on Saturday, February 8 at Sacred Heart with tip time slated for 2:00 pm.

Notes:
* The win was the 30th for Bashir Mason in his brief two-year career on Grymes Hill.

* Folahan is now 43 rejections behind St. Francis Brooklyn's Julian McKelly for fourth place (244) in the all-time NEC annals.

* Wagner is 27-8 and 17-4 in the NEC at home over the last three years.

* The Seahawks also improved to 19-7 following a loss during that time.

* Wagner defeated FDU for the sixth-straight time and has won 14 of their last 15 games against schools from New Jersey.

* Former graduate manager Dwayne Lee was on the Knights' coaching staff.

* Ortiz eight helpers marked the 19th time in his career that the Green & White floor general has handed out at least seven assists in a game with Wagner going 16-3 during that time.

* Rivers has now notched at least 20 points on 17 occasions with Wagner posting a 14-3 record in those games and has paced the Seahawks in scoring 34 times in his career.

* His 10 free throws give him 343 for his career while moving Jamie Ciampaglio and Frantz Pierre-Louis into fifth place on the all-time conversions list.

* Parker's 12 caroms match his career high set against Robert Morris on January 6, 2011.

* Over the last three years, Wagner is 29-16 in games decided by 10 points or less, 50-2 when leading with five minutes to play, 41-3 when leading at the half, 42-2 when allowing less than 70 points.

* Additionally, the Seahawks won for the first time this season when being outshot by the opposition.

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