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Wagner vs. Saint Francis U Highlights

Postgame Press Conference: Head Coach Bashir Mason & Junior Guard Corey Henson

Staten Island, NY – Wagner junior guard Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD / DeMatha Catholic) scored 18 points and senior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas / Lamar Consolidated / San Jacinto) added 10 but it wasn't enough to overcome a 25-point effort from Saint Francis U's Isaiah Blackmon, which led four players in double figures, as the Red Flash held off the Seahawks 72-67 tonight at the Spiro Sports Center tonight.
 
In dropping a back-and-forth game that featured four ties, 13 lead changes and just eight free throws combined between the teams, the Seahawks fall to 8-11 on the season, 4-5 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play. With the win, SFU, an up tempo team which entered the game averaging a league-best 75.5 points per game, improves to 8-12 overall and 5-4 in league.
 
The contest featured just 20 combined personal fouls, eight on Wagner and 12 on Saint Francis U, which went 3-of-4 from the free throw line. The Seahawks, meanwhile, were just 2-of-2 from the line for the entire game and did not attempt a single free throw in the second half.
 
The first half was played at a halfcourt pace, more to the Seahawks' liking, as the Green & White took a 34-29 lead into the intermission with junior guard JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE / Concord) leading the way offensively with seven.
 
SFU opened the second half on a 16-5 scoring run over a span of 5:33 in taking a 45-39 lead. The Red Flash led for the majority of the second half which was played at a quicker pace than the opening half.
 
Saint Francis U's biggest lead of the game was six, the last coming on a three-pointer by Georgios Angelou with 7:46 to play, that put the Red Flash in front, 59-53. Having made just one of his first eight shots from the field, Carey then got hot, scoring 10 of Wagner's next 11 points, in sparking an 11-4 spurt. The athletic and versatile 6-5 guard highlighted the run with an emphatic breakaway dunk, while his jumper with 2:45 left put the Seahawks ahead 64-63.
 
This would prove to be the Seahawks' final lead of the game, however, as the Red Flash answered with a Blackmon three-pointer at the 2:16 mark, which gave SFU the lead for good at 66-64. Following a Seahawk turnover, Blackmon hit a driving layup to make it a 68-64 game with just 1:20 to go.
 
Henson then countered with a three-pointer with 35 second left from the head of the circle, coming out of a timeout, drawing the Seahawks within one at 68-67. SFU again had the answer as Blackmon hit a clutch running one-hander from the left elbow with 18 seconds remaining which gave the Red Flash a 70-67 lead.
 
The Seahawks were then hurried into another turnover on their final possession as Keith Braxton stripped Cooper of the ball with four seconds left, before feeding ahead to Keith Braxton for a layup with two ticks to go which fashioned the final score at 72-67.
 
In addition to Blackmon's game-high 25 points, SFU received 12-point outings from Angelou and Deivydas Kuzavas, while Jamaal King added 10. For Wagner, in addition to Henson's 18 and Carey's 10, freshman guard Blake Francis (Herndon, VA / Westfield) finished with nine points while redshirt junior forward A.J. Sumbry (East Windsor, NJ / St. Benedict's Prep / Quinnipiac) and Cooper wound up with eight and seven points, respectively.
 
Carey and redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ / Raritan / Rhode Island) tied for team-high rebounding honors with eight apiece.
 
The shooting numbers were nearly dead even as SFU, which entered the game as the NEC's top scoring tram at 75.2 ppg., outshot Wagner 47.5 percent to 44.4 percent. The Seahawks held the upper hand in rebounding, 38-29, as well as second-chance points (16-7) and bench scoring (21-12). SFU led in points in the paint (32-26) and in points off turnovers (17-13).
 
Wagner was credited with 16 assists on its 28 made field goals while turning the ball over 14 times, while SFU had 12 assists on 19 made field goals while turning the ball over just 10 times.
 
The Seahawks are right back at it on Saturday when they host the St. Francis College Terriers in a 4:00 p.m. in the second game of a doubleheader with the Seahawk women set to host Saint Francis U in the opening game at 2:00 p.m.
 
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