Pictured Above: Corey Henson in action tonight vs. St. John's 

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Queens, NY – In a competitive, back-and-forth contest that featured seven ties and 19 lead changes, St. John's managed to hold off Wagner behind 18 points from guard Frederico Mussini tonight in front of a crowd of 4,677 at Carnesecca Arena in the 2015-16 season opener for both teams.
 
Sophomore guard Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) paced the Seahawks with 16 points, sophomore forward Japhet Kadji added a career-high 14 while redshirt-senior guard Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI/Suttons Bay [Michigan State]) recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-best 13 rebounds.
 
For St. John's first-year head coach Chris Mullin, tonight's win marked his first as a college coach. Mullin, the school's career scoring leader who led the Red Storm to their last Final Four appearance in 1985, didn't have win No. one win sealed until Mussini, a native of Italy, hit a three-pointer from the right corner with one second left on the shot clock to give St. John's a 60-54 lead with 1:16 to play. This six-point margin matched the Red Storm's largest lead to that point.
 
Trailing 19-18, the Seahawks went on 6-0 run in taking their biggest lead of the game, a five-point margin at 24-19. JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord) made one-of-two from the line to tie the game at 19-19, before Anderson soared free on a fast-break dunk off a steal and pass-ahead from Cooper. Kadji then completed the 6-0 surge with a three-pointer from the head of the circle, off of another feed from Cooper, that made it 24-19 with 5:04 left in the opening half.
 
The Johnnies, however, would close the half on a 13-7 run in eking out a 32-31 halftime lead.
 
Wagner's last lead of the game came on a three-ball from Kadji with 11:37 remaining in the game which gave the Seahawks a 46-45 edge.
 
After a Kadji layup at the 6:20 mark drew the Green & White to within 53-50, neither team could manage a point during a 3:18 scoreless spell until Mark Ellison split a pair from the line to make it a 54-50 game with 3:02 left. Wagner would get back to within three on two occasions, the last coming on yet another Kadji three-pointer, which pulled the Seahawks to within 57-54 at the 1:47 mark.
 
It was on the very next possession when St. John's worked the ball around the perimeter until Durand Johnson found Mussini in the deep right corner, and the native of Italy pulled the trigger with one tick left on the shot clock, delivering the dagger three that made it a 60-54 game with 1:15 to go. St. John's was then able to hang from there in posting the 66-57 win.
 
Henson's 16-point outing came on 6-of-15 shooting, which included 50% marksmanship (4-of-8) from three-point range. Kadji's 14-point effort came on 5-of-10 shooting and was also fueled by a hot hand from deep as the sinewy 6-7 Floridian was a smooth 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Henry Brooks (New Orleans, LA/Miller Grove), a 6-8 transfer from the University of Pennsylvania, a first-year Seahawk competing as a fifth-year senior, had a quietly effective opening night, totaling four points and five rebounds during a 21-minute stint.
 
For St. John's, in addition to Mussino's 18, Johnson delivered a 12-point, eight-rebound effort while Ron Mvoika and Malik Ellison chipped in with nine and eight points, respectively.
 
The scrappy Seahawks won the battle of the boards against the bigger, homestanding Big East team, out-rebounding the Johnnies 42-38. St. John's out-shot Wagner 45%-32% from the field. Neither team distinguished itself from the charity stripe as St. John's hit 60% (15-of-25) of its free throws while the Seahawks managed just 55% (11-of-20).
 
Wagner now faces a quick turnaround as the Seahawks meet their second straight Big East foe on Sunday, November 15, when they square off with Seton Hall. Tip-off from Walsh Auditorium on the Pirates' South Orange, NJ campus is set for 1:30 p.m.  The Hall opened its season tonight with an 84-67 win over Dartmouth at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
 
As was the case tonight, Sunday's tilt will also be televised on Fox Sports 1.
 
Follow Wagner Athletics on Facebook (facebook.com/WagnerAthletics), Twitter (@wagnerathletics), Instagram (@wagnerathletics) and YouTube (@WagnerSeahawks) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department. Follow Wagner MBasketball on Twitter (@Wagner_MBB) for the latest news and updates on the 2015-16 Wagner Men's Basketball team and head coach Bashir Mason (@BashirMason) for news on the fourth-year head coach.