Moon Township, PA – Behind a balanced overall performance, in which four players scored in double-figures, the Wagner men's basketball team earned a gritty, gutty 72-69 Northeast Conference (NEC) win at defending champion Robert Morris this evening.

For Wagner, who improves to 8-5 and 1-1 in league play, the victory at the Charles L. Sewall Center tonight snaps a 12-game losing streak in Moon Township with the last victory occurring back on March 3, 2005, in the NEC Tournament, a 69-65 Wagner win.

Sophomore guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Potomac [Mt. Zion Prep]) led the team in scoring with a season-best 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field off the bench, which included a 3-of-5 performance from long range. The second-year guard, who missed the last two games due to injury, also grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds in 28 minutes of action.  

Redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan [University of Rhode Island]) also gave Wagner a huge boost off the bench, posting his second straight double-digit outing, contributing 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting in 23 minutes of play.  Junior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) tallied 12 points and tied Saunders with eight rebounds despite being saddled with early foul trouble.  Sophomore guard Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) ended the game with 11 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Seahawks

The Colonials, who fall to 2-13 on the year and 0-2 in conference play, also had four players in double-digits, led by Kavon Stewart's game-high 23-point, seven-assist, five-steal outing.  Billy Giles chipped in 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go along with six rebounds, Elijah Minnie netted 13 points, nine of which came from long range, while pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. Rodney Prior was the fourth Colonial to hit for double figures, finishing with 10.

Both teams struggled offensively for the first two minutes of the contest before RMU's Pryor drained a left-elbow jumper for the game's first basket. It took 2:20 for Wagner to score its first basket as sophomore forward Japhet Kadji (Doula, Cameroon/Gulliver Prep/IMG Academy) was able to hit a jumper off a feed from Aaman for two of his eight points on the night. 

After trading buckets for nearly six minutes, Wagner went on a 21-14 run over the next nine minutes, to take a 31-24 lead, thanks to a corner three-pointer from Anderson, who was on the receiving end of a bullet pass from Henson.  RMU scored seven of the half's final 11 points of the half to trim Wagner's lead to 35-31 at the intermission.  For the opening half, the Green & White were dominant on the boards, holding a 24-9 advantage, while controlling the offensive glass, 14-2.  The Seahawks were able to convert 14 points off nine RMU turnovers in the opening frame. 

The Seahawks opened a 10-point lead, their largest of the contest, after Carey hit a driving layup off a feed from redshirt senior guard Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI/Suttons Bay [Michigan State]) with 14:20 remaining. Robert Morris, the NEC's preseason favorite, remained within striking distance. With Wagner leading 64-58 with four minutes left in regulation, the Colonials went on an 11-6 spurt, capped by a three-pointer from Matty McConnell at the 1:16 mark, drawing RMU to within one, 70-69.  

The score remained so until Carey sank a pair of clutch free throws with six seconds left to make it a 72-69 game. After RMU had corralled an offensive rebound off a missed free throw by Kavon Stewart with three seconds left, the Colonials called a timeout to set up a potential overtime-forcing three-point try. RMU executed the final possession well out of the timeout as Pryor had a chance to tie it but his three-pointer was off the mark as Henson grabbed the rebound and Wagner grabbed the win.

For the game, the Seahawks were plus-20 in the rebounding department, 44-24, while outmuscling the Colonials 23-10 on the offensive glass. In the first half, Wagner grabbed 14 offensive caroms to just two offensive boards from RMU.  

Wagner is back in action on Thursday when the Seahawks host the Bryant University Bulldogs in a 7:00 p.m. tip at the Spiro Sports Center in a contest that will be delivered to a national television audience on CBS Sports Network.