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Fairfield, CT - Wagner closed out the first half on a 14-0 run and never looked back en route to posting a 62-55 win over Sacred Heart at the Pitt Center.

With their second-straight victory, the Seahawks improve to 12-11 and 6-4 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Pioneers fall to 4-21 and 1-9 in the league.

Senior Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Southern Mississippi) and junior Jay Harris (Aurora, IL / Valparaiso) each scored 15 to lead the way for the Green & White while senior Orlando Parker (Orlando, FL / Orlando Christian Prep) grabbed a game and career-high 14 rebounds.

Ortiz also led a Wagner defense that turned in its finest performance of the year, limiting SHU to just 26.2 percent (16-of-61) shooting, including a paltry 14.8 percent (4-of-27) from long range, while winning for 26th-straight time when holding the opposition to less than 60 points.

The Seahawks snared an 11-point halftime lead thanks to ending the first period with a 14-0 run and were led by Harris and Ortiz, as the duo combined for 25 of the Green & White's 32 points, including 22-straight over a 12:48 stretch.

After Sacred Heart took a 21-18 lead with 8:11 remaining in the first half following a Steve Glowiak three pointer, Harris quickly answered with a triple of his own off a nifty pass from Ortiz while tying up the score. Ortiz then converted a pair of layups in extending the lead out to 25-21 with 5:08 remaining while forcing a Pioneer timeout in the process. The stoppage did little to quell the momentum as Harris converted a layup following an Ortiz steal. After stopping SHU on the other end, Ortiz canned a three pointer off a Harris pass before senior Naofall Folahan (Cotonou, Republic of Benin / Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA)) hit a pair from the line while capping a game-changing 14-0 run that turned a three-point deficit into a 32-21 halftime advantage.

During the run, Wagner pressured Sacred Heart into 10-straight missed shots, including six triple from long range, while forcing three turnovers that led to six points.

After the break, the Pioneers quickly trimmed the deficit to seven at 34-27 with just under 17 minutes remaining only to see Harris answer with an up-and-under layup off an offense rebound while jump-starting a 9-0 run that extended the lead out to 43-27 with 14:46 remaining. The lead would grow to a game-high 17 at 53-36 with 8:21 to play on a Langston Burnett (Beltsville, MD / St. Vincent Pallotti) three pointer.

Sacred Heart would continue to battle and closed the game on a 10-1 run to provide the final 62-55 ledger as the Seahawks defeated the Pioneers for the third-straight time.

Senior Latif Rivers (Elizabeth, NJ / Avon Old Farms (CT)) rounded out the double-digit performers for the Green & White with 10 points.

Wagner shot 35.0 percent (21-of-60) from the field, including 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from deep, and turned 13 miscues into a 21-11 advantage in points off turnovers.

Evan Kelley scored 18 of his game-high 20 points after halftime to lead the way for SHU while Louis Montes (13) and Glowiak (10) each notced double-figures.

The Seahawks returns to action at Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday, February 13 at 7:00 pm.

Notes:
* Wagner has claimed five of the last six meetings between the teams and the last three match-ups at the Pitt Center.

* The Seahawks hold a 17-12 edge in the all-time series, including 17-10 since ascending to D-I for the 1976-1977 season.

* It was the 69th win for the senior class of Folahan, Ortiz, Parker and Rivers, matching the Wagner D-1 school-record set by the Class of 2005.

* The 16 SHU field goals were the fewest allowed by the Green & White this season while the 21 first-half points were tied for the fewest allowed in a stanza this season.

* Sacred Heart's 14.8 percent conversion rate from long range marked the sixth time this season that Wagner has limited the opposition to less than 20 percent shooting from deep.

* Over the last two victories over the Pioneers, Ortiz is averaging 16.0 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals each time out.

* Ortiz also went over the 900-point and 400-assists plateaus and now has 905 markers (935 career) and 402 (424 career) helpers in his three years on Grymes Hill.

* The Green & White is now 6-1 when Parker paces the team on the glass.

* Parker, who now has seven career double-digit rebounding performances, is averaging 9.3 points and 8.2 rebounds since returning to the starting line-up six games ago.

* Since missing the Robert Morris game due to injury, Harris is averaging a team-best 14.5 points per game while also notching 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists each time out.

* Rivers, who matched Harris with a team-best 15.0 points per game on the week, has now converted all 15 of his free throws attempts over the last two games.

* After squaring off with FDU on Thursday, Wagner will play its final five games of the year at home.

* Over the last two victories, the Seahawks have limited FDU and Sacred Heart to a combined 19.5 percent (8-of-41) from long range.

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 for news on the second-year coach. Photography by Dave Saffran.