Staten Island, NY – Behind a balanced scoring effort, in which four players finished in double-figures, the Wagner men's basketball team remained perfect at home, running past UMass Lowell 76-62 tonight at the Spiro Sports Center.
With the victory, the Green & White concludes its non-conference schedule with a 7-4 mark while running their home record to a perfect 5-0. The River Hawks fall to 4-9 on the season.
Wagner, which is now 34-11 at home under fourth-year head coach
Bashir Mason, was paced by sophomore guard
Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic), who finished with a game-high 16 points while shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and 3-of-3 from three-point range. Henson also dished out five assists in the process.
Redshirt senior guard
Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI/Suttons Bay [Michigan State]) and junior guard
Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) each added 13 points with Carey posting his third double-double of the year, grabbing 13 caroms, which tied his career-best.
Graduate forward
Henry Brooks (New Orleans, LA/Miller Grove [University of Pennsylvania]) tallied a season-high 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting while grabbing six rebounds, which also marks a season-best for the 6-8 forward.
The River Hawks were led by Matt Harris' 15-point performance while teammate Jahad Thomas added 13 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting night from the field, in addition to corralling a team-high seven rebounds.
After falling behind 7-0 at the outset of the game, the Seahawks went on a 16-4 run over a near 10-minute stretch as the Seahawks took a 16-11 lead following a Brooks jumper off the feed from Henson. During this span, Wagner's defense held UMass Lowell to just 2-of-6 shooting while forcing seven turnovers. Wagner's largest lead of the opening was six, 27-21, after Carey made a pair of free throws with 1:38 to go before the intermission.
Over the first seven minutes of the second half, Wagner outscored UMass Lowell, 15-11, to take a 43-36 lead. The River Hawks were able to trim Wagner's lead to just three, 48-45, after Harris knocked down a top-of-the-key three-pointer off a feed from Josh Gantz. Wagner was able to regain its composure and outscore the River Hawks, 28-17, over the final 9:48 in pulling away for the 14-point win.
The Seahawks shot 54.3 percent from the field while converting on 45.5 percent from three-point range. The Green & White outrebounded UMass Lowell, 32-21. Importantly, Wagner held the River Hawks off the offensive glass in the first half, not allowing the visitors a single offensive carom in the opening stanza.
Northeast Conference (NEC) play commences this weekend as the Seahawks will travel to Western Pennsylvania, starting on January 2, when the team takes on Saint Francis U at DeGol Arena. Tip-off is slated for 4:00 p.m. and will be streamed live on NEC Front Row (www.necfrontrow.com)
