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Staten Island Advance Recap (Cormac Gordon)

Brooklyn, NY- The Wagner men's basketball team picked a pivotal Northeast Conference (NEC) victory as they defeated the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds, 60-47, at the Steinberg Wellness Center on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Seahawks, even their NEC record at 8-8 while improving to 10-17 overall on the season.  The Blackbirds, meanwhile, also sports an 8-8 league mark while their season record stands at 12-15.

After the completion of all Saturday's games, Wagner finds themselves in a three-way tie for fifth place with the Blackbirds and Saint Francis U., who were defeated by St. Francis Brooklyn earlier in the day, 66-54, giving the Terriers the 2014-15 NEC Regular season championship. 

Senior guard Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC/David W. Butler) recorded his 15^th straight double-digit scoring performance and his tenth 20-point effort this season as the fourth-year shooting guard tallied 20 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the field, which includes a 5-of-11 performance in the second half alone.  The Charlotte, NC native now stands 31^st all-time on Wagner's all-time scoring list, surpassing Rice's mark of 1,101.  Burton enters next week's season finale need just five points to leapfrog Harry Orlando's ('60) total of 1,117.

Junior forward Stedman Allen (Bronx, NY/Labette C.C.(KS)) recorded his first career "double-double" finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds.  The 12 points match a career-best for the athletic 6-6 forward when he dropped 12 against Saint Francis U in the conference opener back on January 3^rd.  Sophomore forward Nolan Long (Waterford, CT/Waterford/South Kent) contributed eight points on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting while pulling down six caroms in the process.

The Blackbirds didn't have a single player score in double figures, but were led by Glenn Feidanga's eight points.  Trevin Woods and Elvar Fridriksson each posted six points with Woods pulling down a team-best seven rebounds. 

Wagner opened the contest with a 14-9 lead after holding the Blackbirds to just a 3-of-10 start, forcing  six LIU Brooklyn turnovers. The Seahawks shot 6-of-15 during this stretch, led by Allen and Cooper, who combined for 10 of the 14 points.

Over the next eleven minutes, Wagner took their largest lead of the half, 33-18, as Burton converted on his ninth point during the visitors' run.  The Seahawks' defense held the Blackbirds to just 2-of-12 during this stretch. In the process, Burton surpassed former Seahawk, Greg Clay ('85) for 32^nd on the all-time scoring list while tying Tony Rice ('95) at 1,101 career points in the process.

For the opening stanza, Wagner held LIU Brooklyn to just 23.1 percent shooting from the floor and 22.2 percent from long range while the outmuscling the home squad by a 25-to-18 advantage. The Seahawks held a commanding 20-to-8 advantage in the paint in the opening frame while turning in 13 points off 13 Blackbird mishaps.

To open the second half, the Green & White sparked a 13-to-2 spurt that saw them take a 46-21 lead in the contest that was capped by a Burton three-pointer.  The Blackbirds were able to trim the deficit to 19, 54-35, thanks to a 14-to-8 run over a eight minute span but the visitors were able to stop the output as sophomore forward Greg Senat (Elmont, NY/Elmont/Marianapolis Prep) was able to flush home a two-hand jam from freshman guard JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord). 

The Blackbirds closed out the contest outscoring the Seahawks, 12-to-2 over the final 4:50 but it was too late as the Seahawks were able to kick off the final three games of the Northeast Conference regular season with a victory. 

Wagner held the Blackbirds to just 22.2 percent shooting from the floor and 21.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Seahawks were a +9 on the boards (46-to-37) while dominating the scoring in the paint, converting 42 of their 60 points from down-low.

The Seahawks remain on the road as they will travel to Moon Township, Pennsylvania to tangle with the Robert Morris University Colonials on February 26^th before the regular season finale at Mount St. Mary's on February 28^th. 

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.