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Updated Northeast Conference Standings (as of 2/13/2016)

Saunders Heats Up From Outside In Wagner Win, 79-55

Smithfield, RI – Wagner's trademark defensive effort along with a career-high 24 points from sophomore guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Potomac [Mt. Zion Prep]) helped the Seahawks post an emphatic 79-55 wire-to-wire Northeast Conference (NEC) this afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.

In completing the regular season sweep over Bryant, its third such sweep of the season, the Green & White improves to 16-9 on the year, 9-5 in league play while the Bulldogs are 7-20, 4-10 in conference play. Wagner was victorious in the first meeting between these teams, recording a 65-56 victory at the Spiro Sports Center, a game that was televised live on CBS Sports Network. 

The Seahawks are now back in a four-way tie for first-place with Fairleigh Dickinson, who lost at home to Robert Morris today (72-70), Saint Francis U and Mount St. Mary's, who played each other this afternoon with the Mountaineers defeating the Red Flash, 66-61. 

In his second game back in the lineup after missing the previous five due to injury, the 6-3 Saunders was 8-of-12 from the floor, including a red-hot 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) from three-point range. In addition to being a career high, the Maryland native's seven made threes tie for third on the Wagner all-time single-game list. The last Seahawk to hit seven treys in a game was Jay Harris, who knocked down seven trifectas vs. Lafayette on December 3, 2013.

"It felt great to be back on the court," said Saunders. "Today, I took advantage of what the defense gave me, as they played a little of me, being I just came off an injury. I have to give my teammates a big shout-out as they were able to locate me for my shot. It feels great to be playing and getting a pivotal road win."

Wagner featured a new starting five this afternoon which included freshman Devin Liggeons (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter), who garnered his first career start.  The 6-3 guard wasted little time in making his presence felt.  After five made free-throws from Mike Aaman (Hazlet,NJ/Raritan [University of Rhode Island]), Liggeons hit a left-wing three-pointer off a feed from sophomore guard JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord), who made his third start of the season and tied his career-high with 11 helpers on the afternoon. The Liggeons three-pointer gave the Green & White an 8-3 lead.

The three-pointer furthered Wagner's dominance in the opening segment as the Seahawks raced out to a 17-3 lead with 14:35 left in the first half. During this 5:25 run, the Seahawks were 4-of-5 from the field, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc while holding the Bulldogs to just 1-of-7 from the field during this stretch.

After the Seahawks had built a 14-point lead on a layup from Aaman, the Bulldogs came roaring back, answering with a 19-8 outburst of its own in trimming the Wagner lead to just one, 30-29 with 1:38 showing on the clock. The Bulldogs converted on 6-of-8 from the field in the run as Hunter Ware was the catalyst with eight points.

The Seahawks answered, closing out the first half with a 7-0 run as in seizing a 37-29 lead at the break.  For the first half, Wagner shot 52.2 percent from the field while converting on 5-of-10 from three-point range. Bryant was held to 36.0 percent shooting from the floor while only hitting on 2-of-8 from three-point range.

The teams traded baskets for the first eight minutes of the second half and after Bosko Kostur hit a layup with 12:07 remaining in the game. A jumper by graduate student Henry Brooks (New Orleans, LA / Miller Grove/University of Pennsylvania) off a feed from Saunders at the 11:45 mark gave Wagner a double-digit lead for good and kick-started a pivotal 20-4 run which carried the Seahawks to a commanding 73-49 lead with four minutes left.

Saunders drained three jumpers from beyond the arc during the nearly eight-minute run, which was capped by a three-ball from sophomore forward Japhet Kadji (Douala, Cameroon/Gulliver Prep [IMG Academy – FL]).

Aaman finished with 13 points and six rebounds while sophomore guard Aaren Edmead (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) added 11 points along with three assists without committing a single turnover during an efficient 24-minute stint. Junior guard Michael Carey contributed nine points while Cooper was the team's top playmaker, matching his career high by dishing out a season-high 11 assists.

Hunter Ware led Bryant with 21 points while Nisre Zouzoua added 13. Buoyed by 48 percent shooting (12-of-25) from three-point range, the Seahawks wound up a crisp 49.1 percent from the floor. For the game, Wagner was credited with 19 assists on 28 made field goals while committing just nine turnovers. The Bulldogs had nine assists on 17 made field goals and harassed into 13 turnovers by the stingy Seahawk defense, which led to an overwhelming 21-4 advantage in points off turnovers. Wagner outrebounded Bryant 36-26 and also held the advantage in points in the paint (28-16), second-chance points (12-8), fast break points (6-2) and in bench scoring (25-13). 

The Seahawks continue their four-game road swing on Thursday, February 18 at Fairleigh Dickinson at 7:00 p.m. before capping this four-game stretch at Central Connecticut for a 1:00 p.m. tip vs. the Blue Devils on Saturday, February 20.
 
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