Staten Island, NY – Redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan [University of Rhode Island]) scored 12 points and recorded a career-high five blocks in leading the top-seeded Wagner Seahawks to a hard-fought 59-50  win over No. 8 seed and defending league-champion Robert Morris in a Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament quarterfinal matchup at the Spiro Sports Center tonight.
 
With the victory, the Green & White improve their season record to 21-9 and will host the No. 6 seed, LIU Brooklyn, who was victorious over No. 3 seed Sacred Heart, 84-76, in Fairfield, CT this evening.  The Seahawks and Blackbirds will meet at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 5. Tickets for the NEC Semifinals are now on sale. Fans can order by calling 718-420-4039 or online at wagnerathletics.com/tickets. Price are $10 for adults, $5 for students and children between the ages of 5 and 18.
 
"I told my guys, the last message we left with was, 'if we want to be champions, we have to beat champions.' I give Robert Morris a lot of credit," said Seahawk head coach Bashir Mason. " I thought those guys played one of the best games they've played all year. They made us struggle, they made us play their type of game, they controlled the tempo. They were really physical with us, made every two that we shot, every three that we shot, contested - very tough.
 
"I'm super proud of our guys for digging in and really battling, in a game that's not going our way, to still dig in and make big plays to stay in it," the 2016 NEC Coach of the Year added. "Hard- fought battle. It's tournament time.  It's win and move on. So now our focus turns to the next game."
 
In addition to Aaman's performance, a pair of All-NEC Second Teamers, sophomore guard Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) and junior wing Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) combined to score 19 points and grab 20 rebounds.  Carey scored nine points and corralled a game-high 14 caroms, the 15th time this season he has finished in double-digits rebounds, while Henson tossed in 10, reaching double figures for the 33rd time in his young career and 20th time this season.
 
Robert Morris' Isaiah Still led all scorers with 13 points in 33 minutes of action. Kavon Stewart and All-NEC First Team selection Rodney Pryor had 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Tonight was a defensive slugfest throughout as Wagner shot 33.9 percent (19-of-56) from the field while holding the Colonials to 31.9% on 15-of-47 shooting. The Seahawks, who ranked third in the circuit in three-point field goal percentage defense, held the Colonials to 0-of-13 from long range on the evening.
 
After Wagner had taken a 24-19 halftime lead, the Seahawks gained some breathing room by opening the second half on a 12-3 run, opening their biggest lead of the game, at 36-22, with 15:43 left to play. Over the next 10 minutes, the Colonials methodically trimmed into the Wagner lead and whenStill completed an old-fashioned three-point play with 5:50 left, the game was knotted at 42-42.
 
With Wagner clinging to a 46-44 lead, sophomore guard Aaren Edmead (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) hit a big 15-foot jumper to make it a 48-44 lead with 3:43 to go. Following a missed three-pointer by Pryor, Edmead then knifed his way through the lane and lofted a one-hand spun around the rim several times before falling through in giving the Seahawks a 50-44 lead at the 2:52 mark.
 
On RMU's ensuing possession, Aaman swatted away a Stewart layup attempt. Carey ripped down the rebound and found Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI/Suttons Bay) ahead of the field, and the red-shirt senior guard laid it in to give Wagner a 52-44 lead with just 2:36 left.
 
This 6-0 flurry proved to be the decisive sequence in the game as RMU would get no closer than seven the rest of the way as Wagner held on for the 59-50 win.
 
"Congratulations to Wagner for advancing in the tournament and the season they've had, especially being regular season champions," said Robert Morris head coach Andy Toole. "Coach Mason and his staff have done a great job. I was really proud of our team tonight, the way that they fought and battled and gave ourselves a real shot to win this game tonight.
 
"We really made some good adjustments, our guys gave great effort from the game Saturday in terms of our ability to rebound and limit our turnovers," Toole added. "Unfortunately, we came up a little bit short and some of that credit goes to Wagner, you know down the stretch, with the run they made after we tied it at 42. But I'm very proud of our group and the way that they competed tonight. I think it can be something that we build off of."
 
Although Wagner out-rebounded RMU 45-32, the Colonials enjoyed a 30-22 edge in points in the paint. The teams were tied in points off turnovers (9-9) and fast break points (6-6), while the Seahawks held the advantage in second-chance points (5-0) and bench scoring (16-13).
 
The first half was even more of a defensive struggle than the second as the teams entered intermission with the Seahawks on top 24-19. Wagner held RMU to just 4-of-17 shooting in the opening frame. The Colonials managed to stay close thanks to a decisive advantage at the free-throw line. RMU didn't take full advantage, however, shooting 11-of-19 (57.9%) from the charity stripe while the Seahawks were a perfect 4-of-4.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.