Staten Island, NY – The Wagner men's basketball team jumped out to a quick 18-5 start but Sacred Heart fought back to take a 37-31 halftime lead and went on to record a 67-58 victory over the Seahawks this afternoon at the Spiro Sports Center.
With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 12-7 on the season, 5-3 in the Northeast Conference (NEC), while the Pioneers improve to 5-14 while evening their conference mark at 4-4.
Sophomore guard
Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) led the Seahawks with 17 points and junior guard
Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College] registered his fourth consecutive double-double, and eighth this season, finishing with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Redshirt senior guard
Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI/Suttons Bay [Michigan State]) was the third Seahawk in double figures, finishing with 11 in a career-high 39 minutes of play.
Sacred Heart's win evens the season series as Wagner earned a 76-59 in Fairfield, CT on January 9. Five Pioneers hit for double figures, led by guard Cane Broome's 17 points. Power forward Tevin Falzon recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, Jordan Allen and Quincy McKnight added 11 apiece while Matej Buovac finished with 10.
In opening their early lead, the Seahawks converted on seven of their first ten shots while limiting the Pioneers to just a 2-of-9 shooting start. Carey was the catalyst of the Wagner offense during this stretch, scoring seven of those points.
After Henson had converted on a left-wing three-pointer, Sacred Heart began clawing its way back into the contest, mounting what would become a 28-10 run over the final 9:20 of the half, highlighted by a 13-0 stretch over the final 3:18. During this 13-0 spurt, the Pioneers converted on 4-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, as Broome tallied eight points for the visitors.
For the half, Wagner held a +8 advantage on the boards while the Pioneers were able to orchestrate their comeback in large part to converting 15 points off 11 Seahawk turnovers in the first half.
Sacred Heart was able to build an eight-point lead, 45-37, as Jordan Allen converted on a layup with 16:13 showing on the clock to start the second half of play. The Green & White used an 8-2 run that trimmed the SHU lead to a single possession, 47-45, as Henson drained a three-pointer off the pass from fellow backcourt mate,
JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord).
Both teams traded baskets for the next five and half minutes as Wagner once again found its self-trailing by just two, 54-52, with 6:33 left in regulation as Henson drained a mid-range jumper.
