Picture Above: Michael Carey (photo by Dave Saffran)

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NEC Semifinals Postgame Press Conference: No. 1 Seed Wagner College Seahawks

Postgame Highlights: No. 1 Wagner College Seahawks 81, No. 6 LIU Brooklyn 65 (Courtesy of NECFrontRow.com)

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Staten Island, NY – Junior wing and All-Northeast Conference (NEC) Second Team selection Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) notched his 14th double-double of the season to help lead the top-seeded Wagner Seahawks to an 81-65 win over the No. 6 seeded, LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds, on Saturday in the 2016 NEC Tournament.
 
With the win, the Green & White improves to 22-9 on the year while the Blackbirds season ends with an overall record of 16-15.  The championship game is set as Wagner will host the No. 2 seed, Fairleigh Dickinson, who advanced by defeating the No. 5 seed, Mount St. Mary's, 80-75 in Hackensack, NJ, in the first semifinal games earlier this afternoon. 
 
The 2016 NEC championship game will be broadcasted nationally on Tuesday, March 8 at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN2 as veteran ESPN commentator Karl Ravech and Hall of Fame coach, Jim Calhoun have the call courtside. 

For Wagner, the Seahawks advance to its fourth NEC Championship game and the first since 2005 in which they faced off against the Knights in Hackensack. Wagner is vying for the program's second league title after capturing the 2003 crown, which was played at the Spiro Sports Center.

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"I have to give LIU a lot of credit, they were a team we struggled with all season," said fourth-year and newly minted Jim Phelan Coach of the Year, Bashir Mason.  "I had to coach my guys hard because I didn't know how we were going to match up against them," added Mason at today's postgame press conference.
 
"They presented a ton of problems for us. Our guys, we fought, we battled, and in the first half, our defense kept us around," coach Mason remarked. "In the second half, the ball went in the hole a little more for us and our defense remained the same as well as our rebounding. And we were able to pull out a good win against a championship-caliber team."
 
In addition to Carey's double-double performance, sophomore guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Potomac [Mt. Zion Prep]) poured in 18 points off the bench to go along with seven rebounds.  Fellow classmate Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) chipped in 12 points and team-high four assists.  Junior forward Greg Senat (Elmont, NY/Elmont [Marianapolis Prep]) contributed on the boards, pulling down a career-best nine caroms in the win. 
 
The Blackbirds had three players score in double-digits led by Joel Hernandez, who scored a team-leading 19 points and seven rebounds.  All-NEC First Teamer, Jerome Frink, added 14 points and eight caroms while Nura Zanna had 11 points and seven boards.
 
"This is a tale of two halves, I thought we came out with a great sense of urgency, playing the right way," said LIU Brooklyn head coach Jack Perri. "Our game plan was to go inside and be aggressive and attack, and we did that. I thought defensively we were pretty focused; we did a good job with understanding their personnel and limiting their second chances. We talked about second chances and their transition points, and I think that's why we had the lead at halftime."
 
"In the second half, we started out fine but then ran into some foul trouble," Perri continued. "They are the number one team for a reason, and they did a really good job defending us. They're really fast; their guards did a good job of defending. We couldn't contain off the bounce. Off the dribble, one thing we always talk about is not fouling, and Wagner is not a great team at getting fouled. They took 31 free throws, which is too much and they ended up hurting us on the glass too. They completely outplayed us in the second half, and they earned the win. Great job by them."
 
LIU Brooklyn raced out to a 9-4 lead in the early part of the contest. The Seahawks answered with a 15-9 run over an eight-minute stretch that saw Wagner take its first lead of the game, 22-18, at the 7:17 mark. The run was capped off by an alley-oop feed from Henson to redshirt senior guard, Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI/Suttons Bay [Michigan State]). 
 
The Blackbirds, who averaged close to 77.0 points per game this season, ignited a 13-3 run of its own in taking a 31-25 lead, as LIU held Wagner to just 1-of-9 during this span while the visitors connected on 6-of-7 from the field as Frink tallied six of the 13 points.
 
Wagner trailed at the break, 33-29, after being held to just 32.1 percent shooting from the floor while only making two of five from deep. LIU shot an efficient 50.0 percent from the field despite being held to 0-of-5 from long range. 
 
The Seahawks were able to readjust their offensive schemes in the second half as they scored 12 of the first 20 points in the stanza, tying the game at 41-41 thanks to Saunders completing the old-fashioned three-point play.
 
Over the next 9:25, Wagner showed its dominance, erupting on a 21-9 run and taking a 61-50 lead after redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman was able to muscle his way in the paint for two and completing the three-point play at the charity stripe. 
 
The Blackbirds were able to close the gap to nine, at 67-58 with 4:23 remaining following a three-pointer from Frink before Saunders answered a three of his own, starting a 10-3 spurt that put Wagner ahead 77-61 with 2:11 left in the contest.
 
The final shots of the game were a pair of two-hand stuff from Anderson off the pass from sophomore guard JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord) and Hernandez, who caught the feed from Trevin Woods.
 
Wagner outshot the Blackbirds 45 percent to 41.5 percent and held a 42-35 edge on the boards. The Seahawks also held the advantage in points in the paint (40-38), points off turnovers (20-8), second-chance points (13-10), fast-break points (15-8) and held a decided 25-7 edge in bench scoring.

 
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.