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Wagner College roars to 94-74 victory at FDU, takes over sole possession of first (Cormac Gordon, Staten Island Advance)

Hackensack, NJ – Redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan [University of Rhode Island]) scored a season-high 19 points which led a total of six Seahawks in double-figures as Wagner picked up a resounding 94-74 win at Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday evening.

Tonight's victory at Stratis Arena improves the Seahawks' overall record to 17-9, more importantly, the Green & White are now 10-5 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play.

When the night began, four teams, Wagner, Fairleigh Dickinson, Mount St. Mary's and Saint Francis U were knotted in a first-place with matching 9-5 league records. When the clock showed zero, only one team, Wagner, made the separation as FDU, The Mount and Saint Francis U all dropped to 9-6.  Mount lost at Central Connecticut (76-72) and Saint Francis U fell at home to defending regular season champions, St. Francis Brooklyn, 70-58. Mountaineers dropped a 76-72 decision at Central Connecticut. Sacred Heart, meanwhile, became the fourth team to join the 9-6 logjam following a 74-57 road victory at Bryant. 

Aaman finished the evening 8-of-12 shooting from the floor in while logging 21 minutes. He tallied 15 of his 19 points in the first half, mostly coming off what has been his "trademark" left-handed hook shot in the lane. 

Sophomore guard Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) added 16 points, while going a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line in 27 minutes off the bench. Redshirt senior guard Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI/Suttons Bay [Michigan State]) contributed 15 points while converting 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in 29 minutes of play. Sophomore guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Potomac [Mt. Zion Prep]) continued his blazing, scoring prowess, as he recorded his fifth double-figure scoring game in his last six games as he concluded the game with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor.

Fellow backcourt classmate JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord), fresh off tying his career-high 11 assists at Bryant, posted his first career double-double, as the second-year guard tallied 12 points and a career-best 12 caroms in the victory. Lastly, junior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) posted his team-leading 11th double-double of the season as the first-year Seahawk notched 11 points and also grabbed 12 rebounds in the win.

Fairleigh Dickinson had four players finish in double-figures led by a team-high 17 points from Earl Potts, Jr. Potts Jr. is now averaging 19.5 ppg against Wagner after he went for 22 in their first encounter back on Feb. 4, in which he connected on a corner three-pointer in overtime to win at the Spiro Sports Center, 82-79. Darian Anderson contributed 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field in 31 minutes of action. Reigning Co-NEC Rookie of the Week, Mike Holloway, scored 14 points and grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds in 25 minutes of work while Marques Townes was the fourth Knight in double-figures with 11.

The Seahawks posted their highest-scoring half of the season in the opening 20 minutes in zooming out to a 50-39 halftime lead. Wagner trailed 9-4 early after Holloway flushed home a two-handed jam off a feed from Darian Anderson. The Seahawks responded with a 7-0 outburst in taking their first lead of the contest, 11-9, following an Anderson three-pointer from the corner. FDU answered back with a three-pointer from Marques Townes as the Knights took a 12-11 advantage before Saunders responded back with a layup to put Wagner back on top, 13-12.

After Wagner fourth-year head coach Bashir Mason was given a technical foul at the 14:25 mark, the Seahawks erupted on a 13-2 run over a 3:33 stretch, with the lead increasing to 24-14. Saunders was the catalyst with five points during the run. The Knights again trimmed the deficit to single digits, 29-20, on a three-pointer from Darian Anderson, before Aaman got loose in the paint for eight straight Seahawk points in an 8-2 run that gave the Green & White their largest lead of the half at 37-22.

The Knights closed out the frame on a 17-13 run to make it a 50-39 game at intermission.  The Seahawks shot 47.1 percent from the floor in the opening stanza, while converting on 93.3 percent from the free-throw line. The Seahawks held a 22-9 edge on the boards which included a +9.0 margin on the offensive glass. 

FDU opened the second half with a 10-4 run making it a five-point game at 54-49 following a Darian Anderson three-pointer with 17:28 left. With 8:00 remaining, FDU was still within two possessions, trailing by just a 72-66 count. But Wagner showed tremendous poise in attacking the glass, in outscoring FDU 8-0 over the next 1:24 with all eight points coming from the free-throw line.

Aided by an intentional foul call against the Knights, Henson was 4-of-4 from the stripe during this stretch while Dwaun Anderson and Carey were each 2-of-2 as Wagner built a comfortable 80-66 lead en route to the 94-74 win. 

Wagner dominated the rebounding department all night, more than doubling the Knights on the glass with a 43-20 edge. Wagner shot 41.9 % but did its share of damage from downtown, connecting on 50 percent (8-of-16) from beyond the arc. Another key to the Seahawk victory was a sizzling 91.9 percent effort from the free throw line as Wagner was 34-of-37 from the charity stripe, recording season highs in both categories.

The Seahawks conclude their season-high four game road trip at Central Connecticut on Saturday at 1:00 pm in a contest that can be seen on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.  The Green White round out the regular season with home games vs. Saint Francis U (2/25) and Robert Morris (2/27).

Follow Wagner Athletics on Facebook (facebook.com/WagnerAthletics), Twitter (@wagnerathletics), Instagram (@wagnerathletics) and YouTube (@WagnerSeahawks) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department. Follow Wagner MBasketball on Twitter (@Wagner_MBB) for the latest news and updates on the 2015-16 Wagner Men's Basketball team and head coach Bashir Mason (@BashirMason) for news on the fourth-year head coach.