Pictured Above: Freshman guard Blake Francis, who scored a game and career-high 20 points in the Seahawks win over first-place Mount St. Mary's (Photo by: Dave Saffran)

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Wagner-Mount St. Mary's Highlights 

Postgame Press Conference: Head Coach Bashir Mason, Senior Michael Carey and Freshman Blake Francis

Staten Island, NY – Freshman guard Blake Francis (Herndon, VA / Westfield) went 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 33 seconds as well as 4-of-5 from beyond the arc en route to a career-high 20-point outing while senior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas / Lamar Consolidated / San Jacinto) and redshirt senior forward Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ / Raritan / Rhode Island) added 16 and 10 points, respectively, in leading Wagner to a 69-65 come-from-behind Northeast Conference (NEC) victory over first-place Mount St. Mary's at the Spiro Sports Center tonight.
 
With the win, the Seahawks improve to 13-12 on the season, 9-6 in the NEC while improving their chances of securing a top-four finish in the league standings and a first-round home game in next month's NEC Tournament. With the defeat, the Mountaineers fall to 14-14 overall and 12-3 in league play. 
 
The teams have now split the regular season series as the Mount escaped with a 57-56 win in Emmitsburg, MD back on December 31.
 
In addition to his 16-point output, which came on 7-of-11 shooting, Carey pulled down 13 rebounds in recording his ninth double-double of the season and 24^th in his two-year Seahawk career. Aaman also registered a double-double on this night with 11 rebounds to go along with his 13 points. For Aaman, the double-double was the seventh of his career and third of the season.
 
The Mount jumped out to a 36-25 halftime lead and led by as many as 13 points in the second half before the Seahawks rallied for the win. With the Mount seemingly in control with a 49-39 lead at the 13:20 mark of the second half following a jumper in the lane by Mawdo Sallah, Wagner steadily dug into the Mountaineer lead during a 16-7 run over the next 10 minutes. Aaman hit layup in traffic off a pretty lob inside from junior guard JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE / Concord) to cap the run and give the Seahawks their first lead of the game, at 57-56, with 3:20 remaining to play.
 
It was a lead that the Seahawks would not relinquish thanks in large measure to the clutch free throw shooting down the stretch by Francis.
 
Mount St. Mary's was led by Junior Robinson's 19 points while Sallah and Miles Wilson added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Chris Wray pulled down 11 rebounds along with eight points, four assists, three blocks and a steal.
 
Wagner outshot the Mount, 44.6 percent to 41.4 percent and held a 37-32 edge in the rebounding department. Wagner held a 12-5 advantage in second-chance points and a commanding 23-7 edge in bench scoring with 20 of those coming from Francis. The Mount held a narrow 30-28 lead in points in the paint and an 11-9 edge in points off turnovers.
 
The Seahawks and Mountaineers played a clean, well-executed game, as the Seahawks were credited with 12 assists on their 25 made field goals while turning the ball over just nine times. The Mount, meanwhile, had 11 assists and 11 turnovers.
 
The Green & White now embark on their final road trip of the regular season, beginning on Saturday, February 18, when the Seahawks make the short trip across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn Heights, looking for the season sweep of the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers in a 4:00 p.m. tip at the Pope Physical Education Center.  

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