Photo Credit: Dave Saffran2016 NEC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT HEADQUARTERS
Wagner College roars to regular season NEC title with 69-54 win over St. Francis U. (Cormac Gordon, Staten Island Advance)
Three Takeaways from Wagner's 69-54 defeat of Saint Francis (Kaleb Carter, Mid-Major Madness)
NEC Recap, February 25 - Jockeyeing For Playoff Positioning (Ryan Peters, Big Apple Buckets)
Postgame Press Conference: Head Coach Bashir Mason & Sophomore Guard Corey Henson
One-on-One Interview: Joey Wahler Speaks With Head Coach Bashir Mason Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML)
Staten Island, NY – Sophomore guard
Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD / DeMatha Catholic) paced three Seahawks in double figures with 24 points as Wagner clinched the Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season title with a 69-54 victory over the Saint Francis U Red Flash tonight at the Spiro Sports Center in a game seen live on ESPN3.
With the win, the Seahawks improve to 19-9 overall and a league-best 12-5. Saint Francis U falls to 13-15 on the season and 9-8 in league play with one game to go.
As the No. 1 seed, the Seahawks have secured homecourt advantage throughout the NEC Tourney, which commences with quarterfinal play on Wednesday, March 2, followed by the semifinal round on Saturday, March 5. Two men's quarterfinal game will air on MSG and FCS. Both men's semifinal games will be televised on MSG+ and FCS.
The championship game, to be televised by ESPN2, will be contested on Tuesday, March 8 at 7:00 p.m. For the 12th straight year, the NEC Men's Basketball Tournament will consist of an eight-team playoff format with all games played at the home of the higher seed. After the quarterfinals, the teams will be reseeded so the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals.
Tonight marked the Seahawks' second regular season crown in program history, the first coming back during the 2002-03 season when the Jermaine Hall-led Seahawks concluded with a 14-4 league mark and a 21-11 overall record en route to the NEC Tournament crown.
Along with Henson, who finished 9-of-15 from the field and 3-of-6 from the outside, junior guard
Michael Carey turned in his team-leading 12th double-double of the season, concluding the game with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Redshirt senior guard
Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI/Suttons Bay [Michigan State]) contributed 10 points and seven caroms off the bench.
The Red Flash had two players in double digits, led by Greg Brown's 15-point performance. Ronnie Drinnon added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds in defeat.
Drinnon got the visitors on the board first, but Wagner quickly seized all momentum, sparking a 13-2 run with Henson serving as the catalyst with nine points on 3-of-4 from the outside as the Seahawks claimed a 13-4 advantage, prompting a Red Flash timeout.
A pair of free-throws from Basil Thompson cut Wagner's lead back to single-digits, 19-10 with 11:15 showing on the clock. The Seahawks offense took flight on a second 13-4 outburst as the lead increased to 32-14 following an Anderson left-handed layup.
The Red Flash clawed their way back into the contest by outscoring the home team 16-7 over the stanza's final 7:12 despite the Green & White taking a 39-30 lead into the break. During SFU's run, the Red Flash converted 5-of-9 from the field while limiting Wagner to just 1-of-8 during this stretch.
When play resumed for the second half, both teams traded baskets over the first 6:38 with Wagner up 47-38 after a Josh Nebo dunk off the feed from Jamaal King.
The Green & White responded with a 14-3 outburst that saw the team take its largest lead of the game, 61-41, as redshirt senior forward
Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan [University of Rhode Island]) muscled in a left-handed reverse layup off pass from sophomore guard
Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Potomac [Mt. Zion Prep]).
Despite the Red Flash closing out the game scoring 13 of the final 21 points, when the final horn sounded, the Wagner Seahawks' bench and fans erupted as they knew they would have homecourt advantage throughout the NEC Tournament, which is set to begin on with on March 2.
For the game, Wagner held a +14 advantage on the boards (45-31) while shooting 44.8 percent from the field and converting 34 of its 69 points from inside the paint. The Red Flash were held to just 34.6 percent shooting while being limited to 27.3 percent from long range.
Wagner will close out the regular season looking for its sixth all-time 20-win season as they host the Robert Morris Colonials on Saturday, February 27 at 4:00 p.m. Saturday is Senior Day as the Seahawks will honor its two seniors,
Dwaun Anderson and graduate forward
Henry Brooks (New Orleans, LA/Miller Grove [University of Pennsylvania]).
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.
