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Staten Island Advance Recap (Cormac Gordon)

Pictured above: Junior forward Mike Aaman(photo by Timothy Sofranko)

Emmitsburg, MD- The Wagner College men's basketball team fell to the defending Northeast Conference champions, the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers, 74-64, in the regular season finale at Knott Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Seahawks conclude the 2014-15 regular season with an overall record of 10-19 and 8-10 in conference and will be the #7 seed as they will travel to the #2 Robert Morris Wednesday, March 4th. The Mountaineers finish the regular season with a record of 15-14; 11-7 and have clinched a home quarterfinal round contest in the upcoming tournament and will host Saint Francis U. 

2015 Northeast Conference Tournament:
#8 LIU at #1 SFBK
#7 WC at #2 RMU
#6 SHU at #3 BRY
#5 SFU at #4 MSM

Leading the way for the Seahawks on the afternoon was junior forward Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan/Rhode Island) as he poured in game-high 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, which included 5-of-6 from the free-throw line in 30 minutes of play.  Fellow classmate Stedman Allen (Bronx, NY/Labette CC) tallied 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field while pulling down six caroms in 28 minutes of action.  Freshman guard and Maryland native Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) contributed 13 points, 11 of which coming in the second half of play. Senior guard Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC/David W. Butler) was held scoreless for the first time this season as he attempted just two shots in 38 minutes of play.  The senior guard did pull down three rebounds and dish out three helpers in defeat.

Mount St. Mary's had four players finish in double-figures, led by Bryon Ashe, who scored 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field to go along with six caroms.  Will Miller and Andrew Smeathers each finished with 11 points while connecting on a combined 8-of-19 from the field and 6-of-14 from beyond the arc. Junior Robinson added ten points, all of which coming in the second stanza.

Mount St. Mary's opened the game on a 6-1 run as the lone point from the Seahawks came off a made freebie from Aaman at the 1730 mark.  The Seahawks responded with a 7-0 spurt, sparked by five points from Kadji, who first banked in a mid-range jumper and on the ensuing possession drained a long three-pointer from top of the key to cut the Mountaineers lead to 8-6.

Wagner once again trimmed the lead back down to two, 13-11, after Henson converted on a difficult layup chance, sending one high off the window over two Mountaineer defenders. After Will Miller converted on three-pointer, Aaman muscled his way for two, cutting the lead back to three, 16-13.

Mount closed out the half outscoring the Seahawks, 19-to-12 to take a slim 34-27 lead as the Mount defense held the Seahawks to just 1-of-7 from long range in the opening half of play. 

When play resumed for the second half, the Mount built a 14 point lead, 45-31, thanks to a Robinson layup. Wagner would then mount a rally, as freshman guard Aaren Edmead (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) connected on three-point to bring the game back to single digits and sparked 10-0 run that found the visitors trailing by just four, 45-41, with 13:10 left to go.

After Khalid Nwandu and Cooper traded back-to-back buckets, the Mountaineers regained their composure, igniting a 11-to-2 run of their own to take their largest lead of the contest, 60-45, with 8:40 left in regulation.

The Seahawks would find themselves trailing by nine, 62-53, after Henson dialed up a trifecta of his own off the feed from Cooper but it would be the closets the Green & White would get as the Mountaineers ended the game outscoring Wagner, 12-to-11, to secure the ten-point victory.

For the game, Wagner shot 37.7 percent from beyond the arc while converting one-third of their attempts from beyond the arc (5-of-15).  Mount St. Mary's converted on 46.7% percent from the field while connecting on a perfect 9-of-9 from the free-throw line, while outrebounding the Seahawks, 39-34.

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