Pictured Above: Redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman, who poured in a team-high 17 points against UMass (Photo By: Brian Foley Photography)

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Amherst, MA - Despite trimming the deficit to just two with 5:25 remaining in the contest, the Wagner men's basketball team dropped a 62-55 decision on the road at Massachusetts (UMass) on Wednesday evening.

With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 2-4 on the season, while the Minutemen improve to 5-1 on the year. 

Redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan [University of Rhode Island]) poured in a team-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 33 minutes of play. Junior guard Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) added 14 points while dishing out a game-best six helpers in 40 minutes of action.

The Minutemen had three in double-figures, paced by 19 from C.J. Anderson on 8-of-11 shooting. Malik Hines added 14 points on 4-of-5 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Donte Clark rounded out the scoring with 11 points and dished out four assists. 

Wagner raced out to a 5-4 lead, with Henson responsible for the Seahawks' early points after hitting a pair of mid-range jumpers and adding one from the free throw line. The Minutemen answered back with a 17-7 run over the next 6:30, giving UMass a seven-point lead at 19-12. Wagner was held to just 3-of-7 during the run, while the Minutemen converted 8-of-12 and forced three Seahawk turnovers. 

Wagner was able to trim the deficit down to two, as sophomore guard Devin Liggeons (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) hit a corner three-pointer off the feed from senior Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]), who added a jumper a minute later that found the visitors down 19-17.  UMass closed out the first half outscoring Wagner 15-12 and took a 34-29 lead into the break. The Seahawks shot 50.0 percent from the field (11-of-22) but were only 4-of-10 from the free-throw line while holding the Minutemen to just three attempts from the charity stripe (1-of-3). 

Wagner opened the second half with nine points to trim the UMass deficit to just 40-38.  The Minutemen brought the lead back to six, 44-38, after a pair of Wagner turnovers led to back-to-back dunks and a layup from Zach Lewis. After Aaman had made one from the free-throw line, bringing the UMass lead down to five, Tyrn Flowers hit a corner three-pointer that increased the lead back up to eight. 

In large part to the tenacious Seahawk defense, Wagner was able to tie the game at 47, with an 8-0 run capped by a Aaman left-handed layup with 9:21 left to go in the contest. After sophomore guard Devin Liggeons (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) made 1-of-3 from the charity stripe, UMass closed the game out on a 13-7 spurt in taking a 62-55 victory for their fourth-straight win.

For the contest Wagner shot 46.5 percent from the field. Both teams pulled down 31 rebounds. The Minutemen scored 34 of its 62 points in the paint while converting 24 points off 19 Wagner turnovers. 

The Seahawks return to the Spiro Sports Center to open the month of December as they welcome its third Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) of the season, the Monmouth University Hawks, on December 6 at 7:00 pm. 

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