Pictured Above (Left to Right): Sophomore guard Blake Francis, Senior guard JoJo Cooper, Redshirt junior forward AJ Sumbry (Credit: Ricky Bassman)
 
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Lawrenceville, NJ – Free throws down the stretch proved to be the difference as the Wagner men's basketball team saw its six-game winning streak snapped as Rider held on for a 90-84 overtime win at Alumni Gymnasium on Saturday.
 
With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 7-2 on the season while Rider, which had lost four straight, improves to 6-5.
 
Three Seahawks finished in double figures, led by sophomore guard Blake Francis, who poured in a career-high 25 points, eclipsing the 20-point mark for the fifth time in his career and fourth this season. In addition, Francis has now scored 17 or more points in all nine games.

Senior guard JoJo Cooper notched his fifth career double-double, finishing with 19 points and 11 assists, while redshirt junior forward AJ Sumbry notched the second double-double of his career, finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds, both of which are career highs.

The Seahawks welcomed redshirt junior guard Romone Saunders back to the lineup from injury. The 6-3 Maryland product made his season debut when he checked into the contest at the 11:23 mark of the first half, and provided a lift, finishing with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting in 20 minutes of action. For Saunders, this marked his first action since November 11, 2016, when he scored 15 points in a win over then 18^th-ranked UConn.
 
Rider also had three scores in double digits, led by Frederick Scott, who paved the way with a team-best 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Dimencio Vaughn and Stevie Jordan each had 19 points on a combined 9-of-20 shooting from the field, with the duo tallying 19-of-24 from the free throw line, led by Vaughn's 14-of-18 effort.
 
After trailing most of the way, Wagner went ahead by five, 69-64, with 2:53 left in regulation after Saunders was able to knock in a rainbow-arcing three-pointer from the right wing, which forced Rider to spend a timeout. The Broncs then missed a pair of threes before Vaughn drew a foul on Saunders, and proceeded to make one-of-two at the line to make it a 69-65 game.

On the ensuing Seahawk possession, the visitors missed two straight layup attempts before junior guard Devin Liggeons was fouled while grabbing the offensive rebound. The Philadelphia, PA native, who contributed eight points and six rebounds in today's contest, missed the front end of the one-and-one. The Green & White were able to briefly maintain possession as Saunders gathered the loose ball, before turning it over, and committing a foul which sent Rider back to the free throw line.
 
Jordan Allen, who was held to just eight points on 2-of-9 shooting, trimmed the deficit to two, 69-67, after making both his attempts at the line. With 44 seconds showing on the game clock, Wagner was called for another foul, which resulted in another pair of made free throws by Vaughn, which knotted the game at 69-69.
 
Following a Wagner timeout, Francis was fouled by Vaughn with 17 seconds remaining in regulation. A 93 percent free shooter entering the game, Francis calmly knocked down a pair to give Wagner a 71-69 lead.

When play resumed following a Rider time out, Cooper thought he had recorded a steal with six seconds left in regulation, but was called for his third foul of the game instead, sending Scott to the line. Scott then sank two pressure-packed free throws, tying the game for the seventh time at 71-71, which in turned made Wagner take its final timeout.
 
Following the inbounds, Saunders had a chance to win it with four seconds, but his three-pointer hit the front end. As the ball rolled past two Broncs, Cooper alertly picked up the loose ball and heaved a last second shot but his attempt was off the mark as well, sending the game to overtime.
 
In the extra session, the Seahawks scored first as junior combo guard Elijah Davis was able to bank home layup opportunity, giving Wagner a 73-71 advantage.  The Broncs then scored six straight, in taking a 79-73 lead with 3:02 left in the first overtime. The visitors outscored the Broncs, 7-2, over the next 1:30, in trimming the lead to one, 81-80 with 1:33 left to go.
 
Following a Scott layup that put Rider up 83-80, Cooper hit two more from the line, cutting the deficit to one, 83-82, with under a minute left in the extra session. Rider was then able to close out the contest by scoring seven of the game's final nine points, helped by making 7-of-8 from the line, in escaping with the six-point win,
 
For the game, Wagner shot 35.4 percent from the field while hitting on 33.3 from the outside (10-of-30) and 84.8 percent from the free-throw line (28-of-33). The Seahawks held the advantage on the boards, outmuscling the Broncs 47-39.

Rider finished the game shooting 41.4 percent from the field, which included 5-of-6 in the extra frame, scored 24 points off 18 Seahawk turnovers and got a lift from its bench which netted a combined 34 points.
 
The Seahawks remain on the road as they will head to Newark, NJ to take on the 15^th-ranked Seton Hall University Pirates at the Prudential Center on Wednesday, December 20 in a 7:00 p.m. tip. Seton Hall saw its five-game win streak come to an end earlier today, dropping a 71-65 decision to Big Ten member Rutgers at the RAC.

 
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