Pictured Above: Redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman, who posted his fifth career double-double today at home against Rider (Photo: David Saffran/Wagner Athletics)

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Staten Island, NY – A late comeback attempt was not enough, as the Wagner men's basketball fell at home to the Rider University Broncs, 70-67, on Saturday afternoon. 

With the loss, Wagner falls to 2-3 on the season while Rider improves to 3-2, all coming on the road. Three Seahawks finished in double figures led by redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan [Rhode Island]) fifth career double-double, finishing the contest with a team-leading 13 points and ten rebounds. 

For the fourth straight game, junior guard JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord) reached double-digits, ending with 12 points in 39 minutes of play.  Fellow classmate Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) chipped in 12 off the bench. Senior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) matched Aaman's team-high ten rebounds while adding eight points in 33 minutes of play.  

Four Broncs went for double-figures, led by Dimencio Vaughn's team-best 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and adding a team-leading 11 caroms in the contest. Stevie Jordan notched 12 points and dished out five assists while Jimmie Taylor and Tyere Marshall each added ten points in the win. 

Wagner held the upper hand in the first half of play. Over the first 9:46 of the contest, the Green & White raced out to a 21-12 lead as Henson launched three three-pointers in building the nine-point lead. Rider closed out the first half outscoring the Seahawks, 21-16, but it was the Green & White who held a 37-33 lead at halftime. The Seahawks held an 18-11 lead on the boards while scoring 13 points off second chance opportunities and holding Rider to zero points off second chances.

As play resumed for the second half, Wagner held a 52-43 advantage, thanks to outscoring Rider 15-10 over the ten-minute span and capped the spurt with a three-point from sophomore guard Devin Liggeons (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) as he received the feed from Cooper.  

Vaughn made both his attempts at the free throw line, cutting the Seahawks lead to seven, 52-45, with 9:39 to go before Aaman muscled his way in the post for his 13th point of the contest, pushing the Wagner lead back up to nine, 54-45. A Kahlil Thomas layup with 8:55 to go made it a 54-47 game and ignited a 14-2 run over a 4:26 stretch that saw the visitors take its first lead of the contest when Jordan was able to drill the mid-range jumper with 5:39 left. Marshall followed up with a layup that saw the lead increase to three, 59-56. 

Cooper was fouled with 4:29 showing on the clock. After the third-year Seahawk had made both from the line, Rider sparked a mini 7-2 run, extending its lead to six, 66-60, as Jordan went 1-of-2 from the line. Carey was able to drive to the hoop and draw contact after banking a layup off the window, cutting the Rider lead to just 66-62 with thirty-five seconds on the clock. Taylor made two more freebies at the line, pushing the visitors lead back up to six, 68-62.

On the ensuing Wagner possession, Cooper was able to bring the ball up quickly and launch a three-point that swished in cutting the deficit to just 68-65. Rider had trouble getting the ball across as Liggeons was able to swipe the ball and make his way to the basket, bringing Wagner to within one, 68-67.  Wagner had one final chance after Taylor made two more free throws as Henson got the ball from beyond-the-arc but was smothered by two Broncs defenders as Rider escaped with the three-point victory.

For the game, Wagner was held to just 39.3 percent from the field and for the first time this season. The Seahawks were out-rebounded 39-33 (25-17 on the defensive glass). Rider finished the game shooting 48.1 percent from the field but was held to just 16.7 percent from long range (2-of-12). The Broncs scored 40 of its 70 points inside the paint while the Seahawks scored 21 of its 67 points off second chance opportunities.

Wagner will close out the month of November on the road as they travel to Amherst, MA to meet Atlantic 10 member, Massachusetts in a 7:00 p.m tip on November 30 from Mullins Center.

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