Pictured Above: Senior guard and reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Co-Player of the Week Michael Carey, who tallied his fourth double-double of the season and 19th of his career at Bryant on Thursday night (Photo by: George Kubas II)
 
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Smithfield, RI- Senior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]), the current Northeast Conference (NEC) Co-Player of the Week, continued his torrid scoring performance, but it wasn't enough as the Wagner College men's basketball team dropped a 77-66 road conference tilt at Bryant on Thursday evening.

With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 6-9 on the season and 2-3 in league play while the Bulldogs improve to 5-12 and are also 2-3 in league contests.

Carey finished the game with 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, recording his fourth double-double of the year and 19th in his Seahawk career. This also marks his third straight 20-point outing, fifth of the season, and ninth of his career. Junior guard Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) was the only other Seahawk to score in double figures, as he ended up with 15 points in 34 minutes of play. The sharpshooting Henson inches closer to joining the 1,000 career-point club, as he now stands just 75 points away at 925 points following tonight's performance.
 
Four Bulldogs finished in double figures, led by Nisre Zouzoua, the NEC's scoring leading entering play, who led all scorers with 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting while going 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. Bosko Kostur added 15 points and a team-best eight rebounds in 37 minutes of play while Marcel Pettway and Adam Grant chipped in with 14 and ten points, respectively.
 
Wagner opened the contest with four quick points thanks to baskets from Carey and redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan [University of Rhode Island]). Bryant responded in the form of a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to take a 7-4 lead after Pettway was able to create space along the left baseline and flushed home a two-hand slam. The Seahawks answered back, scoring seven of the next ten points over a 6:45 stretch, claiming an 11-10 lead, as Henson was able to convert on a reverse layup a feed from Aaman.

The Bulldogs found their rhythm from the floor, holding Wagner to just 3-of-10 shooting from the field, as Bryant took a 23-21 lead, with Pettway and Zouzoua each scoring four points. The Green & White closed out the first half by outscoring the Bulldogs 10-6 en route to seizing a 31-29 lead at the intermission. The halftime lead was attributed to the Seahawks' tough defensive mentality, as they were able to stifle Bryant's shooters in holding the home team to just 2-of-6 down the stretch. The visitors did most of the damage from the free-throw line, converting 6-of-8 over the final 3:27 of the opening stanza. Wagner held a 15-10 edge on the boards while capitalizing on its second chance opportunities, scoring 10 of the 31 points thanks to those chances.
 
Carey was the Seahawks' catalyst over the opening five minutes of the second half, scoring eight points, including hitting on a jumper that trimmed the Bryant lead back down to one, 44-43, with 13:35 left to play. Following two made free-throws from Kostur, Henson was able to tie the game at 46, delivering on a top-of-the-key three-pointer off a feed from classmate JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord).

The Bulldogs answered back with a Taylor McHugh trifecta that gave Bryant a 49-46 lead at the 12:47 mark, jump-starting a 22-14 run from the home team over the next 10:41, giving Bryant a 71-60 edge with just 2:06 left in the contest. Wagner made one final attempt in cutting the deficit, as Henson connected on his third and final three-pointer of the night, cutting the lead to eight, but Bryant closed out the contest by scoring six of the final nine points to secure the 77-66 victory.

For the 11th time in the Seahawks' 15 games this season, the Green & White held the advantage on the boards, 37-33, while matching a season-high 40 points from inside the paint.

Wagner will return home on Saturday, January 14, as the Seahawks welcome the Robert Morris University Colonials to the Spiro Sports Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. as Joey Wahler will have the call courtside on NEC Front Row (www.necfrontrow.com), the online digital network of the Northeast Conference (NEC) and Wagner Athletics.

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