Staten Island, NY - Junior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) posted his fourth double-double of the season while sophomore guard Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) tallied a team-leading 11 points to lead Wagner to a 65-56 victory over Bryant.

Tonight's contest, which was contested in front of 2,023 screaming fans at the Spiro Sports Center, was shown to a national television audience on CBS Sports Network. The Seahawks and Bulldogs met on the network for the second time in the last three years.
 
Wagner improves to 9-5 on the season, 2-1 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play and a perfect 6-0 at the Spiro Sports Center.  Bryant, who entered tonight averaging 86.5 points in conference play and have wins over Fairleigh Dickinson and Central Connecticut, falls to 5-11 overall and are also 2-1 in league action.  With the victory tonight, the Seahawks matched the best start in a 14-game stretch under head coach Bashir Mason, as the 2015-16 Seahawks and the 2012-13 teams began their seasons with identical 9-5 marks.
 
For the versatile 6'5" Carey, the junior guard finished with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, but, it was his prowess on the glass that helped Wagner secure the victory as the Nassau, Bahamas native corralled a career-high 15 rebounds while also dishing a career-best four assists in 37 minutes of play.
 
Henson's 11 points marked his 24th career double-digit scoring games, 11th this season, and fourth in the last five games.
 
Classmate Japhet Kadji (Douala, Cameroon/Gulliver Prep [IMG Academy]) was the third Seahawk to reach double-figures, adding 10 points in 22 minutes of play.  Redshirt senior guard Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI/Suttons Bay [Michigan State]) narrowly missed out on his second-ever double-double, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds, to go with a career-high four blocks to aid in Wagner's third victory in the last five games.
 
Redshirt-senior forward Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan/Rhode Island) and graduate student Henry Brooks (New Orleans, LA/Miller Grove [University of Pennsylvania, a pair of 6'8" inside forces, effectively controlled the paint for Wagner all evening.
 
Aaman finished with eight points and eight rebounds while Brooks added seven, none more important than the 10-foot jumper he stuck late in the shot clock, off a pretty feed from Carey, with 1:11 left to play that gave Wagner a 57-51 lead.
 
Bryant had three players in double figures, led by NEC Preseason selection Dan Garvin, who recorded a team-high 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting while pulling down six rebounds in 32 minutes.  Curtis Oakley, Jr. added 12 points and six caroms in reserve while Hunter Ware was the final Bulldog to reach double-digits, ending with 11 points on just 2-of-9 shooting.
 
Wagner kicked off the game on an 8-0 run, holding the visitors without a field goal for nearly six minutes.  The Bulldogs responded in the form of six of the next eight points, cutting the deficit to four, 10-6, when Andrew Scocca converted a pair from the free-throw line.
 
The Seahawks answered with a 10-2 run of its own to take its largest lead of the game, 20-8, with 8:56 showing on the game clock. During this stretch, Wagner converted on 80.0 percent from the field while holding Bryant again without a field goal in its five chances as Brooks and Henson combined to net seven of the 10 points during the run.
 
Bryant managed to regain its form, however, trimming the Wagner lead to just a single possession, 28-25, with 1:06 to go before intermission, thanks to a 17-8 outburst, which limited Wagner to 2-of-13 shooting. The Seahawks took a 31-27 lead heading into the break.
 
Over a 9:30 period, Bryant was able to take the lead at 47-43, capped off by outscoring the Green & White, 20-12, over a 13:37 frame. The Bulldogs found their rhythm from deep, converting on 3-of-5 while Wagner struggled, hitting on 5-of-20 from the field and just 1-of-7 from three-point range.
 
From that point on, the Seahawks went on a 12-2 burst, regaining a six-point lead, 55-49, as sophomore guard JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord) hit the front end of a one-and-one.
 
After Oakley had hit a layup on one of Shane McLaughlin's eight assists, the lead was cut down to four, 55-51, with 1:43 showing on the clock, before Wagner closed the game on a 10-5 run, sparked by Brooks' clutch, shot-clock beating jumper at the 1:11 mark.
 
For the contest, Wagner shot 34.9 percent from the field but held a +9 advantage on the boards, 45-36. 
 
The Seahawks take to the road on Saturday when they travel to Fairfield, CT to meet the Sacred Heart Pioneers in a 3:30 p.m. tip-off.

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