Pictured Above: Sophomore guard Blake Francis (Dave Saffran)
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Staten Island, NY – Trailing by a 69-64 count with 1:09 showing on the game clock, the Wagner men's basketball team scored six of the last seven points in the game's final 53 seconds to pull out a pulsating 71-70 come-from-behind home-opening win over the American University Eagles at the Spiro Sports Center.
With the victory, Wagner improves to 2-1 on the season while American falls to 0-3 on the young season. Additionally, today's victory moves the Seahawks to 5-1 under sixth-year head coach
Bashir Mason in home openers and runs the program's overall record to 162-87 since the Spiro Sports Center opened back on February 20, 1999.
Sophomore guard
Blake Francis poured in a career-high 24 points while junior guard
Elijah Davis added a career-high 18. Davis and Francis were particularly clutch down the stretch from the free throw line as this guard tandem went a combined 15-of-15 from the charity stripe on the day, including a combined five-of-five down the stretch.
American took a seven-point, 64-57 lead with 2:26 remaining on a layup by Jesse Little and still led by a seemingly comfortable 69-64 margin with less than a minute left, before the Seahawks struck. The game-winning surge began with a pair of free throws by Davis with 53 ticks left that made it a 69-66 game.
The Eagles briefly increased the lead to four when Sa'eed Nelson made one of two free throws at the 45-second mark, giving the Eagles a 70-66 lead. On Wagner's ensuing possession, Davis hit a driving layup with 29 seconds left off a Francis feed, before completing the old-fashioned three-point play to make it a one-point game at 70-69.
After Wagner regained possession following an American turnover, Francis went to the line with 13 seconds left, and calmly knocked down a pair to make it 71-70. Francis then did it on the defensive end, blocking a Nelson layup attempt with four seconds left.
The ball bounced out of bounds off Francis, giving American one last chance. But a Marvin Bragg layup with two seconds left was off the mark, and redshirt junior forward
A.J. Sumbry managed to corral the rebound to secure the win and set off a wild celebration by the joyous Seahawk faithful.
American scored the game's first points as Nelson converted a pair of free throws. Wagner answered back as graduate forward
Nick Madray drilled a top-of-the-key three-pointer. The visitors went back ahead by three, 8-5, when Iorio connected on a three-pointer before Jackson responded with a corner three of his own to tie the game at eight apiece. Wagner took its largest lead of the stanza, 25-13, capped by a 17-5 run over a five-minute stretch. The Seahawks converted 5-of-6 from the field during the run while limiting the Eagles to just 2-of-6. Francis was the catalyst of the Seahawk offense, hitting for ten points during the run.
American rallied back behind a 16-7 outburst of their own, shooting 5-of-7 from the field while holding Wagner to just 3-of-7. Iorio and Motuzis combined to score 13 points. The Eagles forced 13 first-half Seahawk turnover while only scoring nine points. Wagner held a 19-10 advantage on the boards while shooting 55.0 percent from the field and 71.4% from beyond the arc. American converted on just 40.0 percent from the field.
Wagner jump started the second-half on a 6-0 run to extend the lead to 41-32 before American answered with eight straight to trim the deficit to one, 41-40, thanks to a Nelson layup. After Sumbry connected on one-of-two from the charity stripe, American raced out to its largest lead of the contest, 64-57, with just 2:26 on the heels of outscoring the Green & White, 24-15. During their latest run, American 52.6 percent from the line while holding Wagner to under 30.0 percent.
For the game, the Seahawks out-rebounded American, 40-29, while finishing the contest shooting 39.2 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Eagles held a 32-20 scoring advantage from inside-the-paint while shooting 44.2 percent from the field.
Wagner will conclude its short two-game homestand on Tuesday, November 21 as they welcome local rival, the College of Staten Island, to the Spiro Sports Center for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.
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