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Staten Island, NY – Senior guard Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC/David W. Butler) scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and freshman guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Mt. Zion Prep) added 17 points to lead the Wagner men's basketball team to a hard-earned 87-82 win over LIU Brooklyn in a wild, back-and-forth contest that featured 16 lead changes and 11 ties.
 
With the victory, in a game that was seen on ESPN 3, the Seahawks improve their season record to 4-11 and are now 2-2 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play while the Blackbirds fall to 5-10 overall, 1-3 in league.
 
Today's win capped a three-game home swing with a 2-1 record as the Seahawks now hit the road of a pair of NEC contests, playing at Bryant on Thursday, January 15 at 7:00 p.m., before making the short trek to Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, January 17 with tip-off vs. the Knights set for 4:30 p.m.

Burton, who is averaging 20.0 points per game over his last five contests and 25.7 points in three games this week, recorded his 40^th career double-figure scoring performance and third consecutive. The 6-0 guard, who has now scored 858 career points, began the week with a career-high 38-point outing in Monday's's pulsating 85-82, double-overtime win over defending NEC champion Mount St. Mary's and followed with a 21-point effort in Thursday night's four-point loss to Robert Morris.

Saunders, a smooth 6-3 guard, has now scored in double-figures in four of the last five games, while shooting a superb 5-of-6 from the field, and was unblemished from both beyond the arc (3-of-3) and from the free-throw line (4-of-4) in 33 minutes of action. A pair of post players also played a significant role for the Seahawks on the afternoon as sophomore dual-sport athlete Nolan Long, a 6-10 forward who doubles as a pitcher on the Seahawk baseball team, notched a season-high 11 points in posting his first double-scoring game since the season opener at No. 11|9 Maryland when he had 10. Junior forward Stedman Allen (Bronx, NY / Eagle Academy/Labette CC) also finished with 11, one shy of his career high of 12 that he set in the NEC opener at Saint Francis U. on January 3^.

Four Blackbirds finished in double-figures, led by Joel Hernandez' 18-point output, which came on an effective 8-of-11 shooting from the field, while logging 29 minutes of action. Nura Zanna shot a perfect 6-of-6 from the field en route to finishing with 17, in 16 minutes of play, while Martin Hermannsson and Gerrell Martin added 14 and 10, respectively, on a combined 7-of-15 shooting.

After LIU's Elvar Fridriksson made both of his free-throw attempts to tie the game at 66-66 with 7:54 left, Burton came down on the ensuing possession and launched a three-pointer that misfired but Long, who pulled down four caroms, was able to locate the loose ball and was subsequently fouled by Jamil Hood. Thesecond-year forward calmly sank both free throws, giving Wagner a 68-66 edge with 7:39 left to play.

Over the next 2:18, the Blackbirds went on a 9-0 run, kick-started by a three-pointer from Trevin Woods, and capped b a Zanna layup, giving the visitors a 75-68 lead with 5:21 left.  LIU limited Wagner to just one field goal during this stretch, forcing two turnovers while hitting, 3-of-4 shots, with Zanna leading the charge with six points.

The young Seahawks then showed great resiliency, embarking on a key 11-1 run, triggered by Burton, who dialed up a  three-pointer off a feed from freshman guard Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic), which stopped the Blackbird run and closed the gap to four, 75-71, with 5:05 remaining.

After Martin turned the ball over for LIU, Henson was the beneficiary of a terrific pass from classmate, JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord), who was able to spot Henson in the corner and the 6-3 wing took advantage, drilling the chance, which brought the Seahawks to within one, 75-74, at the 4:31 mark.

The lone point tallied by the Blackbirds during the 11-1 Seahawk surge came on a Landon Atterberry free throw at the 3:10 mark which knotted the game at 76-76.
With 2:25 left, Long again made his presence felt, tipping home a missed as Burton layup attempt while being fouled in the process. After Long converted the three-point play, Saunders was called for reach-in foul, sending Hernandez to the line for two, which he proceeded to make, cutting the Green & White lead to one, 79-78 with 2:11 left.

After the teams split the next eight points, Hermannsson tipped in a Hernandez missed layup opportunity to again cut the Seahawk lead to one at 83-82. Following a timeout at the 52-second mark, Saunders had a chance to put his team up three but his running one-hander was rejected by Atterberry  and the rebound bounced off a Wagner player.

With LIU trailing by that same 83-82 count at the 23-second mark, Henson came up with a steal from Hermannsson and found Saunders, who was immediately fouled by Atterberry. Showing no no signs of jitters, the first-year guard sank both attempts, giving Wagner an 85-82 lead before Burton sealed the game from the line, hitting a pair with five ticks left as Wagner fashioned a satisfying five-point win.

Statistically, both teams pulled down 29 rebounds in the contest, with the Blackbirds holding a slight 21-18 edge on the defensive glass but the Seahawks, who shot 49.2 percent from the field and 43.8 from beyond the arc, were able to force 18 turnovers and score on 23 points of those LIU Brooklyn miscues.  Wagner held a 30-17 edge off the bench, while recording 18 points on second-chance points.  

Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department and on the men's basketball program and head coach Bashir Mason (@BashirMason) for news on the third-year head coach.