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Wagner College men's hoops team dominates Central Connecticut, 83-57 (Staten Island Advance Sports Desk)



New Britain, CT – The Wagner men's basketball team remained atop of the Northeast Conference standings as the Seahawks earned an emphatic 83-57 wire-to-wire victory at Central Connecticut this afternoon.
 
In recording their third straight 20-point-plus road win, the Seahawks maintain their one-game lead atop the NEC standings at 11-5, with two regular season games remaining, while improving to 18-9 on the season. With the loss, CCSU falls to 3-13 in conference and 4-23 overall.
 
Redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan [University of Rhode Island]) was one of three Seahawks to finish in double-figures as he finished with a team-high 12 points in 18 minutes of action.
 
Sophomore guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Potomac [Mt. Zion Prep]) and junior backcourt teammate Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) each added 11 points with Saunders dishing out six assists.  Fellow guard Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) added nine points and a team-leading seven assists.
 
In all, Wagner has a balanced scoring attack on the afternoon, as 11 different Seahawks found the scoring column in the win. Freshman guard Devin Liggeons (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) made his third straight start and pulled down a career-best eight caroms in the victory.
 
Central had three players post double-digit performances, led by Evan Phoenix, who poured in a team-high 12 points in 26 minutes of play off the bench.  Kevin Seymour added 11 points while Brandon Peel recorded his ninth straight double-double, finishing with ten points and 11 rebounds.
 
Wagner jumped out to 11-5 lead after sophomore guard JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord) was able to soar to the hoop. The Seahawks went 5-of-9 to start the contest while holding CCSU to a 2-of-5 start from the field.
 
The Seahawks then scored 13 of the next 21 points to take its largest lead of the half, 24-13, as Cooper was once again instrumental in the Seahawks spark, draining a left-wing three-pointer.
 
The Blue Devils were able to trim the deficit to four, 35-31, thanks to an 18-11 spurt of its own as Phoenix scored half of the points during the run with CCSU converting on 7-11 from the field and 3-of-5 from long range. Wagner responded by closing out the half on a 10-3 run, taking a 45-34 lead into the break.
 
When play resumed for the second half,  the Seahawks outscored CCSU 19-8 over the first eight minutes of the frame in building a 64-42 lead with 12 minutes left to play. Wagner's high efficiency on offense, combined with a relenting defensive effort allowed the Seahawks to open their biggest lead of the game of 29, at 76-47, which came on a Saunders layup with 6:16 left, virtually sealing the contest for the visitors.
 
The Seahawks have now won two of the last three road meetings vs. the Blue Devils after dropping seven consecutive games in New Britain. Wagner did it in impressive fashion today, shooting a season-best 57.1 percent (36-of-63) from the floor while limiting CCSU to 33.9 percent. Wagner was credited with a season-high 22 assists on its 36 made field goals while committing just 11 turnovers.
 
The Green & White won the rebounding battle by a 41-31 count which led to a decided 48-20 edge in points in the paint in addition to a 39-22 advantage in bench scoring. The Seahawks, who earned a 70-48 win over these same Blue Devils on Staten Island back on January 16, have now swept four NEC foes on the season in Central Connecticut, Bryant, St. Francis Brooklyn and Mount St. Mary's.
 
The Green & White conclude the regular season with a pair of home games, vs. Saint Francis U on Thursday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m., followed by a matchup with Robert Morris at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 27. Victories in both would give Wagner the No. 1 seed and homecourt advantage throughout the upcoming NEC Tournament.

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.